Are Planning and Engineering Students On Board with Sustainable Transportation? (Nick Klein and Kelcie Ralph
Jun 28, 2022
auto_awesome
Researchers Kelcie Ralph and Nick Klein discuss the opinions of planning and engineering students on sustainable transportation. They highlight the importance of educating professionals and integrating both disciplines in transportation planning. The podcast explores differences between planners and engineers, public understanding of induced demand, and the significance of public advocacy in transportation projects.
Planning students overwhelmingly support sustainable transportation measures, while engineers are less supportive.
Educating the public about transportation concepts is crucial for creating support for sustainable transportation policies.
Deep dives
The differences between planners and engineers in their approach to transportation
Planners tend to focus on people, their interactions with infrastructure and policy, while engineers are more interested in infrastructure and vehicles. Planning students are more liberal and likely to come from areas where walking and biking are common. Engineering students are more likely to major in undergraduate programs, while planning degrees are usually pursued at the graduate level.
The differences in views between planning students and engineers
Planning students overwhelmingly support sustainable transportation measures like not widening roads, shifting to walking, biking, and transit, and reducing driving. Engineers, however, are less supportive of these measures, with only a slim majority agreeing that reducing driving is a central goal of their profession.
The importance of public education about transportation issues
The public and built environment professions hold different views on transportation concepts, such as induced demand and the promotion of driving. Educating the public about these concepts and their implications is crucial for creating widespread understanding and support for sustainable transportation policies. Various avenues, including museums, public media, and newspapers, can be used to educate and engage the public, bridging the gap between public opinion and the goals of planning and engineering professionals.
Planning and engineering students are poised to play a major role in shaping America's transportation system for decades to come. But do either of them agree with sustainable transportation advocates about what that future should look like — or even with each other?
Today on The Brake, host Kea Wilson spoke with researchers Kelcie Ralph and Nick Klein, who conducted a new survey on how well these two groups of future built environment professionals understand fundamental concepts like "induced demand," as well as their opinions on the fundamental importance of reducing driving. Then, we dug into what it will take to get both disciplines and the public on the same page as transportation reformers — and why no one shouldn't take it for granted that doing it will be easy.
Get the Snipd podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share & Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode