As people flock toward the opportunities and resources that urban centers provide, cities are dealing more and more with the economic, social and ecological costs that accrue from urban transportation systems. Today, the nation’s cities are not up for the challenges of what has been termed “sustainable mobility.” This session focuses on how geographic information science and technologies offer new possibilities to quantify the health and environmental impacts of transportation to support sustainable mobility planning. Dr. Miller will explore two examples from his research in this webinar: i) the Moving Across Places Study (MAPS) that measures the impact of public transit and physical activity; and, ii) the Green Accessibility project that estimates the potential environmental costs of space-time accessibility.

Prof. Harvey J. Miller is the Bob and Mary Reusche Chair in Geographic Information Science, Director of the Center for Urban and Regional Analysis, and Professor in the Department of Geography at the Ohio State University. His research and teaching interests are at the intersection of geographic information science and transportation, in particular, the analysis of human mobility within cities and regions. The main questions driving his research include sustainable transportation, livable cities, and the relationships between human mobility, health and social equity. He is an associate editor of the journal Geographic Analysis and serves on the editorial board of other related top journals. Prof. Miller is also a member of the Board of Directors of the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science and Chair of the Mapping Science Committee of the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

This event is hosted by the Geographical Sciences Committee (GSC) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. This committee provides high-quality scientific, technical, and policy advice and recommendations to society and to government at all levels using the methods of spatial analysis and representation. The geographical sciences focus on understanding responses to the impacts of changing biophysical and human environments. Place-based responses in domains ranging from health to urbanization, hazards to migration, can be characterized in terms of vulnerability, resiliency, adaptation, and sustainability. The GSC addresses the geographic dimensions of human-environment interactions, spatial location and concentration, and place-based research and policy at all spatial scales.