COOPERATIVE MOBILITY PROGRAM




Program Activities 

International Mobility Observatory

The International Mobility Observatory has carried out a worldwide search in which it has identified and documented over one hundred examples of innovative mobility strategies. Each strategy is written up as a one-page executive summary. The Observatory will be updated on a periodic basis. The Observatory also has identified several exemplary mobility systems: metropolitan transportation systems that combine outstanding operating practices, advanced technology, innovative management, and which enjoy creative institutions and public policies.

Our aim is to establish the Observatory as a unique source of information and analysis on emerging mobility trends that affect public policy and the transportation industry. In addition to its comprehensive but summary write-ups, the Observatory will have in-depth reports on selected urban areas around the world that have outstanding mobility systems.

 

Mobility in Developing Countries

The greatest growth in mobility in the coming years will take place in developing countries. This project examines basic differences in mobility issues between the developed and developing worlds, focusing in particular on mobility needs in India and China. Several new mobility options are being examined, among them automobile cooperatives, innovative financing and pricing strategies, and land use strategies that are coupled with mobility needs.

 

Predicting Global Demand for Mobility

A forecasting model has been developed that predicts mobility demand for all modes of transportation through to the year 2050. This is the only model of its type and can be used by the Program to develop a range of possible future mobility scenarios.

 

Mobility and Global Warming

This research uses global demand forecasts to examine the mobility implications of various policies intended to affect global warming. The work is being done in conjunction with a large-scale global warming research project at MIT, and it also examines the impacts and economic consequences of contemplated global warming controls.

 

Mobility and Land Use

The planning and management of urban land use have a great impact on mobility. Some important measures concerning land use, however, are difficult to implement. This research analyzes situations in which, from both a mobility perspective and prospects for future land use policy aimed at enhancing urban mobility, effective planning has been accomplished.

 

Mobility and Public Transport

An assessment of what might be realistic roles for public transport is being undertaken. Comparisons among successful systems around the world are also being made.

 

Strategic Planning for Mobility

Strategies to develop multimodal transportation planning around the world are being analyzed, with an emphasis on intelligent transportation systems. The objective is to improve throughput and overall system efficiency for both passengers and freight.

CMP communicates its research results widely through publications, research conferences, and outreach activities to the professional community and general public.

CMP is the principal sponsor of "Traffic Congestion: A Global Perspective," an MIT conference on new strategies for moving people and goods in the 21st century. June 1999.

 

  • Other research projects:
  • forecasting future worldwide demand for mobility,
  • implications of transportation trends for controlling greenhouse gas emissions,
  • trajectories of motorization in developing countries,
  • public policies to control transportation-related regional air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions,
  • impacts of Intelligent Transportation Systems on mobility,
  • land use policies to control and shape transportation demand, and
  • innovative public transit policies.

|| CMP || CTPID || MIT ||



Last modified: 5/24/99