The curse of variety in transportation systems

Assistant Professor Cathy Wu is addressing traffic control problems by leveraging deep reinforcement learning.

Daniel de Wolff | MIT Industrial Liaison Program • mit
Aug. 7, 2023 ~9 min

Ever-larger cars and trucks are causing a safety crisis on US streets – here's how communities can fight back

Cars are getting bigger on US roads, and that’s increasing pedestrian and cyclist deaths. A transport scholar identifies community-level strategies for making streets safer.

Kevin J. Krizek, Professor of Environmental Design, University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
Aug. 2, 2023 ~9 min


To reclaim downtowns from traffic, require developers to offer strategies for cutting car use

US cities are starting to reform laws that required developers to provide minimum amounts of parking. But there’s more they can do to loosen the auto’s grip on downtowns.

Chris McCahill, Managing Director, State Smart Transportation Initiative, University of Wisconsin-Madison • conversation
July 26, 2023 ~9 min

Just in time for back-to-school shopping: How retailers can alter customer behavior to encourage more sustainable returns

Returns cost companies billions of dollars in lost sales. They also generate emissions and packaging waste. Two logistics experts offer some tips from psychology for more sustainable returns.

Robert Overstreet, Assistant Professor of Supply Chain Management, Iowa State University • conversation
July 19, 2023 ~9 min

Bridge collapses, road repairs, evacuations: How transportation agencies plan for large-scale traffic disruptions

When a major roadway or bridge needs fixing, all that traffic has to go somewhere.

Lee D. Han, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee • conversation
June 29, 2023 ~9 min

Right-to-charge laws bring the promise of EVs to apartments, condos and rentals

Illinois passed the latest law requiring new apartment buildings to be wired for EV chargers. Now apartment communities are figuring out the best ways to make shared charging work for everyone.

Eleftheria Kontou, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign • conversation
June 27, 2023 ~8 min

MIT engineering students take on the heat of Miami

A collaboration between MIT and Miami-Dade County has students working with city planning officials to understand why people wait patiently for a bus — and why they bail.

Jane Halpern | Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science • mit
June 23, 2023 ~13 min

Uber and Lyft going electric to have ‘modest’ benefit

Both Uber and Lyft ride-hailing services have pledged to fully electrify their vehicle fleets by 2030 in the US. But will it do much good?

Jim Erickson-Michigan • futurity
June 12, 2023 ~7 min


Megawatt electrical motor designed by MIT engineers could help electrify aviation

Technology demonstrations show the machine’s major components achieve the required performance.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
June 8, 2023 ~9 min

Finding “hot spots” where compounding environmental and economic risks converge

A new computational tool empowers decision-makers to target interventions.

Mark Dwortzan | MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change • mit
May 12, 2023 ~5 min

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