Summertime in the City

From the West Coast to the nation’s capital, summer is proving to be a time for reimagining the mobility options, public spaces, and policies that shape American cities. The Cityfi team has been thrilled to support the development of Bellevue’s pioneering Curb Management Plan and the deployment of outcome-driven solutions in The Mobility Innovation District over the past months. We have also been tuned in to recent local decision-making and community involvement in California that will inform the future of autonomous vehicles in San Francisco and reassessed zoning codes and policies in Oakland.

Cityfi is pleased to announce that Partner Andrew Wishnia has joined the Electrification Coalition’s Board of Directors! Andrew’s leadership in establishing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act and expertise in environmental policy makes him a tremendous asset to the Board and nonprofit as they champion electric vehicle adoption. This week, Andrew also chaired a session on aviation decarbonization at the Aspen Institute’s historic Energy Week in Aspen, Colorado. Discussions centered around critical factors of U.S. energy policy, including aviation designs to reduce emissions, such as a blended wing body for aircraft; transition to electric and hydrogen aircraft for short haul flights; and airport electrification opportunities.

Dig into this newsletter to discover more about our work, the latest news and stories that have our attention, and job openings that could be a fit for you! And, as always, contact our team to explore your next big idea, discover how we can collaborate, or just say hello.

Bellevue, Washington Adopts Historic Curb Management Plan

By Evan Costagliola and Sarah Saltz

In July, Bellevue’s City Council adopted its Curb Management Plan and will begin implementation and a data collection program to track progress. This is a big moment for curb management. Cities across the country have developed visionary curb management strategies, but these plans can often be non-binding and difficult to implement. Bellevue’s plan is different. It encodes new curb priorities and operations and establishes a Council expectation to implement the strategies and actions in the Plan’s Pilot Roadmap and Curbside Practices Guide. Most notably, the Plan formally integrates curb management into Bellevue's rigorous land use code and development process. With this formal, holistic and binding curb management vision, strategy, and action plan, the City has set itself up to plan proactively for equitable curb access.

Along with our good friends and colleagues at Nelson\Nygaard, Cityfi supported the development of this plan, supporting policy development and creating a Pilot Roadmap and Curb Practices Guide–two implementation-oriented tools for putting the vision into action.

Read the full plan here and the Pilot Roadmap and Curb Practices Guide here. To discuss the plan or the related planning process, reach out to Evan Costagliola (evan@cityfi.co).

Autonomous Vehicle Expansion in California

By Story Bellows, Sarah Saltz, and Karina Ricks

Last night, the California Public Utilities Commission approved the commercial expansion of autonomous vehicles (AV) in San Francisco. The vote was obviously a win for Waymo and Cruise, but it was also a win for public comment. As listeners to much of the 6+ hours of sixty-second testimonials, we were reminded of the importance of listening to public voices, how informed many members of the public are, and how complex various stakeholder groups’ mobility needs are. Many members of the Cityfi team have been intimately involved in work leading to this moment through our work with cities and AV companies on these issues, and we’ll share more takeaways and reactions in the coming days. In the meantime, here are links to a few of the articles we’ve found most insightful and balanced.

Oakland Commits to More Equitable and Resilient Policies and Zoning

By Sahar Shirazi

Rounding out an impressive engagement process that led to the hiring of diverse community groups for co-creation of goals, needs, and policies, including youth representatives from different neighborhoods, and analyzed the racial equity impact of various policies and practices, the City of Oakland recently finalized objective design standards for numerous development types, ending decades of individual project approvals and delays for many housing projects. As a 5 year veteran of the Oakland Planning Commission, I have been pushing for the removal of subjective language from our zoning code, as these policies and processes have long served to codify historical racist practices. While we technically removed redlining, introducing subjective standards in their place allowed much needed housing development to be stalled or dismissed due to complaints about things like parking and shadows. While we need some sort of agreed upon form for our cities, the trade-offs between much needed housing and individual wants must be considered at a city level and implemented with community wide benefits included. I hope we consider form based code and remove Euclidean zoning eventually, allowing our cities to grow and welcome others while maintaining standards that everyone benefits from, and objective standards are a huge move in that direction.

While there was pushback from some, who feared their removal from the process entirely, most understood that the collaboration to help shape our objective standards, through the continued engagement of all community stakeholders as we define them, creates a proactive, rather than reactive, opportunity for shaping our future. The process we currently have is highly inequitable, allowing only those with the limited resources of time, transportation, flexible work, childcare, and an understanding of the current bureaucratic norms to participate. Creating objective standards, formed through deep engagement with community members, especially those traditionally left out, is much more democratic and aligned with our values.

Oakland is an incredibly diverse city, with a history that includes thriving communities of Black and brown residents (the African American Jazz scene on 7th street once gave us the moniker “Harlem of the West), systemic destruction and harm to those communities (such as the building of the 980 highway through them), and active resistance and action against that destruction (the Black Panthers were founded here). As the city continues to grow and increase in cost, and the housing crisis and income inequality continues to push families out of their homes, shaping our future landscape together has not been easy. I am so proud of what we’ve created in this housing and zoning update, and its connections to Environmental Justice and climate resilience and safety, and hope this trend continues to spread as we look for ways to implement more equitable, sustainable, and realistic policies in cities everywhere. Read more about the Oakland Housing Element Update, and the Deeply Rooted Collective Engagement Team.

Smart City Expo is Coming to New York City

By Sarah Saltz

Cityfi is attending the Smart City Expo on October 4-5, 2023 in New York City. Attendees will span across sectors, geographies, and industries and we’re excited to dive into some of the topics we are most passionate about, including:

How can technology solve some of our most challenging problems - from better curb management to combating climate change?
How can digital equity and sound data practices improve outcomes for cities, communities, and individuals?
How can we work together in new ways - across sectors, including new voices, finding new ways of piloting and demonstrating ideas?

Let us know if you’re already attending and would like to meet up, or if you’ll be in NYC the first week of October and would like to attend.

It’s Getting Hot in Herre…

By Ryan Parzick

… so take off all (let’s just leave it there for you Nelly fans). This summer has produced record-shattering heat for many of us. Those in urban areas are feeling it more profoundly due to the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. For those familiar with this phenomenon, it might seem like a mere nuisance or an inherent aspect of city living. Unfortunately, UHIs extend beyond the city core and can have hazardous impacts on public health.

What exactly is the Urban Heat Island effect? Why should cities pay more attention to it? Who is impacted the most by the UHI effect? Can anything be done to mitigate? How is your neighborhood affected? Read more about this common urban accompaniment in our blog. After reading the blog, feel free to reach out to us. Cityfi’s dedicated, knowledgeable, and experienced team can facilitate collaboration and generate solutions to mitigate the UHI effect.

Biden-⁠Harris Administration Launches AI Cyber Challenge

By Mahreen Alam

The Biden-Harris Administration launched a significant two-year competition called the "AI Cyber Challenge" (AIxCC) in collaboration with top AI companies like Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. Led by DARPA, the competition aims to enhance cybersecurity by utilizing artificial intelligence to identify and rectify vulnerabilities in critical software, including systems that power the internet and vital infrastructure. With nearly $20 million in prizes, the competition will drive the creation of innovative technologies to bolster code security, addressing a key cybersecurity concern.

The announcement was made at the Black Hat USA Conference, highlighting AI's potential to secure software across society. Teams will compete for prizes in a multi-phase challenge, leveraging advanced AI technology provided by participating companies. The Biden-Harris Administration's commitment reflects a broader effort to responsibly harness AI's power for national challenges while ensuring safety and non-discrimination. This initiative aligns with other measures to manage AI risks and foster transparent development.

Forging Projects and Partnerships in The Mobility Innovation District

By Nicole Davessar

The upcoming e-bike and e-cargo bike library will feature rides by Bunch Bikes!

Washington, DC’s inaugural testbed for future-forward mobility solutions, The Mobility Innovation District (The MID), has had a productive and energizing year marked by new projects underway and meaningful local, federal, and private-sector collaboration. Under the leadership of the Southwest Business Improvement District, The MID introduced Circuit’s all-electric shuttle service to Southwest DC (SW) and will stand up the first e-bike and e-cargo bike library in the capital starting in September! Over the past months, a number of pioneering companies and entities in the electrification realm teamed up with The MID around federal funding opportunities and projects. Additionally, the purpose-driven vision and on-the-ground implementation of The MID was showcased to a range of executive U.S. and international executives. Learn more about these and other initiatives The MID has been leading in this midyear update. Cityfi looks forward to further supporting this premier mobility hub as it drives safe, sustainable, and equitable outcomes for SW residents and visitors in 2023 and beyond.