For over 20 years, I’ve been helping governments improve and explain their public transit services, including:
- Leading the design or redesign of transit networks.
- Helping choose the right transit tools for a situation.
- Analyzing transit data and integrating it with local goals.
- Leading innovative public outreach processes that engage and empower the public.
- Helping explain transit principles and the real choices they imply for communities and leaders (the core task of my book).
- Integrating transit into urban planning and development.
- Writing and speaking on the topic.
- Teaching transit planning and policy, in both lecture and interactive courses.
While we do high-quality analysis, we’re not engineers. My training is 20 years of doing this work successfully in many cities, along with a PhD in a literature field. We know how to relate technical concepts to big-picture ideas about what communities want, and what they fear. We connect transit to the big ideas of urbanism and can engage with a range of city planning and urban design perspectives. We can also help navigate the politics of a plan, including seeing the opportunities for win-wins, and proposing presentation styles that encourage constructive thinking by stakeholders and the public.
The challenge of public transit today is not just having good ideas but being able to explain them. At JWA, we integrate the task of planning with the tasks of explanation and public engagement. Our reports are clear, friendly, and readable, with vivid pictures of what matters, and minimal jargon. We take pride in running interesting and engaging public and stakeholder workshops, where participants are learning and expressing ideas in the same moment.
Please browse our experience either by place, or by topic using the links on the blue bar above.