Thi event explored innovation and disruption in urban mobility. There have been many new forms of mobility emerging in the urban transportation environment. This has led to increased traveler choice and controversy among the new entrants and existing service providers. Much of this can be attributed to external forces (e.g., rise in smartphones, decrease in driver’s license rates, socio-demographic changes, and recent economic decline), as well as the sharing economy (access to goods and services, which are rented or loaned, in contrast to ownership).

Population and employment in the Northeast is expected to grow some 25-35 percent over the next 25 years, bringing the prospect of economic prosperity and the reality of even more traffic and congestion. The Washington-Boston Northeast Corridor rail line already carries a significant portion of the region’s travelers to and from work and other destinations.

Population and employment in the Northeast is expected to grow some 25-35 percent over the next 25 years, bringing the prospect of economic prosperity and the reality of even more traffic and congestion. The Washington-Boston Northeast Corridor rail line already carries a significant portion of the region’s travelers to and from work and other destinations.

Moscow and Abu Dhabi are two rapidly growing and gentrifying global capitals, striving to take their place on the world stage. Like many developing cities, they’ve experimented with crass, Las Vegas-style development schemes, seeking the urban vision they’ve seen on American TV shows. Increasingly, they’ve been horrified by the result. Abu Dhabi, with a tenth of the world’s petroleum reserves, has learned from the mistakes of its better-known neighbor, Dubai, as well as those of American cities.

UTRC presented a Visiting Scholar Seminar with the transportation expert, Frank N. Wilner; an economist and a jounalist. He shared his perception on the American railroad industry with an insight into Wilner's latest book, "Amtrak: Past, Present, Future".

Transportation infrastructure in the United States serves as a foundation for economic competitiveness, and quality of life. Understanding how transportation infrastructure performance changes over time and quantifying the relationship between transportation infrastructure performance and economic growth helps us to improve infrastructure performance strategically. The Transportation Performance Index (TPI) was constructed for the period 1990 to 2009 using a replicable and transparent process.

Water transportation has become a serious and growing new mode of mass transit in New York Harbor, especially since the events of last September 11, Mr. Imperatore, Jr. will present the history, current operation and future plans of NY Waterway, the country?s largest private ferry operator. He will discuss current and future routes, design and construction of existing and new vessels and the development of a new generation of water transportation infrastructure, including terminals and surface connections throughout the Harbor.

Speaker: Dr. Thomas F. Golob, Institute of Transportation Studies University of California, Irvine

Speaker: Dr. David Lewis, Partner, Hickling Corporation Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Speaker: Dr. Gorman Gilbert, Director, Institute for Transportation Research and Education, North Carolina State University