Conference vmsnet::car$note:carbuffs

                             Evolving Syllabus
                          Beyond the Car Seminar
                           A THUDPIC Production

       All classes will be Mondays from 4 to 5:30 pm in Littauer 332
                    at the kennedy school of government

        Coordinator: Evan Manvel, 625-2645, [email protected]

Purpose of the Class:
To study overreliance on the automobile, identify potential policy
solutions, and take an active role in promoting such solutions.

Basic Assumption:
Societal costs from the car go far beyond the pollution and noise effects;
urban land costs, human health, and human interactions are all damaged by
overreliance on the car.  This study group will not study how to make the
car better (smart transportation, solar and electric cars, etc.) but how to
reduce the number of trips taken by car.  Most of the focus will be on
domestic policies.

Week 4 (Mar 3)
Current Transit Efforts
Speakers: Jay Walder and Jose Gomez-Ibanez, Kennedy School of Government
Questions: How should transit be priced?  What will effect with Federal
cut-backs have on local transit systems?  What are current transit trends
in the major cities, and the smaller cities?  Amtrak and Freight Trains:
why are they no longer popular?

Wed (Mar 5th)    (supplemental)
The Effects of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards
Talk by Penny Goldberg, Princeton University.  4 pm in L332

Week 5 (Mar 10)
Current Urban Policies to reduce VMTs in Response to Federal Mandates
* Note: Session will conclude at 5pm
Invited speakers: Arn Howitt and Elizabeth Moore, Taubman Center
Question: How have SIPs functioned in different urban areas, and how
successful have congestion pricing and trip reduction programs been?

Wednesday (Mar 12th)  (Supplemental)
Environmental Change & Hedonic Cost Functions for Automobiles
Talk by Samuel Kortum, Boston University.  4 pm in L332

Week 6 (Mar 17)
The Limits of Using the Law to Advocate for Reduction of Reliance on the
Automobile
Steve Burrington, Senior Attorney, Conservation Law Foundation

NOTE:  Mar 24 is over spring break; no session

Week 8 (Mar 31)
Globalization & Sustainable Transportation in Developing Countries
Speaker: Carl Kurtz, Director, Bikes Not Bombs

Week 8 (Apr 5)
Grassroots Bicycle Distribution? Bikes Not Bombs
Field trip to Bikes Not Bombs in Jamaica Plain

Week 9 (Apr 7)
US Department of Transportation Outlook on Reducing Reliance on the
Automobile
Invited speaker from VOLPE, US DOT Research Arm, Cambridge, MA

Week 10 (Apr 14)
Building the Movement: What About US?
Group Discussion
     Questions:  What is our role as policy analysts, neighborhood members,
     and concerns citizens?  Where do planners, budget analysts,
     legislators and lobbyists fit it?

Also of Note:
We will try to organize a lobby trip to Washington, DC regarding the
reauthorization of ISTEA, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency
Act of 1991, and work sessions to build the extension of the bike path near
Davis Square.

Potential supplemental talk: Transit in LA
Jonathan Richmond, Taubman fellow

Potential Additional Session:
Cars and Equity, What about those who don?t own or can?t use cars?
Invited speaker: Allissa Gardenhire, PhD candidate