2019

This report studies curb use at five typical locations in Greater Downtown Seattle to understand how cities can effectively manage curb access.

Across the U.S. growing eCommerce is resulting in increasing deliveries, most of which are inefficient and negatively affect the community. This report is the first in a series that analyzes the opportunities, challenges, and innovations related to eCommerce delivery.

Amazon has released their latest iteration of their design for a fully electric delivery drone.

Cargo drones are an emerging delivery technology that range in sizes from single item delivery capacities to plane-sized drones.

Zipline is a drone-delivery startup that delivers medical supplies, including blood, rabies vaccines and antivenom, to thousands of hard-to-reach health clinics in Rwanda and Ghana.

Meal delivery service Uber Eats unveiled the design for its delivery drone. Uber Eats hopes to use the drones for meal deliveries by next summer.

The United States Parcel Service (UPS) wants to expand its Flight Forward program to include private home drone delivery service.

This paper seeks to understand the potential causes of a decline in transit ridership by examining data from seven major U.S. cities – Boston, New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago, Denver, San Francisco and Los Angles.

This report gives a detailed analysis of the United States’ housing market, demographic drivers, homeownership, rental housing, and housing challenges for 2019.

The Federal Aviation Administration awarded the United Parcel Service certification to use drones for delivery on medical campuses. This came after a year of working together on the terms of the certification.

This article considers if utilizing drones for goods delivery is more efficient than traditional truck delivery, but it depends on the source of energy and size of the delivery.

This article discusses what makes a retail experience meaningful. Executives in retail design, experience, and real estate agreed that the main elements of meaningful retail experience are localization, service, and shareability.

This portfolio describes the Unsolicited Proposal process developed by Metro, and describes the range of pilot projects that have been developed through this process. It also highlights key lessons learned from each pilot.

A New York State judge dismissed a New York City rule that would limit transportation network companies' drivers could cruise without passengers. The rule was aimed at reducing congestion and approved by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. Uber and Lyft filed separate lawsuits against the rule in September of 2019.

Walmart announced free next-day delivery for online orders over $35. The offer will begin in Phoenix and Las Vegas and gradually spread across the rest of the United States.

Despite a growing economy, there has been a decrease in the average miles driven due in part to alternate modes of transportation and more opportunities to work and shop remotely.

This article examines how consumer behavior in retail has shifted to a trend of making online purchases and picking them up in stores. It identifies the retailers that have been most successful with this trend and makes investment recommendations.

Target announced that customers can place an online order for delivery if their order is over $35 for a flat delivery fee of $9.99, or for free if they are a member of Shipt.

"Sacramento Regional Transit will offer free light rail rides starting December 9 — but only for JUMP bike users."

"A New York judge has struck down a proposal to limit the time Uber and Lyft drivers can cruise around Manhattan without carrying riders."

Amazon announced that it will make one-day shipping the standard for all Prime members. This move pressures other retailers like Target and Walmart to keep up with consumers' delivery expectations.

Statistica published a chart ranking the reasons shoppers chose to make purchases online.

Overall adoption of broadband internet and smartphone ownership have grown quickly over the past thirty years, including for lower-income populations. Still, a gap exists in digital ownership and access between lower-income and higher-income Americans.

Rural Americans are less likely to own home broadband or a smartphone than suburban or urban Americans. This low percentage of adoption may be partly due to a lack of sufficient infrastructure to support high-speed internet.

The town of Innisfil in Ontario, Canada has partnered with Uber in place of public transit. Low density development drove the town to choose subsidizing Uber over creating a public transit system due to the perceived cost of both. However, the amount Innisfil spent subsidizing Uber rides has already exceeded the amount they estimated it would cost to create a public transit system. Experts question the partnership, citing environmental and economic problems.

Statistica published the daily ridership of ride-hailing operators worldwide. The results are shown in a graph, visually comparing the ridership of Didi, Uber, Grab, and Lyft.

App-based companies will be required to treat workers as employees after a new California bill was approved by legislators. The bill provides increased protections for workers, but threatens the profits of gig economy companies who count on inexpensive independent labor.

Didi, a ride-hailing company in China, lost $1.6 billion in 2018 and is facing a multitude of challenges that will make reducing losses difficult in the upcoming years.

Lyft announces that 2019 should be its peak loss year. Partnership with Waymo self-driving vehicles may help drive down losses next year.

In an effort to reduce personal vehicle usage and its carbon footprint Minneapolis has launched new “mobility hubs” where multiple modes of low- or no-carbon transportation are available in one convenient place.

With the global move towards cashless transactions, many lawmakers have proposed legislation requiring stores and restaurants to accept cash payments due to equitable access and cybersecurity concerns.

Lyft is turning their focus to profitability rather than growth. The company claims that operating profitability is within its sights for 2021. This change may be a reaction to growing skepticism of companies like Uber, Lyft and WeWork after previously high valuations by private investors.

Uber's business model of focusing on growth over profits may be beginning to unravel. They are experiencing slowing growth, which financial experts explain is a problem when there are also no profits.

Uber was banned from London in 2019 due to concerns about customer safety after it was discovered that the Uber app let drivers fake their identity in thousands of rides. Pressure to create more safety regulations for ride-hailing companies makes them more vulnerable to increased costs. As these companies regularly operate at a loss, new regulations could put them at higher risk for financial trouble. Regulators have been unapologetic, saying they must prioritize public safety.

This website is a resource for consumer habits and economic trends in the restaurant industry in the U.S.

This report discusses 761 walkable urban places in the United States' 30 largest metropolitan areas and their impact on social equity and educational attainment, and their economic impact on office, retail, and housing land uses.

This article describes thirty three of New York City's neighborhoods, detailing the character and brief history of each one.

Automation of personal and transit vehicles will change the vehicles themselves, but also the right-of-way that governs their use. These changes bring an opportunity to improve transit systems. High capacity transit must become a more attractive mode of transit in order to remain competitive with personal and shared vehicles.

Cities around the world are beginning to prioritize people over vehicles by closing major streets to traffic and opening them up to pedestrians, cyclists, public transit.

Food delivery has become increasingly popular in China and is generating millions of tons of food packaging waste. Through the use of food delivery apps, ordering food online has become cheap and convenient.

The City of Houston removed its minimum parking requirements for property owners in east downtown and part of Midtown. Developers in those neighborhoods will now be able to decide how much parking is needed for businesses and residences.

Persistent demand for trucks and SUVs has caused prices to rise while Tesla’s price reductions have caused electric vehicles to become less expensive.

Electric vehicles only make up a small percentage of the U.S.’s car fleet, however they are becoming more affordable.

TNCs provide on-demand mobility service that either complements or competes with transit services. This article studies how TNCs influence changes in urban travel patterns as well as energy and environmental implications.

As parking demand declines, some developers and designers are thinking about the long term uses of parking garages and designing them to be able to adapt to changing future land use needs.

An increasing number of architects, developers, and engineers are designing new parking garages that can be converted into other uses in the future if needed.

Recent research on autonomous vehicles (AV) has shown a substantive dive into the technical aspects of AVs, but our understanding of the secondary effects of AVs is minimal in comparison (Glancy, 2015; Mitteregger, Soteropoulos, Bröthaler, & Dorner, 2019; Terry & Bachmann, 2019). This article offers a look at how automation of one of the cornerstones of many municipal government—solid waste collection—could be altered with the advent of AVs.

The growth of ride-hailing services has led to more traffic and less transit use in the United States, contrary to predictions that suggested the opposite would happen when transportation network companies first started becoming popular. Some data shows that household vehicle ownership increased in cities where Uber and Lyft are most heavily used, while there is also a growing number of urban households that own zero or few cars. The article analyzes this data to determine whether Americans own fewer cars, and discusses how vehicle ownership relates to population growth in several cities.

One-day and same-day deliveries are causing companies to need warehouse space closer to the dense urban areas they are serving. However, this land is scarce, expensive and involves a long development process.

Amazon’s shipping network has been increasing rapidly over the past decade which has led to severe working conditions for their thousands of employees around the world, especially during events like “Prime Day.”

With the rise of e-commerce, Americans are demanding more deliveries. However, with declining warehouse availability, congested streets and limited curb access, the U.S.’s infrastructure may not be able to handle the increasing demand.

INRIX created a global traffic scorecard that analyzes congestion and mobility trends in 200 cities, across 38 countries. They created a cross-national ranking and analysis that provides insights for drivers and policymakers to help them make decisions based on big data.

“Retailers and logistics firms are establishing warehouses closer to large urban centers to keep up with rising consumer demand for faster delivery of products ordered online.”

Despite national averages of shrinking transit ridership, seven United States cities have seen increased ridership. These cities have seen growth because of their efforts to improve or expand their bus services.

“Using the number of square feet leased in similar center types, data shows a cyclic shift from more traditional tenants – such as apparel – to necessity-based and experiential tenants.”

This article studies how emerging “smart mobility” systems will affect equity issues in Portland, Oregon. It suggests that affordable and improved public transit, ridesharing and active transportation could address many transportation challenges.

Autonomous vehicles are on their way to becoming the next leap in technological advancement. Sensor technology, computing capacity, and artificial intelligence are some of the main technologies that need major development to make autonomous vehicles feasible to adopt on a large scale.

2019 saw a record number of retail store closings, however the actual retail square footage was not proportionally impacted. This emerging trend is due to smaller tenants opening more stores and retailers shedding space in order to improve sales productivity.

The impacts of e-commerce and changing consumer behaviors have caused brick and mortar retailers to shift their business models and reduce store square footage.

Traditionally massive big box store retailers like Target and Dollar General are opening smaller versions of their stores in urban areas and college campuses to bring in new customers that were previously too far away from their bigger suburban stores.

This report discusses the statistical findings on fatal crashes due to distracted driving in 2017. The report relays data on different age groups and discusses types of distraction, such as cell phone usage.

Robin Chase, co-founder and former CEO of Zipcar and cofounder of NUMO, discusses the misconceptions around Mobility as a Service and its potentials for public benefit.

A smaller, “planning studio” style Ikea store is opening in Manhattan. This downtown NYC version acts solely as a showroom, without the warehouse of build-it-yourself products.

“This study investigates neighborhood scale net migration of young adults in the top 20 urbanized areas (UAs) in the United States between 1980 and 2010.”

“Fehr & Peers was engaged by Lyft and Uber to determine their combined Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) in six metropolitan regions in September 2018 and compare that value to approximate total VMT in each area for the same period.”

This article provides a complete list of all stores planning to close in 2019.

“This research aimed to look at the future of mobility and MaaS from a perspective of society, to look not only at the challenges to enabling a MaaS ecosystem but the potential direct and indirect effects on the wider transport system and city.”

As people are relying more on ride-hailing services instead of driving themselves, cities are seeing a reduction in parking demand.

“New York City will be the first city in the US to charge motorists extra to enter the busiest areas, after the state agreed to a congestion pricing plan as part of its fiscal year 2020 budget.”

In New York City, conflict has erupted between private ride-hailing services and neutral third-party mobility platforms battling for bikeshare access. Companies like Lyft and Mobility as a Service (MaaS) providers such as Transit both want to remove the friction of switching in between modes for commuters, however the ride-sharing companies want to build brand loyalty while third-party MaaS platforms want to offer access to all mobility options available.

The NUMO New Mobility Atlas visualizes the rapid proliferation of new mobility, including micromobility, around the world. Developed in partnership with Populus, Grin and MaaS Latam, the Atlas uses open data to track which shared transportation options—currently dockless scooters, bicycles and mopeds—are available in cities.

This is the 2019 Urbanism Next Conference Program.

The transportation sector accounts for the largest portion of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to all other sectors, and GHGs are once again on the rise. At the same time, new mobility technologies are being introduced and fully autonomous vehicles (AVs) are anticipated to be deployed, at least to varying extents, within 5-10 years. (Waymo, Google’s self-driving project, is already operating a limited robotaxi service in Phoenix, AZ with a fleet of AVs.) AVs have the potential to improve safety, reduce congestion, and increase mobility— but they could also increase congestion, increase vehicle miles/ kilometers traveled (VMT/VKT), and erode transit, walk, and bike mode share, exacerbating existing conditions. The cities of Portland, OR; Seattle, WA; and Vancouver, BC have adopted climate action plans with the goal of dramatically reducing GHG emissions. This policy brief is intended to help the three cities better understand how AVs may help or hinder them in achieving their goals, and what recommended actions to take at this critical moment in time.

This purpose of this report is to help the cities of Gresham, Oregon and Eugene, Oregon understand the potential impacts of new mobility technologies – with an emphasis on autonomous vehicles (AVs) – and prepare a policy response. While Gresham and Eugene are case studies, it provides communities of all sizes information on how new mobility services could impact their communities and what they can do about it, from broad strategies to specific policy responses. While this work focuses on the various new mobility and goods delivery services that currently exist, the framework that is discussed here is also applicable to emerging technologies that haven’t yet been introduced, such as AVs.

The following key findings are based on the World Population Prospects 2019: Highlights, which presents the latest round of global population estimates and projections by the United Nations.

This document outlines all the permit requirements for vendors participating in Portland's 2019 E-Scooter Pilot. This set of requirements is largely based on the 2018 E-Scooter Pilot requirements but features more comprehensive requirements related to data sharing and the longevity of the vehicles.

This report created by Toole Design and commissioned by the City of Spokane provides analysis of a micromobility pilot launched in 2018. Toole Design considered survey results, field evaluation, and data reports when forming their recommendation for the city.

"This document describes the permit process for the City of Fremont’s Shared Active Transportation pilot program. Shared active transportation (SAT) programs consist of bicycles, electric bicycles, and/or motorized scooters (“SAT vehicles” or “devices”) that are deployed in the public right of way for use by members, subscribers, customers, or the general public. This document describes program terms and conditions, required application contents, and the process and timeline for review of applications. The objective of this permit process is to facilitate the creation of shared active transportation programs and the realization of their potential benefits, while avoiding potential negative impacts of such programs on the health, safety, and welfare of the general public."

The City of Milwaukee's Department of Public Works launched an e-scooter pilot program in 2019. This document outlines the requirements for participation in the pilot as well as the goals for the pilot.

This document contains the City of Milwaukee's "terms and conditions" for participation in their Dockless Bicycle Share Pilot Study. The City introduces goals for their pilot as well as their terms for participation which include insurance requirements, fees, data sharing, and fleet requirements.

The City of Baltimore launched a six-month dockless mobility pilot program on August 15, 2018. After evaluating trip data, community surveys, and injury reports, city planners recommended in this report that the City of Baltimore permanently integrates dockless bicycles and e-scooters into its transportation network.

The City of El Paso, Texas adopted a set of Shared Use Mobility Device Rules and Regulation on May 1, 2019. Included in the rules and regulations document are permit requirements for participating in a pilot program.

Using public survey results and data provided by micromobility vendors, the City of Denver's Public Works Department created this evaluation report roughly six months after the pilot began.

"This document provides an evaluation of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s (SFMTA’s) Powered Scooter Share Pilot Program (Pilot) at the mid-point of the 12-month pilot period per the August 28, 2019 Pilot Powered Scooter Share Permit Program Policy Directive."

This report contains findings from all of the community engagement the City of San Antonio conducted during its six-month Dockless Vehicle Pilot Program which began on October 19, 2018.

These are the permit requirements for the Chicago E-Scooter Share Pilot Program, which ran from June 15, 2019 to October 15, 2019.

Chicago launched their first dockless bikeshare pilot on May 1, 2018. The program ended on November 1, 2018. This report outlines the City's goals for the pilot as well as survey results and trip data collected during the pilot period.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) report provides a preliminary analysis of an E-Scooter Pilot Program conducted in Portland, Oregon, from July 2018 through November of the same year. The report includes ridership data, public perception and concerns, areas for improvement, and proposed next steps for implementing e-scooters in Portland.

This report summarizes the user survey findings during the half-way point of a year-long microtransit pilot project in West Sacramento, California. A final evaluation of the pilot will be published by the Transportation Sustainability Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley in 2019.

In partnership with Via, Marin County Transit District (Marin Transit) launched a microtransit pilot program in May 2018. This report created by Marin Transit contains lots of insights into the design and outcome of the pilot project. In particular, the survey results and data analysis in the report is very colorful.

The Mcity driverless shuttle began operating on the University of Michigan's campus in June 2018. This report focuses on how the researchers collected data and designed the project in order to achieve the project goals of leaning how people react to riding in the shuttles and a how road users interact with the driverless shuttles.

This report evaluates the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's "The RIDE" pilot project. The pilot project, which is still in operation today, is an example of a public-private partnership, where the MBTA subsidizes ADA paratransit rides provided by Uber, Lyft, and Curb their traditional ADA paratransit customers. The analysis and modeling in the report is based off of data provided by the MBTA stretching from the pilot's start date in October 2016 through March 2018.

"The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), in Pinellas County, FL, was the first transit agency in the US to sign a service provision agreement with a transportation network company (TNC) to offer joint first/last-mile service subsidized by public dollars. PSTA’s “Direct Connect” pilot allows riders to get to and from bus stops in a taxi, wheelchair-accessible vehicle (WAV), or Uber TNC vehicle at a subsidized rate. PSTA’s overall experience developing, managing, and adapting the Direct Connect pilot provides insight into what transit agencies can expect when working with on-demand service providers. While operating on a larger scale, in a denser environment, or with a different ridership base may have offered different lessons in implementation, the Direct Connect pilot’s service design shows what is necessary for a successful launch of a pilot program: good data and transparency from all parties, as well as concrete plans for outreach and evaluation."

This report categorizes and summarizes efforts that are already underway in cities across the world to rethink curb management, to outline the key takeaways from the one-day workshop that involved city staff from Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, and to identify major research gaps.

BMW’s car-sharing service abruptly ceased operation Wednesday, ending a mobility program that included 1,000 free-floating vehicles used by more than 100,000 members across Seattle and Portland.

Bird and Scoot announced that Bird is acquiring Scoot, the San Francisco-based electric vehicle pioneer. The acquisition is a strategic decision from two like-minded companies.

Lime has joined rival Bird in establishing a safety advisory board tasked with helping the e-scooter industry shape local regulations—and shake its risky reputation.

Motion sickness is a serious consideration on any car trip where you’re not driving. So what are we supposed to do in self-driving vehicles? Researchers are finally looking into this question with an experiment designed to see just what makes people like us so sick.