Titles

• Affiliate Global Futures Scholar, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory
• Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology

Biography

Devon is a postdoctoral research associate in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and the Center for Smart Cities and Regions. He has a PhD in urban and regional planning from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree from Arizona State University in urban and environmental planning. His research explores the future of transportation in cities. His current collaborative and applied research explores numerous dimensions of autonomous mobility. This research examines the range of possible impacts that cities may experience, and the tools and practices urban planners are using to understand how autonomous mobility may be used in their cities. Devon has also done extensive research on planning for walkability and public transportation. This work has focused on how different types of infrastructure prioritizes different modes of transportation and has explored how cities are building more walkable communities and more effective public transportation systems, which is particularly important to help mitigate the potential negative impacts of autonomous vehicles. Devon’s work also explores the evolving role of streets in cities, from spaces for car-oriented transportation to multi-modal spaces and streets as public spaces. Devon’s work also explores the concept of car-free urbanism – how to plan and build cities for people, not for cars – as a way to reduce the environmental impact of cities as well as make them more equitable. A major part of Devon’s research is the recognition that traffic engineering has dominated the design and planning of transportation infrastructure in cities, with little regard for non-automobile uses. Devon’s research critiques this and addresses transportation planning in an interdisciplinary way to create built environments and transportation systems that are more sustainable, equitable and community-oriented and put the needs of people above all others.

Education

• PhD, Urban and Regional Planning, University of Michigan, 2018
• MUEP, Urban and Environmental Planning, Arizona State University, 2010
• BA, Anthropology, University of Arizona, 2006

Expertise

• sustainable transportation
• neighborhood and urban form
• smart mobility
• emerging technologies