Transportation Avoidance

The essential Telekinetic episode. Carlos Pardo guests, as we dive into the enigmatic concept of transportation avoidance as a cornerstone of mobility and urban planning.

Show Notes

(1:28) Mitch introduces Carlos Pardo of NUMO. (3:52) Carlos illuminates the modern history of "transportation avoidance" as an urban planning strategy. (6:26) We consider why transportation planners and mobility agencies refuse to acknowledge teletravel as a key component of TDM. (19:30) We debate the inherent value of travel as an instinctive and anthropological need, regardless of trip purpose. Carlos cites a study about soccer moms and the Marchetti constant. Mitch offers his hot take: transportation optimizes at zero. (30:42) Carlos speaks to the threats and opportunities transit systems are grappling with due to pandemic-induced confinement, and the potential future where social movement shifts from a pendular nature to a more chaotic one. (37:13) Carlos offers up the concept of a "mobility hub", the current focus of his work at NUMO.

What is Telekinetic?

The show that goes nowhere fast. Telekinetic explores how human progress changes human movement. It could be telecommuting, delivery culture, virtual reality, job automation -- if there’s a trip being made by knowledge that used to be made by people, we're here for it.