May 18, 2017

Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Mobilities Research and Policy Mimi Sheller, PhD, will be the opening keynote speaker at the GVF Communities in Motion Movimento Forum on May 22nd at The Liberty View at Independence Visitor Center, Philadelphia. Communities in Motion is a GVF Transport Management Association foundation whose mission is to build awareness and support for efficient and sustainable transportation in southeastern Pennsylvania through education and community outreach. Participants will include the Philadelphia Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the Greater Philadelphia Economy League, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, as well as a number of regional universities and companies.

Sheller will be speaking on the challenges and opportunities surrounding mobility and transportation innovation in Philadelphia and Southeastern Pennsylvania, and what key values drive our plans and investments. Challenges include population growth and aging, climate change, congestion, and social inequality in transport access and risk. Opportunities revolve around new information and communication technologies for improving mobility systems, transport planning, and new mobility enterprises.

Sheller argues that "While new solutions and innovations have the capacity to disrupt the current transportation mix, these disruptions are by no means inherently conducive to sustainable, livable, economically vital communities, and socially equitable and fair communities. The onus is on us to assess and ensure these benefits through the technologies and systems we choose to design and create and implement. We need regional and urban planning processes to bring all the stakeholders together, communicate across sectors, and purposefully build the new mobility future."