Transforming Cities with Transit

In rapidly urbanizing and motorizing cities of the world, massive investments are being made in high-capacity transit systems to fend off worsening traffic congestion. Most investments have been guided by engineering principles, focused on improving mobility but failing to capitalize on opportunities to reshape the growth of cities in more sustainable urban formats. Cervero in this lecture argues that transit stations can become viable hubs of compact, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly development, however a number of prerequisites are essential for this occur, such as distinguishing roles of stations as logistical versus place-making nodes.Robert Cervero is the Freisen Chair of Urban Studies and Professor of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley, where he also directs the Institute of Urban and Regional Development (IURD) and the University of California Transportation Center (UCTC). Professor Cervero’s research centers on the nexus between urban transportation and land-use systems. He has authored or co-authored six books, more than 50 research monographs, and over 200 journal articles in these areas, including the just released book, Transforming Cities with Transit (2013, World Bank). Professor Cervero currently chairs the International Association of Urban Environments and the National Advisory Committee of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Active Living Research Program. He also serves on the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and is a contributing author to the 5th IPCC assessment. He is a contributing author to UN-Habitat’s 2013 Global Report on Sustainable Mobility.