TransportationCamp means a lot of different things to people. That’s the beauty of it. And the spirit of the recent TransportationCamp South comes to light in this blog post from Ambar Johnson. She wisely suggests that expanding outreach about future TransportationCamps to new and less-obvious audiences could help put more emphasis on the country’s many public-transportation needs.
Rather than listening to an “expert” tell you things you already know while thinking about what you wish you could talk about, an (un)conference lets attendees come up with workshop topics they’re dying to discuss. At TransportationCamp South, intimate workshops with transportation heavyweights and curious students took place in seven rooms in four time blocks.
Of over 30 topics covered at the the (un)conference, including “Design your Own Bus Route,” “Nature ITP,” and “Disrupting Public Engagement in Transportation Planning,” the one about bicycles was bound to stand out among them. “Integrating Bike Share into Atlanta’s Civic Fabric,” led by Becky Katz, Atlanta’s first Chief Bicycle Officer, presented the success of Atlanta’s newest transportation system, Relay Bike Share.
I define ungineers as people who operate with art, community, and design at the core of their principles – principles that are often overseen in the realms of technology and transportation (engineers can be ungineers). Let’s face it: There’s only so much unconventional discussion that can happen in a room full of transportation and tech professionals who can afford to use car-share services when MARTA is late.
I would attend TransportationCamp again in a heartbeat. Especially if it were advertised more to professionals and lovers of art, community organizing, and urban design.