City transportation is about more than managing traffic congestion and maintaining pothole-free streets.
It’s about more than movement for movement’s sake; today, city transportation is about creating a safe and pleasant walking experience and vibrant public spaces that anchor livable neighborhoods and economically strong cities. City transportation is about flexible mobility and access to opportunities. It’s about creating choices for travel, from quick and reliable transit service, to convenient and enjoyable bike share trips, to dynamic, technology-enabled mobility innovations like ride-hailing and automated vehicles. City transportation is about meaningful community engagement, public-private partnerships, and creative design approaches to do more with our most valuable public assets: city streets.
At a time when we are asking more of our city streets, we are also asking more of our city leaders. Today’s most successful transportation leaders have more than technical competency—they have the ability to articulate and implement a bold vision for how we move and live in cities.
They are equipped to address systemic inequities in urban design, and to question entrenched approaches to safety and mobility. They are thinking critically about how new technologies can help cities meet their goals of safe, sustainable, equitable transportation systems. And they are skillful leaders and managers, inspiring and motivating teams, holding staff accountable towards productivity, and creating a positive and supportive agency culture. They are strong communicators, collaborators, and advocates, ready to tackle complex challenges, today and in the future.
Leadership NACTO offers promising leaders in city transportation the opportunity for in-depth, targeted professional development and training, as well as sustained connections with a cohort of other emerging leaders. Throughout the program, the Fellows participate in curated workshops, learn from proven leaders in the field, build meaningful connections with peers in other cities, basing their learning on a personalized 360-review process.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the third Leadership NACTO cohort (meeting over the course of 2020 and 2021) has moved to a virtual format.