Mobility Lab Express
          November 1, 2012 - Issue 1
Welcome to Mobility Lab ExpressMobility Lab is a research-and-development initiative for "mobility management." Based in Arlington, Virginia - which has one of the largest mobility-management programs in the U.S. and removes 45,000 car trips from the county's roads each work day - Mobility Lab seeks solutions, stories, and partnerships worldwide. 
 
Mobility management - helping people who drive alone with more healthy and efficient options like transit, ridesharing, bicycling, and walking, as well as working from home - can work anywhere. Mobility Lab seeks to shape innovative best practices and document results. This month's Mobility Lab Express is focused on how transportation options can lead to economic prosperity, especially when integrated with intelligent land use and design.

We hope Mobility Lab Express, our events, and the research and case studies at MobilityLab.org will be your "go-to" resources. In fact, we invite you to share your stories of how mobility improvements have been made in your communities. We'll publish your feedback, and together we'll strengthen the conversation on mobility for all!

In This Issue
Options Needed as Transport Networks Recover from Sandy
Real-Estate Market Shifts to Walkable
Building "Place is Key to Economic Prosperity
Washington DC Region Investing in "Dozens of Downtowns"
Business Leaders Keep Crystal City Rolling
Events: LEED, Hack Day, and TransportationCamp
Quick Links
Stat of the Month

Home values in the Washington DC region are now 71 percent higher in walkable areas than drive-alone suburbs.


More About Mobility Lab
Register for Our LEED/Transportation Symposium
LEED sign
Mobility Lab's LEED/Transportation Symposium is set for November 29 at George Mason University in Arlington. It will provide developers with transportation-related strategies that will help them achieve the coveted LEED status for their buildings. Arlington Transportation Partners and Arlington Economic Development are co-hosting the symposium.

 

Please register to attend.

Mobility Highlights From Around the Web
Low income for newsletter

7 Disadvantages to Telecommuting - Online Business Degree  




 

Options Needed as Transport Networks Recover From Sandy
NYC subway

 

In addition to the tremendous human suffering in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, the estimate of damages to the transportation infrastructure of New York City alone could tally up to $10 billion, with another $40 billion in losses over the four weeks or so it's expected to take to get the system fully operating again.

 

During the time that the subway is recovering, people and businesses will need to rely as much as possible on the range of other options that are available, including telework, bus transit, carpooling, walking, and biking. 

 

Read more about it here.  Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter

 

Real-Estate Market Shifts to Walkable
WalkUPs

 

There is a game-changing shift underway in the real-estate market nationwide. Chris Leinberger of the Brookings Institution and others have documented the success of radically different approaches to design, planning, financing, and construction. In the new walkable (rather than drivable) model, transportation costs are typically much lower because people don't need to take as many car trips. This can offset the extra cost of buying real estate in walkable areas.

 

Read more about it here.  Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter

 

Building "Place" is Key to Economic Prosperity
Glendenning

Community leaders nationwide should be aware that "place" is their most valuable asset. The most effective way to maintain or build economic prosperity is to protect the character, uniqueness, and history of our towns. How they handle transportation is critical to success.

 

This is the message from Parris Glendenning, a board member of Smart Growth America and former Maryland governor.


 
Washington DC Region Investing in "Dozens of Downtowns"
Activity Centers
The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) has a visionary plan called Region Forward. Mobility Lab has recently signed on as a partner to help figure out how 136 communities designated as "activity centers" can succeed and thrive. 

Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter

Business Leaders Keep Crystal City Rolling with the Times and Relevant
Crystal City
We highlight an example of how one of Arlington County's urban villages has made key investments to reshape itself as a dynamic, successful "activity center," even in light of dramatic government job relocations.

Crystal City is a model of how a greenfield transformed itself into a shopping mecca where people love to live, work, and play.


Register for Transit Screens Hack Day, Set for November 10
Mobility Lab's next Hack Day will be an opportunity for DC area designers and technologists to work on creating real-time transit information screens. Area transportation experts will also attend to help explore some of the best opportunities for uses of such screens, and attendees will learn to turn their own devices into personal transit screens. The event will be held November 10 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Mobility Lab near the Rosslyn Metro. Register here.

Registration is Now Open for 2nd Annual TransportationCamp DC, Slated for January 12
TransportationCamp DC The 2nd Annual TransportationCamp Washington DC will be Saturday, January 12, 2013, the day before the start of the Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Meeting. The "unconference" brings together transportation professionals, technologists, and others interested in the intersection of transportation and technology. Mobility Lab's co-hosts for the event include the Transportation Research BoardOpen Plans, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and Young Professionals in Transportation. The event will be at George Mason University. Cost is $20. Register now, as the event is filling up fast.

 

Mobility Lab's Partner Spotlight
ACT logo
One of Mobility Lab's key partners is the Association for Commuter Transportation. ACT is an international trade association that supports mobility management professionals and organizations in their efforts to reduce traffic congestion, conserve energy, and improve air quality.
 

ACT offers its members professional development and networking through national and regional conferences, webinars, and chapter and council activities. The U.S. is divided into 12 chapters, each of which publishes a newsletter, holds regional meetings and netconferences, conducts seminars and workshops for professional development, and keeps members up-to-date on state and local issues affecting the "transportation demand management" (TDM) industry. ACT also is the primary advocacy organization for mobility management on Capitol Hill.

 

Mobility Lab looks forward to continued close collaboration with ACT in the promotion and development of the mobility management industry.

 

Please Send Us Your Feedback
Thanks again for subscribing to our new Mobility Lab Express. We would appreciate feedback from you on transportation-mobility issues in your communities, candidate organizations for the "partner spotlight," and anything else you think should appear in future editions. Simply respond to this email or click here with any thoughts or suggestions. 

And check out much more at mobilitylab.org, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

 

Here's to transportation options that are cool, healthy, fun, and efficient,
Paul Mackie, Director of Communications for Mobility Lab