Februrary 23 Conference, "Sustainable Mobility & Cities: Marrying Technology and Policy" in Downtown Berkeley. Registration deadline: February 9.
It is the third and final conference in the series, Sustainable Economic Development Strategies in Lean Fiscal Times. It is organized by the University of California Transportation Center and sponsored by the Ted and Doris Lee Fund at the College of Environmental Design and the Boalt School of Law of UC Berkeley, managed by the Institute of Urban & Regional Development.
The conference focuses on key policy debates and opportunities for using technology to improve our transportation system and cities.
Of note, the urban transport sector's environmental footprint is huge and growing – around a third of energy consumption and CO2 emissions in U.S. cities is in the transport sector. The debate on how to shrink the sector's footprint has splintered into two camps: those arguing for technological solutions (e.g., clean-fuel vehicles; smart cars) and those contending that policies (e.g., congestion pricing) and land-use management (e.g., TOD) that reduce the demand for car travel offer considerable, if not more, promise.
The debate and rhetoric has become fractious and at times divisive. In modeling how to comply with AB32, for example, CARB (California Air Resources Board) estimates that some 90% of the targeted CO2 emission reductions will come from technological advances and a much smaller share (5% or so) might come from land-use initiatives like TOD. Many smart-growth policy advocates dispute this.
The technology versus policy debate could very well be a false dichotomy. Is it possible that the two might effectively work together in tandem, promoting cross-purposes? Need the two points-of-view always be at loggerheads? Might there be synergies/win-win outcomes associated with aggressively pursuing the two strategies in tandem.
Space at the Brower Center is very limited, so please register early! Deadline is February 9. Standard registration: $75. Government/Non-profit: $50. UC Berkeley/LBNL students, faculty and staff: free, but you must register. If you have any questions, please contact Andreanna Tzortzis of UCTC, atzortzis13@gmail.com.
