Past Events

MTI is proudly co-sponsored Mobility 21's 2021 Summit "Road to Recovery." Mobility 21 is a coalition that brings together public, business and community stakeholders to pursue regional solutions to the transportation challenges facing Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties. 

In this year's summit, speakers tackled such topics as:

• California's Global Ports & Supply Chains
• Carbon Neutrality
• Employees Commutes
• Transportation Advocacy
• Equity 
• Contractors
• Housing

The City of San Jose considered reducing the regulations it placed on parking to allow development to occur more easily. On August 27th, the City Council held a study session on this. What would these changes mean? Could they be beneficial for San Jose? How will they impact the next generation of San Joseans? Catalyze SV & Mineta Transportation Institute held a dynamic panel bringing together Professor C.J. Gabbe of Santa Clara University and his Environmental Studies and Sciences students.

*MTI was a proud co-sponsor to this informative event.

View Recording.

This webinar discussed how Twitter data can be used to understand and explain travel patterns in the relation between commuting and non-commuting trips. Local and regional planners struggle to keep up with rapid changes in mobility patterns, but researchers looked at whether geo-social network data can help. When comparing a robust data set of tweets from the Bay Area to US Census LODES data, researchers found that the data closely matched, and concluded that the common practice of employing LODES data to extrapolate to overall traffic demand is indeed justified. Regardless of trip purpose (e.g., shopping, regular recreational activities, dropping kids at school), the LODES data is an excellent predictor of overall road segment loads.

View Recording.

View Slides.

In recent years, curbspace has become more diverse and complex necessitating strategies for managing competition between multiple modes and types of users. This webinar featured policies, best practices, and lessons learned for managing curbspace in complex built environments and discussed recent changes in response to the global pandemic. Topics discussed include:

• Fees for access and use;
• Prioritizing access for public transportation, cyclists, pedestrians, older adults, youth, and people with disabilities;
• Geofencing to limit curb access; and
• Pricing; and other related strategies.

View Recording.

View Slides.

MTI was a proud partner of Lorin Eden Elementary of Hayward, CA for their annual STEAM Innovation Showcase, where students unveiled their sustainable transportation-related projects. After exploring three critical areas of transportation— active transportation, fuel sources, and new and emerging technology, these students had the opportunity to discuss their ideas with transportation professionals.

Featured speakers from: 
- California High Speed Rail and Fresno's Institute of Transportation

This webinar discussed how widespread autonomous vehicle use impact traffic law violations and current government revenue schematics. States and localities have the opportunity to rethink and replace current practices since these vehicles will likely commit fewer traffic offenses. Governments can begin to reallocate resources that are currently invested in writing these tickets, defending the charges, and pursuing the debts in addition to re-evaluating the considerable equity issues that autonomous vehicle adoption may further highlight. 
 

View Recording.

View Slides.

By now, we've all adjusted to Zoom meetings and online events, but are you utilizing technology's potential or was there a scramble to move everything digital with a "Phew! That'll do." attitude? In a survey by HubSpot, only 23% of companies were set up for remote work prior to COVID-19; 51% of companies weren't prepared for remote work at all and had to quickly pivot their in-person strategies. However, online events and in-person events were not created equal. This misunderstanding has led to day-long, butt-numbing virtual conferences, Zoom fatigue, and challenges maintaining team enthusiasm and participation. Sound familiar? With a few simple tips, you can learn the formula for effectively engaging your online community.

Webinar discussed:

• Understanding participant attention: online vs. in-person events
• Creating memorable and effective content
• Utilizing the right technology

View Recording.

As schools prepare to fully reopen, how can Safe Routes to School programs (SRTS) help prepare for the resurgence of children walking and rolling through busy intersections? MTI researchers analyzed the relationship between the presence of SRTS programs and the likelihood that children will travel to school by active modes. They also identified the potential to bolster existing SRTS programs by leveraging university student and city partnerships. Both of the research projects featured in this webinar dive into the racial and geographical demographics of the student population in areas with SRTS programs at different stages of implementation.

View Recording.

View Slides.

Autonomous and automated vehicles, which are both electric and shared—promise to reduce reliance on the personally-owned gasoline-powered car and have the potential to make our cities safer, cleaner, more inclusive, and more sustainable. Yet this vision can only be achieved with policy support at the city, state, and federal levels of government. Local policymakers specifically are uniquely positioned to harness these technological innovations.

Attendees learned how curb use and demand management; parking redesign; asset maintenance; right of way standardization; and cyclist and pedestrian-friendly projects can help cities meet emerging transportation demand more efficiently.

View Recording.

View Slides.

This webinar discussed the explored potential for ride-hailing services like Lyft and Uber to help meet the travel needs of older Californians. Using data from a survey of almost 3,000 Californians 55 and over, researchers analyzed how many older Californians have used ride-hailing, how they booked trips, what concerns they have about ride-hailing services, and their interest in potential new options for how to book and pay for trips.

View Recording.

View Slides.

WTS-SF Bay Area and the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) of San Jose State University hosted "Make the Connection: Next Stop Your Career." At this event, Bay Area university students studying transportation (all disciplines) were introduced to the many wonderful professional organizations in our region, including: 

• Women's Transportation Seminar (WTS)
• American Planning Association (APA) 
• American Public Works Association (APWA)
• Association of Environmental Professionals (AEP)
• Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO)
• Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)
• Latinos in Transit (LiT)
• Young Professionals in Transportation (YPT)

MTI proudly partnered with Silicon Valley Education Foundation for thier 10th annual College Day– a county-wide celebration that shows students that college is possible. This event featured a week's worth of workshops to promote college and career readiness for elementary, middle, and high school students. 

As part of their career exploration, students had the opprtunity to view two MTI videos on transportation careers 1) Transportation Careers: Moving More than People and 2) VTA/MTI Career Day.

Silicon Valley is committed to California’s goal of reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by 15% in the next three decades. To investigate local support for this initiative, MTI researchers—in collaboration with Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition (SVBC) and the Santa Clara Department of Public Health—surveyed 1,009 Santa Clara County residents, recruited via location-based targeted advertisements, about their travel behavior and attitudes. This webinar based on the report, Surveying Silicon Valley Cycling, Travel Behavior, and Travel Attitudes, discussed survey findings on a range of transportation modes (driving, public transportation, walking, and more), with an emphasis on cycling.

This webinar discussed the Caltrans-funded study investigating trends in the primary pavement materials’ unit price over time and developed guidelines for selecting unit price values for future maintenance and rehabilitation in life cycle cost analysis (LCCA). Researchers collected 20 years of California socio-economic data, including oil price, population, and other key variables to identify correlations with pavement materials’ unit price. Researchers predicted future values through time-series analysis (auto regressive integrated moving average: ARIMA) and used them to estimate future prices. Additionally, they collected unit price records of the primary pavement materials for the same time period and categorized them by project size. Using this data, researchers predicted future price values and then used a case study to compare the results with the prices in the current LCCA procedure.

View Recording.

View Slides. 

This research webinar covered research from Characteristics of Effective Metropolitan-Areawide Public Transit, which evaluates ten metropolitan areas in Australia, Canada, and Europe with highly effective regional transit. This research identified key traits that are correlated with high public transit usage, including:

• the “behind the scenes” or political and institutional characteristics;
• the customer-apparent transit service features; and
• funding and willingness to subsidize transit.

View Recording.

View Slides. 

The COVID-19 pandemic threatens every aspect of transportation funding in California. State revenues from federal, state, regional, and local taxes and fees are all at risk.  Since California’s shelter-in-place order went into effect in March, the state has already faced plummeting revenues from gasoline taxes, tolls, transit fares, and sales taxes. These revenue sources will most likely continue to be severely threatened in the coming months and possibly even years. 

Panelists discussed the opportunities for every level of government to help recover transportation revenues in our uncertain future. Can we rely on our traditional mix of revenue sources? Will the COVID-19 crisis stimulate innovation in transportation finance? 

These and other revenue options were discussed at the 11th Annual Norman Y. Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit.

View Recording.

View e-program. 

​Much like Garrett Augstus Morgan, who, despite his humble beginnings as the son of slaves, recognized the importance of education, ideation, and entrepreneurship, we too are living in a time of great innovation. Most recently in light of the COVID-19 global pandemic, we’ve seen businesses adapt to ensure the safety of their employees and communities. Most significantly we’ve seen individuals and whole communities rally behind essential workers like nurses, service industry workers, and transit workers to ensure that they can continue to provide those critical services and keep all of us moving. And that is what we do in transportation: keep things moving. Regardless of this pandemic our  industry is always teeming with new ideas focused on sustainability, traffic reduction, active transit, and others. And that’s where this competition comes into play by highlighting the significant creativity and innovation of these incredible students who put together projects despite the challenges associated with their schools closing as a result of COVID-19. 

Congratulations to the winners: 

• In 3rd place and the winners of an official award plaque and $200 is American Indian Child Resource Center for their project ‘Day and Night,’ which looks into hybrid electric and solar charging stations for devices and double as light sources around transit stations! Congratulations!
• In 2nd place and the winners of an official award plaque and $300 is Aptos Middle School for their project ‘Eco Drive,’ which proposes a bioethanol powered car with CO2 absorbing components. Congratulations!
• Finally, in 1st place and the winners of $1,000 cash prize, a plaque, and a special recognition from our Trustees (drumroll) is California Montessori Project- Capitol Campus for their project ‘Fast. Easy. Smart: A Sustainable AV Plan for Cities,’ which proposes a system for the deployment of autonomous vehicles that meets societal needs as well as safety and environmental concerns. 

[In light of recommendations regarding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the event has been postponed.]

Martin Luther King Jr. Library room 225 | 10:30a.m. - 4:30p.m. | AICP CM Credits: 4.0 (pending)

“Redefining the American Dream: Silicon Valley’s Housing Crisis” will brought together planning professionals, experts and advocates to shed light on the housing challenges facing our region and explored potential solutions. The presentation will be focused on four areas:

HOUSING FOR BETTER HEALTH

A dialogue amongst health professionals, policymakers and advocates on the linkage between the lack of affordable housing and increasing public health concerns.

MISSING MIDDLE: ADUs, JDUs, MICROUNITS

A discussion on how new laws will help integrate diverse housing choices and density into residential zoning districts.

BIG TECH, DISPLACEMENT & GENTRIFICATION

Addressing big tech’s housing pledges and their role in displacement and gentrification in Silicon Valley.

HOMELESS & HUNGRY @ SJSU

Bringing awareness to the lives of the homeless student and faculty population at SJSU.

• Breakfast & Registration begins at 10:30am

• Panels start at 11:00am

• Lunch will be provided

• AICP | CM 4.0 Credits (Pending)

[In light of recommendations regarding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the conference was postponed until further notice.]

In light of recommendations from the Santa Clara County Public Health Department regarding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the summit was postponed until further notice.

Women from all different backgrounds and walks of life gathered to discuss "What's Next?" 

This half-day confrence tackled difficult and important subjects such as:

1. State of Women's Health
2. Reproductive Rights and Justice
3. Ending Violence Against Women
4. Relationship Between Women and Homelessness
5. Navigating Demands of Career and Caregiving
6. Mentorship: Building the Pipeline
7. Gun Safety Regulation
8. Men and Women: Lean in or Out
9. Climate Action and Environmental Policy
10. Youth Panel: Mental Health, Vaping Epidemic and Sexual Assault
11. Confronting Women's Workplace Challenges
12. A lunch plenary session on Leadership: Step Up, Step Forward, and Stand Out

Get empowered, engaged and take action on issues affecting our communities.

This year’s fair moved into the fifth world of creation, or the glittering world, and feature the work of Native youth throughout the region with the 3rd Annual Innoventure Product Challenge. The Innoventure Product Challenge (see far right) is an annual competition that tasks regional middle and high school students with designing a 3D printed product and developing a business model in introducing it to the public. The competition is expected to provide a glimpse into what making will look like for Navajo people in the future, while providing an outlet for the youth to feature their work. 

In light of recommendations from the Santa Clara County Public Health Department regarding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Pathways to Climate Smart Careers event was cancelled.

The purpose of this webinar is to introduce university researchers to two new and growing datasets at the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). The two datasets that will be covered on the webinar are described below:

• Housing Element Annual Progress Report (APR): Includes information about the entire pipeline of development in each locality (i.e., development applications, approved entitlements, building permits issued and certificates of occupancy). This dataset also includes project identifiers (e.g., APNs, address), projected household income levels that will be served, and number of units in the developments. The presenter will review the new APR form (attached to this email). For more information about the Housing Element APR, please visit the Regional Housing Needs Allocation and Housing Elements webpage and click on the “Annual Progress Reports” located in the middle of the page.

• Housing Element Site Inventory: The HCD is working on a more structured format to collect information from cities and counties. This format will allow cities and counties to consistently report location and projected density of parcels that are included in their Housing Element to accommodate their share of the Regional housing needs allocation.

View Recording.

When a disaster devastates a community, housing is one of the assets that are damaged or destroyed. Dr. Frannie Edwards and her colleagues have researched the impact of the loss of housing and the challenges of restoring housing for the long-term recovery of a community. Using examples from Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, and Maria and earthquakes in Haiti, Turkey and India, their research demonstrates how communities struggle to recover, and what best practices lead to community long-term recovery. They addressed the issue of living with risk, and the financial options for dealing with it, including insurance, which may be a license to dare.

Presented by the SJSU Lucas College of Business

Transportation is key for older adults to thrive and mobility access is limited without a car. How can we retrofit our communities for better options for the non-driver? Professor Sandra Rosenbloom, Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin shared her research as the keynote speaker.

Twice a year, the Seniors’ Agenda Network Summit brings together nearly 200 professional, aging advocates, and elected officials to actively engage in meaningful learning to strengthen our community for older adults. Age-friendly efforts are highlighted, and new resources are shared.

In addition to the keynote speaker – there was a panel on “Transportation Trends and Options for Older Adults” moderated by Nuria Fernandez, VTA General Manager.

Panelist Included:

• Tylor Taylor, Exec. Dir. of Saratoga Area Senior Coordinating Council (SASSC) and the R.Y.D.E volunteer driver program
• Nikita Sinha, CAWalks
• Jesse Minz-Roth, San Jose Vision Zero
• Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Mineta Institute of Transportation SJSU

MTI Research Associates and affiliated researchers presented at the 99th annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board. This event attracted more than 13,000 transportation professionals from around the world. The meeting program covered all transportation modes, with more than 5,000 presentations in nearly 800 sessions and workshops, addressing topics of interest to policy makers, administrators, practitioners, researchers, and representatives of government, industry, and academic institutions. A number of sessions and workshops focused on the spotlight theme for the 2020 meeting: A Century of Progress: Foundation for the Future.

MTI was proud to co-sponsor the CUTC 2020 Awards Banquet, which celebrates one of the most important benefits of federal investment in university transportation research-- the outstanding students and faculty who contribute to transportation research and education through this important program! Approximately 300 distinguished transportation leaders, representing academia, the transportation industry, and government were in attendance. 

MTI headed to Bochrodt Elementary to discuss careers in transportation, train and rail safety, and an introduction to bridge building with second graders! 

Over 20 variations of podcar systems are being deployed today, offering cost-effective ways to enhance transit and help meet the challenges of urban congestion, environmental concerns and mobility for all. Larger players, such as Ericsson communication systems, NASA, Google, Amazon and a series of strong IT companies in Silicon Valley are getting involved, boosting the acceleration of automated transit forward. 

Podcar City 2019 focused on cities and their urgent need on making a reality of new modes of public, automated transportation through technology, planning and business opportunities.