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Highlights from NACTO’s 2012 “Designing Cities” Conference

The National Association of City Transportation Officials' 2012 Designing Cities Conference drew hundreds of city transportation officials from around the U.S. to New York City last fall to share ideas and learn about the latest innovations from places around the country.

The National Association of City Transportation Officials‘ 2012 Designing Cities Conference drew hundreds of city transportation officials from around the U.S. to New York City last fall to share ideas and learn about the latest innovations from places around the country.

As you’ll see, the conference featured some nice twists on the usual fare and included many great speakers, including U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and the Brookings Institution’s Bruce Katz. Among the headliners was NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who nicely encapsulated how some elected leaders are starting to approach transportation in their cities differently than their predecessors:

“Streets are there to transport people. They’re not there necessarily for cars they’re there to transport people – and there are lots of different ways of transporting people, and in fact one of the original ways was walking. So we’ve come full circle here – surprise, surprise.”

Also, if you haven’t already seen it, do not miss Streetfilms’ video of the NACTO commissioner’s panel, hosted by MSNBC’s Chris Hayes. It is 52 minutes of fascinating dialogue between the transportation commissioners from five of America’s greatest cities.

Photo of Clarence Eckerson Jr.
Clarence Eckerson Jr. is the Director of Video Production for NYCSR's StreetFilms and producer of bikeTV. He loves the color purple, chocolate chip cookies, and enjoys walking, biking, and taking transit. He has never owned a driver's license.

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