Blog Post

City Tech Collaborative Launches Advanced Mobility Initiative Roadmap

City Tech Collaborative • Oct 10, 2019

Multiyear Plan Will Drive Technology Innovations to Advance Urban Mobility

Chicago —Following the launch of the Advanced Mobility Initiative in April 2019, City Tech Collaborative has developed a first-of-its-kind roadmap to drive urban mobility innovation. Adding to a growing portfolio of solutions to make cities work better for their residents, the Advanced Mobility Initiative will create a more seamless and frictionless transportation system with increased accessibility and reach. Details on the Advanced Mobility Initiative launch are available at www.CityTech.org ( link to press release).

The cost of neglecting mobility trends is high. City Tech partner research shows that without a targeted effort to mitigate population changes, emerging technologies, and shifting transit trends, by 2030 Chicago residents can expect 25% more passenger miles traveled, a 50% decline in commutes using mass transit, a 16% increase in commute time, and a 15% increase in congestion from today (source: McKinsey & Company).

CREATING A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH
The recent eruption of new urban transportation modes, business models, and technologies are disrupting cities’ mobility systems. Evolving resident needs and expectations – coupled with dramatic changes in e-commerce and logistics – are driving physical, social, and economic changes in the ways people and goods move around our cities.

Building upon the momentum from Chicago’s past and current mobility priorities and incorporating background research from McKinsey & Company, global best practices, and input from strategic partners, the Advanced Mobility Initiative roadmaptakes a comprehensive, collaborative approach to integrate policy and technology innovations to address complex urban challenges. The flexible multiyear plan outlines six impact areas of urban mobility:


  • Multimodal Connectivity: Support seamless consumer mobility across multimodal ecosystems;
  • Public Transit Access: Improve efficiency and lower commute times by promoting public transit and high capacity modes;
  • Freight: Enable the efficiency delivery of goods to urban areas;
  • Smart Infrastructure Management: Enable seamless mobility through connected/data-driven infrastructure;
  • Electric Mobility: Meet sustainability goals by advancing private/public electric mobility;
  • AV/Drone Adoption: Deploy pilots to improve safety and infrastructure readiness.

Over three years, the Advanced Mobility Initiative team will work towards a more seamless and frictionless transportation system with increased accessibility and reach for city residents.

Advanced Mobility Initiative Impact Areas

Following the roadmap, City Tech and partners will scope and test solutions based on policy, market, and product trends, as well as produce thought leadership on future mobility challenges and opportunities. City Tech will develop solutions with a global lens, ensuring that findings are applicable and scalable to other cities. Lucette Demets, Head of Urban at London & Partners, stated, “Cities are unique, but we all face similar challenges that can be addressed more effectively through collaborative action and innovation. London and Chicago already have a long established partnership, and we look forward to working with City Tech and other partners on urban mobility challenges.”

The Initiative includes stakeholders with expertise in transit customer experience and accessibility. According to Judith Crawford, Chief Executive Officer at National Express Transit Corporation, “Public and private transit systems - especially those with high capacity - serve a wide variety of people each day. As an organization at the heart of paratransit and accessibility, National Express is committed to working with City Tech and partner organizations to make journeys for all transit riders as seamless as possible.”

Anthony Shannon, Co-Founder and CEO of MUVE, Inc. added, ‘’MUVE stands for My Universal Vision for Everyone - and stands for equality, universal design & accessibility for all when it comes to mobility options. We’re more than excited to see how we will make our world and communities more inclusive for the one billion people living with disabilities worldwide through our partnership with The City Tech Collaborative.’’

In addition, City Tech will engage residents directly using their Civic User Testing Group (CUTgroup) for feedback and to ensure solutions are equitable.

PREVENTING THE WORST, IMAGINING THE BEST
Global thought leader McKinsey & Company led extensive research on Chicago’s urban mobility landscape, major trends, and how combined partner activities can achieve a greater impact for Chicago’s future. They found that increased population and density, coupled with economic centers shifting to downtown, will stress our current transit systems. Without guided adoption and intervention – like a coordinated effort such as the Advanced Mobility Initiative – Chicago residents will experience increased congestion, longer travel times, and less access equity. Collaboration and targeted solutions are necessary to maintain and improve the current state of mobility in Chicago.

Based on this research and coupled with global trends, an emphasis on high capacity public transit is key to managing congestion and travel times. City Tech has partnered with the University of Illinois at Chicago Innovation Center to explore opportunities to help residents prioritize high capacity transit systems as part of their journeys, lending to the Advanced Mobility Initiative’s work. City Tech has previously addressed urban congestion on the CTA’s Red Line by issuing Game Night Alerts during Cubs games. Most recently, City Tech completed a pilot with HERE Technologies, Accenture, UPS, and Microsoft to understand how delivery services impact traffic congestion and disrupt supply chain.

CONNECTING DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURES
The Advanced Mobility Initiative recognizes that a connected physical infrastructure is necessary to efficiently manage the changing landscape of our cities, and a supporting digital infrastructure must be developed in parallel.

“Physical spaces – like parking garages – hold infinite potential to be an asset to cities beyond their current use,” said Rick West, CEO of Millennium Garages. “Parking garages may become transportation hubs and critical links within multimodal journeys, and we are actively seeking ways to demonstrate new technology-enabled solutions to keep the parking industry relevant and efficient.”

In addition to traditional transportation infrastructure, connectivity is increasingly vital to support communications among vehicles, the built environment, riders, and service providers. “5G technology is key to unlocking advanced mobility initiatives and applications,” added Mike Smith, VP General Manager of Crown Castle. “Continued investment in the foundational communications infrastructure that enables the 5G network will create more opportunity for innovation across Chicago. We’re proud to support those efforts.”

In the coming weeks, City Tech will convene industry leaders through workshops and other events to understand and develop solutions to future mobility issues. Along with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), City Tech will launch a Future Street Typologies Design Studio later this year to explore how cities will accommodate the influx of new vehicles, technology, networks, and automation. Chris Hall, SOM’s Urban Strategy Leader stated, “Technology is dramatically changing the way we use our infrastructure. Technologists and urban designers must engage so we can shape the future city together.”

ENGAGING INDUSTRY LEADERS
Founding members of the Advanced Mobility Initiative include Bosch , HERE Technologies and Microsoft . These companies – joined by other mobility and technology industry leaders – are spearheading the effort.

Advanced Mobility Initiative industry leads include Millennium Garages , National Express Group , AECOM , Crown Castle , and Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill , which will combine capabilities, technology, and market reach to address evolving mobility challenges and market opportunities. McKinsey & Company serves as the Strategy and Insights Partner, providing background research and guidance on mobility trends.

Additional support will come through strategic partnerships with universities, startups and civic institutions, including Argonne National Laboratory’s Center for Transportation Research , the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning , the City of Chicago , CityBase Inc . , the Illinois Autonomous Vehicles Association , Innova EV , London and Partners , the Metropolitan Planning Council , MobilityE3 , MUVE Inc. , Northwestern University’s Transportation Center , project44 , the Shared Use Mobility Center , SpotHero , and Via Transportation .

For more information about City Tech’s Advanced Mobility Initiative, contact us at Collaborate@CityTech.org.

Click here to download press release (PDF).

Click here to download summary of the Advanced Mobility Initiative Roadmap (PDF).


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About City Tech Collaborative (City Tech):

City Tech reinvents cities. We convene cross-sector leaders to tackle urban problems that are too big for any one group to solve on its own. We remake essential city services and infrastructure using advanced technology and then expand these solutions to other cities. With our partners, we have diverted rainwater from overloaded sewer systems, eased subway congestion during large events, and launched a digital directory of public health services. Chicago is our proving ground and every city is a potential partner. Visit www.CityTech.org for more information and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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