Arrowhead 2008 | The Future of Cities and Travel

The 18th Annual UCLA Lake Arrowhead Symposium on the Transportation – Land Use – Environment Connection: “The Future of Cities and Travel”

Held October 19-21 at UCLA’s Lake Arrowhead Conference Center

Program

Presentations

Proceedings

The conditions faced by planners and policymakers in cities large and small are far different today than in years past, and promise to be even more different in the years to come. Geopolitical stability and trade, environmental quality and climate change, evolving regional demographics, and rapid technological innovations have combined to radically change the planning landscape in recent years. And while many more changes loom on the horizon, there is no assurance that recent trends will continue into the future. For example, increasing female labor force participation and travel patterns have changed significantly and in concert over the past quarter century, but these changes appear to be tapering off. On the other hand, both expected change—like a significant increase in elderly drivers—and uncertainties—like the cost of petroleum a dozen years hence—suggest that the status quo will be anything but.

To public and private leaders struggling to meet this year’s budget and plan for next year’s obligations, worrying about how climate change, new technology, or changing demographics will affect the transportation—land use—environment connection in 5, 10, or 20 years might seem less than pressing, even fanciful. But many of the pressing planning issues of today—from rapid increases in goods movements due to reduced international trade barriers, or carbon dioxide emissions becoming a central consideration in land use and transportation planning—were foreseeable ten and twenty years ago when forward-looking planning could have mitigated some of our present day crises. This suggests wisdom in looking ahead even as we struggle to cope with today’s challenges.

Scanning the horizon for developments and trends that will affect travel, land development, and environmental quality in the years ahead is the goal of this year’s UCLA Lake Arrowhead Symposium on the transportation—land use—environment connection. Over the course of two and one-half days we will examine major change drivers, examine future trends in land development, and explore the many factors affecting transportation systems and their use. Our goals are not fanciful but pragmatic: We aim to identify economic, social, environmental, and technological trends that may significantly alter the planning landscape in the next 5, 10, or 20 years. We will ask: What should planners, forecasters, and policymakers today know about such possible change agents to help better prepare for an uncertain future? To help us answer this question we will draw on some of the best researchers, practitioners, and thinkers on transportation, land use, and the environment.

2008 Sponsors

LEAD SPONSORS

California Department of Transportation

Federal Highway Administration

Orange County Transportation Authority

Southern California Association of Governments

Southern California Edison

University of California Transportation Center

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

CO-SPONSORS

Automobile Club of Southern California

Bay Area Air Quality Management District

California Air Resources Board

California Energy Commission

Environment Now

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Majestic Realty

Metropolitan Transportation Commission

Sacramento Area Council of Governments

San Bernardino Associated Governments

San Diego Association of Governments

San Francisco County Transportation Authority

South Coast Air Quality Management District

Southern California Gas Company

Union Pacific Railroad

Western Riverside Council of Governments