A Recap of the Southern California Emerging Transportation Technology Roundtable
Transportation technology is changing the way people get around and promising better mobility choices for all. It is also having far-reaching implications on the well-being, privacy, and sustainability of the communities we work with. While tech companies continue to frame automation and technological innovation as the savior to transportation, we believe that our advocacy communities need to come together to have a frank conversation and actionable dialogue to proactively shape the emerging transportation technology conversation at the state level.
On November 1, 2019, we launched our Emerging Transportation Technology Roundtable: Innovation is Inevitable. Justice is Not in Los Angeles, our first discussion in a series of slated roundtables across the state. Local advocates from Southern California talked about the changing transportation landscape along with community-centered opportunities for policy and programming.
Local advocates in Southern California discussed:
Displacement and rapid gentrification;
Opportunities for economic dignity among low-income and Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) communities;
Implications for job opportunities;
Accessibility to innovations for low-income and BIPOC communities;
The use and collection of user data;
Criminalization and policing of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, trans, and queer communities.
One thing is clear. The impact of emerging technology on transportation must be looked at holistically. The rise of technology in transportation impacts more than just planning. It has and will continue to impact housing, labor, immigration, land use, and environmental sustainability. Therefore, it is crucial to integrate a multi-issue approach as we co-create responses to the impacts of these advancements.
We will hold roundtables in the Bay Area, Central Valley, Sacramento, and a youth-only session in Los Angeles in 2020. After all of the roundtables, we have committed to host a webinar to share the discussion and collaboratively work on a statewide platform that will allow us to do more than just respond to unjust policies. This community-centered platform will allow state advocates to hold the line in policy to ensure any technology based future is equitable, just and beneficial for our communities.
For more information or to stay informed about the outcomes, please contact Alma Leyva Orozco at alma@calwalks.org.