One of the best ways for transportation planners to understand the strengths and weaknesses of a public transit system is to experience it for themselves. That’s one reason why I like to ride public transportation wherever I go. On a…
In August 2011 at my dining room table, the Foursquare ITP team – myself, Shana Johnson, David Miller, Gary Byala, and two other then-current employees – crafted Foursquare ITP’s core values. These values, which supported us as we grew from…
Thanks to a plethora of easy-to-use tools and experts who invest time in exploring them, good data viz practice is now an emphasis when communicating with expert and non-expert audiences alike. At Foursquare ITP, we do a lot of both:…
The last eleven months working on the goDCgo program has been a combination of learning, developing, and putting plans into action. With an entirely new team onboard we had to hit the ground running to quickly understand the needs of…
These are heady times in the transportation sector. In the past decade we’ve seen the rise of third generation bikeshare systems; private dockless bike share; the race to develop electric, connected and automated vehicles (CAVs); demographic and lifestyle preference changes;…
Working at Foursquare ITP has given me the opportunity to work with people who are extremely knowledgeable and passionate about bikeshare. Since Capital Bikeshare arrived in my hometown, Washington, D.C., in 2010, I have been excited to both use the…
Transportation planning is all about preparing for the future. It’s not uncommon for planners to design rail lines that will not break ground for 40 years, or to create bus routes that won’t exist for 20 years. As we focus…
Transportation as a System – A Planner’s View As transportation planners, it’s our job to think deeply, on a daily basis, about transportation as a system that moves people where they need to go, as quickly, safely, and efficiently as…
Transit maps are hot right now – a phrase that I never expected to write. Rapid transit simulation games like Mini Metro win awards for “Excellence in Visual Art” and “Excellence in Design.”[1] Artists now create fantasy metro maps for…
Jamie started working at Foursquare ITP as a Transportation Planner in July after spending a month in Japan and Korea. Anyone who has been to East Asia will tell you the public transit is far superior to that in the…
From Plessy v. Ferguson to the Montgomery bus boycotts and beyond, public transportation in the U.S. has a long relationship with civil rights; Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 builds on this relationship by establishing a legal connection. How do civil rights and public transportation continue to work together today?
Transit Vision Plans can and should be actionable blueprints for transforming the landscape of a city or region through innovative planning to help define an actionable vision. Agencies are no longer interested in unattainable transit plans that lay down every…
