News

Giving up public transit during the coronavirus is a luxury many Canadians can’t afford

June 1, 2020

Matthew Palm, University of Toronto; Jeff Allen, University of Toronto, and Steven Farber, University of Toronto. Canadian cities are contending with how to maintain effective public transit during the coronavirus-induced […]

In memoriam: Professor Emeritus Van Hurdle, University of Toronto

June 1, 2020

Short Biography Dr. Hurdle died June 1. He was born on December 27, 1935, in Pocatello, Idaho, and grew up in the smaller nearby town of Blackfoot. In 1950, he […]

Keesmaat, Florida, McKenzie offer vision of improved “new normal” for Canadian cities post-COVID

May 28, 2020

UTTRI associated faculty Professor Richard Florida coauthored the opinion piece “Canada’s new normal begins in our cities,” with Jennifer Keesmaat (CEO, Keesmaat Group) and Kwame McKenzie (CEO, Wellesley Institute), published […]

Siemiatycki on getting transit back on track

May 28, 2020

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the City of Toronto’s budget, not least because of the steep decline in TTC ridership. As UTTRI associated faculty Professor Matti Siemiatycki says in CBC’s […]

Sandford Fleming Award to Khandker Nurul Habib

May 26, 2020

UTTRI associated faculty Professor Khandker Nurul Habib has been awarded the 2020 Sandford Fleming Award by the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE). Professor Habib’s citation for the Sandford Fleming […]

Introducing the City Data Model Project Collaboratory

May 25, 2020

One of the great research outcomes of iCity: Urban Informatics for Metropolitan Sustainable Growth is the creation of the City Data Model Project Collaboratory. The City Data Model Project Collaboratory […]

GTHA highway congestion significantly reduced by COVID-19 lockdown

May 20, 2020

Traffic and speed patterns in the GTHA have changed dramatically since COVID-19 restrictions came into effect. Much of the GTHA workforce no longer needs to travel to work, due to […]

Dr. Adam Weiss appointed to Carleton University

May 20, 2020

We congratulate Dr. Adam Weiss who begins a tenure-track faculty position in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carleton University in Ottawa on July 1, 2020. Dr. Weiss […]

Costing a project without considering environmental consequences shortsighted: Saxe

May 20, 2020

UTTRI associated faculty Professor Shoshanna Saxe was interviewed by Daily Commercial News by Construct Connect about findings published in “Embodied emissions in rail infrastructure: a critical literature review,” a paper […]

Transport equity highlighted in Mobilizing Justice report

May 14, 2020

Dr. Matthew Palm and UTTRI associated faculty Professor Steven Farber have just released Towards Transportation for All: The Mobilizing Justice Workshop Outcomes Report. The report summarizes findings from the November 2019 […]

Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on travel behaviour and demand in the GTHA

May 13, 2020

How will COVID-19 impact the travel demand and travel behaviour of residents of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA)? The Travel Demand Modelling Group (TDMG), headed by UTTRI associated […]

Smart Freight Centre studies COVID-19 impacts on GTHA freight flows and supply chains

May 13, 2020

The Smart Freight Centre (SFC) has started assessing the impact of COVID-19 on freight flows and supply chains in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. Changes in freight flow and […]

Will TTC riders return? Preliminary results for Public Transit and COVID-19 Survey

May 12, 2020

Dr. Matthew Palm was interviewed by CP24 about preliminary results from the “Public Transit and COVID-19 Survey,” based on a sample of 2,753 survey respondents. In the video interview and article […]

When coughing and sneezing become disruptions: Using Twitter as a detector for passenger disruption on transit

May 12, 2020

Analyzing Twitter data is useful for planning and operating transportation systems. Current University of Toronto research in partnership with Calgary Transit, CUTRIC, SP NA, and NSERC creates a framework for […]

Flexibility in a pandemic: Best practices for demand-responsive transit in Canada

May 12, 2020

Demand-responsive transit, where vehicles, routes, and stop locations adapt in near-real time to customer requests, has gained new popularity in an app-enabled world. Transit agencies are considering this type of […]

Transit Analytics Lab launched

May 12, 2020

A new Transit Analytics Lab (TAL) has been awarded funding for three years by the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering through its Dean’s Strategic Fund. The lab is headed […]

Cities will survive the coronavirus: Florida

May 4, 2020

UTTRI associated faculty Professor Richard Florida, along with ten other leading global experts, shared his predictions for post-COVID cities in “How Life in Our Cities Will Look After the Coronavirus […]

How will COVID-19 change Toronto? U of T’s Matti Siemiatycki on the city’s post-pandemic future

May 4, 2020

What will COVID-19’s long-term impact be on Toronto? Will it forever change how people work and live? “Cities have been around for centuries and have survived pandemics,” says [UTTRI associated […]

Shalaby discusses post-COVID transit safety, funding

May 4, 2020

UTTRI associated faculty Professor Amer Shalaby says public transit systems in COVID-19 recovery have implemented a variety of measures to keep transit safe for all in “Public transit prepping for […]

2020 Public Transit Short Courses postponed

April 30, 2020

In light of the COVID-19 situation, the Public Transit Short Courses, previously scheduled for August 17 – 19, 2020, are postponed to a later date, to be determined based on developments. […]

Coronavirus and the City: Mobility

April 30, 2020

This is the third piece in the series Coronavirus and the City: One Question, an initiative of the School of Cities at the University of Toronto. Each week, we ask urban leaders representing […]

Better air quality during and post-pandemic: Jeff Brook, CANUE

April 28, 2020

UTTRI associated faculty Professor Jeff Brook believes that the improved air quality we’re experiencing during the pandemic can be part of our post-COVID reality. With COVID-19 the recognition of public […]

Opportunity to increase active transportation post-lockdown: Florida

April 27, 2020

UTTRI associated faculty Professor Richard Florida was interviewed for a  Q&A in “Urbanist discusses the pitfalls, possibilities for Toronto: The city will change and leaders need to be ready to […]

Dr. Enid Slack on financial plight of cities

April 27, 2020

UTTRI associated faculty Dr. Enid Slack, Director of the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance (IMFG) took part in “A COVID-19 Crisis for City Budgets” on TVO’s The Agenda with […]

How will cities re-open after the pandemic? TRBOT/ULI webinar with Richard Florida

April 27, 2020

UTTRI associated faculty Professor Richard Florida was featured in the online webinar “How Will Cities Re-Open After the Pandemic? In Conversation with Richard Florida” presented by the Toronto Region Board […]

Wins for economy, environment and climate possible: Evans

April 24, 2020

UTTRI associated faculty Professor Greg Evans, Director of The Southern Ontario Centre for Atmospheric Aerosol Research (SOCAAR), was interviewed on Earth Day in “World marks Earth Day during coronavirus pandemic,” […]

Seeing improvements in air quality is powerful, says Posen

April 24, 2020

UTTRI faculty associate Professor I.  Daniel Posen thinks that habit-changing pandemic protocols may lead to longer-term, environmentally friendly changes in behaviour. “Seeing is believing,” he says in an article by […]

Announcing: UTTRI Research Reports

April 23, 2020

We’ve added a new resource to our website: research reports generated by our faculty associates and their research teams. We are proud to archive reports on important research questions on […]

SOCAAR posts weekly updates on Toronto air quality

April 23, 2020

The Field Measurement Facility of the Southern Ontario Centre for Atmospheric Aerosol Research (SOCAAR) at 200 College Street continuously monitors traffic volume and major traffic related air pollutants. Visit their web […]

We have got to redesign to reopen: Florida

April 22, 2020

UTTRI associated faculty Professor Richard Florida is quoted in “Here’s what reopening a city under coronavirus lockdown would look like, according to one expert,” Global News, April 21, 2020. Urban […]