Here’s some of our recently recorded conversations and presentations

2021 Remarkable Women in Transportation

Our co-founder Julia was named one of the Remarkable Women in Transportation by the Transformative Urban Mobilty Initiative (TUMI) and Women Mobilize Women. The annual list that illuminates the work of “outstanding female experts who have contributed to sustainable mobility solutions.”

International Day of Women and Girls in Science

Our co-founder Andrea was named one of Latin America’s important female figures working in transportation by the Inter-American Development Bank (Banco Interamericano de Desarollo) in celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

Are Global South Cities the Future of Transport?

Benjie moderates our panel on informal transportation at CoMotion LA 2020 Live. Watch the video or read our takeways below. (1 hour and 2 minutes.)

The takeaways from the panel

We share some key takeaways from our panel at last month’s CoMotion LA Live.

The panel discussion is the first of many dialogues that the Global Partnership for Informal Transportation will facilitate to elevate the narrative regarding informal transportation.

Excerpts:

Sonal Shah: “In cities, the shared rickshaws are used for 24% of all trips, 91% of all public transport trips, and 43% of all motorized trips. So for us to think that we will introduce a bus service and that suddenly all of these trips will just shift is a sort of misnomer.”

Deepa Shekar: “They are seen as criminals, dirty, not an asset to the city, but actually, without the bodaboda industry, people would not be able to get to work.”

Devin Devries: “People forget that informal transport is something that has stepped in in the absence of the state being able to provide the subsidized and formal services to meet the needs of the entire population, in particular peri urban areas that are transport deserts.”

Nadjeli Babinet: “We changed the concept of ‘informal mototaxi’ to ‘neighborhood mobility’. As government, innovation means changing the way we approach this mobility.”

30 Minutes with Carol Coletta

Julia interviews Carol Coletta on pivoting to patience and amplifying change. Carole is part of our Brain Trust and heads the Memphis River Parks Partnership.

Excerpt:

Julia: The Memphis River Parks Partnerships aims to “trigger the transformative power of the river.” I love how this is framed. How do you harness this transformative power?

Carole: Memphis has been trying to figure out how to connect to its river for 100 years. In Memphis, the Mississippi River is at its widest and wildest. The river rises and falls 50 feet a year. Memphis is also built on a high bluff, so the high bluff and rise and fall prevented Memphis from getting close to its river, but now we’re making great strides.

When I say the transformative power of the river, I think part of it is providing this new progressive front door to the city. Part of it is just connecting the city to the river and unleashing its economic and social value. The other part for me that is core to what we are doing is designing and managing the park as a place where people across the income spectrum can share the same space at the same time. That is very difficult to do. It’s very hard to find those places in America.

The park we are about to undertake is six blocks from the poorest zip code in Tennessee. So everything we do we look at through the lens of — are we able to attract people across the income, age, and race spectrums to this place at the same time? I believe that is the single most transformative thing we can do, because I believe democracy depends on it.

On the Edge about Informal transportation and inclusion

Benjie talks to Roland Harwood on the On The Edge Podcast about inclusion, informal transportation, and the ability to get around a city (mobility) should be a right.

Rappler Talk: Julia Nebrija on more parks, green spaces during pandemic

Julia talks to Rappler’s Pia Ranada Robles on why public parks and green spaces should be a part of a ‘better normal’ as the Philippines (but really, any country or city) moves toward reopening the economy.

The Big Rethink on Makeshift Mobility, COVID-19, and Cashless Fare Collection

Benjie sits down with Greg Lindsay on the Big Rethink to discuss how informal transportation in the Global South has responded to the pandemic, and what lessons they offer for public transit and startups alike in the Global North.

Stupid Ambitious in Costa Rica

Andrea joins environmental journalist Jocelyn Timperley to talk about transportation and climate action in Costa Rica with Jeff Wood, host of the Talking Headways podcast. They chat about work that Andrea has been leading with Costa Rica’s climate action, from forest conservation to eco-tourism and the country’s transportation challenges and potential.

You can listen below, read a summary here, or read the full transcript.

Finding Joy in our Public Spaces

June 8, 2020

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson hosted Benjie and Barbara Swift for an online conversation about Finding Joy in our Public Spaces. The conversation reminded us of our fundamentally social nature and human need for connection and community. Public spaces are often where those needs are met; what will happen to them and our attitudes around them? Can we design an experience that feels safe and welcoming to everyone – at different levels of engagement and comfort? – watch the recording below and read a recap.