TransitCenter, a foundation dedicated to improving urban mobility, has announced the winners of its recent urban mobility challenge. The foundation will award 9 grants totaling $838,700 to a range of organizations contributing original new work to the field. The competition received 91 applications from civic organizations, universities, government agencies and firms from across the country.
The applicants were ranked on the basis of their potential impact to improve public transportation, originality, and applicants’ track records, as well as their consistency with TransitCenter’s own programming. Grantees will work with TransitCenter’s internal staff to launch these projects in the coming months, with all of them expected to be in full swing by early 2016.
The winners included three universities – MIT, New York University and the University of Wisconsin. Each of those projects are focused on making transit networks easier for individuals to navigate.
Three national organizations were also chosen. They include: the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), Transportation for America, and National Association of Regional Councils (NARC). Each of these projects are focused on policy-based projects that will help state and local officials get a better handle on transit issues and scenario planning.
Finally, three civic organizations – TransForm, Open Plans, and Alta Planning and Design take a more interpretive look at transit in general through short films and network research.
The full list of projects is available here.
