Seattle New Mobility Playbook

Cityfi worked with a multi-dimensional consultant team to develop the Seattle Department of Transportation New Mobility Playbook, a set of plays, policies, and strategies that will position Seattle to foster new mobility options while prioritizing safety, equity, affordability, and sustainability in its transportation system.

 
ben-dutton-insv5BSTqv0-unsplash.jpg

Context

Seattle, one of the fastest growing cities in the country, faces major opportunities to revamp its transportation system to respond and adapt to major population and economic growth. Furthermore, the city has a strong history of welcoming and fostering innovative mobility. With major shifts in options and expectations for getting around, and much more change on the way, Seattle is building its legacy by tackling one of the greatest challenges facing cities today: How can it ensure that the new wave of mobility innovations benefits the people in the city?

Cityfi - Symbol B - White.png
 

Vision

The Seattle New Mobility Playbook envisions a future that embraces new transportation technology in a way that ensures the city’s evolving transportation system works better for everyone. It sees the potential for new mobility to provide greater convenience, improve safety, and make transportation more equitable and affordable for all.

The Playbook is as flexible as it is groundbreaking, with an extensive scope that addresses everything from shared transportation to data management to impacts on the local labor market. With state-of-the-art infrastructure, community engagement, and thoughtful regulation, Seattle aims to balance the implementation of new technology with its essential commitment to equity and social justice.

Method

The playbook features 20 “first moves,” a set of strategic actions that will test new ways of getting around while laying the groundwork for meaningful change. These strategic actions focus on establishing new policies, launching new programs, conducting new research, and prototyping and piloting new projects. These actions are rooted in organizational change management, as they involve rethinking how SDOT operates and building an internal capacity for understanding and managing new technology. Simultaneously, the playbook looks further ahead, by establishing policies now to prepare for automated vehicles, the evolving role of drones, and other innovations we cannot yet imagine or predict.

Project Information

Client: City of Seattle

Location: Seattle, WA

Partners: Sam Schwartz, Brink Communications