Although fascinating to the coverage wonks amongst us, transportation planning can appear impenetrable to people who find themselves unfamiliar with the nitty-gritty specifics of the trade. Right here at BikePortland, we spend a number of time interested by methods to convey this advanced info in an fascinating and digestible means since you shouldn’t have to be an infrastructure knowledgeable to know why planning choices are so essential.
That is one thing researchers at Portland State College’s Nationwide Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) have been interested by too. Ultimately, they put their heads along with members of PSU’s Comedian Research division (sure they actually do have one) and got here up with the novel concept to convey planning insurance policies in comedian e book type.
Now you can take a look at the completed product: a 20-page comedian referred to as “Shifting From Automobiles to Individuals” written by Kelly Clifton of the College of British Columbia (and previously PSU), Kristina Currans of the College of Arizona, and illustrated by PSU Grasp of Advantageous Arts pupil Joaquin Golez. The e book was edited by PSU Comedian Research Program Director Susan Kirtley and Portland illustrator Ryan Alexander-Tanner.
The comedian offers an attention grabbing and informative overview of how and why communities in america turned so car-dependent, the impacts of such auto-centric design and what sustainable transportation planners and advocates are doing about it. It’s extra detailed than you may suppose (simply because it’s a comic book doesn’t imply it’s for teenagers) and touches on issues like: how federal manuals dictate constructed planning selections, the issue with one-size-fits-all land use rules, the connection between avenue design and housing, parking mandates, and extra.
It’s a terrific, entertaining primer on a subject that — whereas extremely related for thus many on a day-to-day foundation — is usually missed or cloaked in language that’s laborious to comply with and/or in books that aren’t enjoyable to learn.
“It’s in everybody’s curiosity for non-transportation-professionals to have a working information of the dialog that’s taking place round sustainable transportation choices,” the NITC’s description of this venture states. “When essential coverage questions present up on a poll – for instance, whether or not companies needs to be required to supply a certain quantity of parking areas, or whether or not the state ought to subsidize public transit – individuals who aren’t within the transportation trade won’t be totally conscious of the tradeoffs concerned in these questions.”
We concur! The extra individuals who find out about American automotive dependence and the way it impacts their lives, the higher — this topic ought to begin making its means into standard media as a lot as potential.
You possibly can learn an interview with a few of the individuals concerned on this venture right here after which make sure to take a look at the comedian itself, which is accessible as a PDF (browse or obtain it beneath) and in addition in print freed from cost (for a limited-time solely!). If you happen to miss that window, they’re additionally out there for buy right here.
I’ve been enthusiastic about this comedian initiative since I first heard about it final summer time, so I used to be very desperate to see the completed product. I hope this would be the begin of a really fruitful collaboration between transportation planners and artists for years to return.
Browse the comedian e book beneath…
Taylor has been BikePortland’s employees author since November 2021. She has additionally written for Avenue Roots and Eugene Weekly. Contact her at taylorgriggswriter@gmail.com
