Daniel Sperling at the Avid Reader

We're happy to welcome back UC Davis Professor - and transportation expert - Daniel Sperling for a presentation of his fascinating on book on vehicles of the future, Three Revolutions on Thursday, April 26th at 7:30 p.m. 

Transportation is on the cusp of revolutionary change. With electric, automated, and shared vehicles no longer imaginings of a distant future, we have the potential to create a dream transportation system: one that reduces traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions, increases accessibility and affordability, and creates healthier, more livable cities. But this scenario is not guaranteed. How we guide these transportation revolutions will determine if they change our lives and communities for the better—or for the worse.

In Three Revolutions, Daniel Sperling and his coauthors share timely guidance and make policy recommendations to steer these revolutions toward a sustainable, livable, and equitable future. As ridesharing services like UberPool and Lyft Line gain popularity, electric vehicle technology advances, and automated vehicles are tested on streets around the world, Sperling offers research-based insights on the potential impacts of the three revolutions and the need to consider the revolutions together.

Sperling and his coauthors acknowledge the potential for the three revolutions to increase urban sprawl and widen the gap between haves and have-nots, yet Sperling remains optimistic. As he writes, “We can be ostriches with buried heads and hope that disinterest, disengagement, and the normal workings of the marketplace will somehow turn out well. Or we can apply our best thinking to harness vehicle electrification, mobility sharing, and automation to create better cities, a livable planet, and a future that serves us all.”

This book is for anyone who cares about transportation, cities, the environment, and the social well-being of our communities.

Daniel Sperling is founding Director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis and co-director of the National Center for Sustainable Transportation at UC Davis. He is a distinguished professor of civil and environmental engineering and environmental science and policy at UC Davis, and is a member of the influential California Air Resources Board. Other collaborators include: Anne Brown, Robin Chase, Michael J. Dunne, Steven E. Polzin, Susan Shaheen, Brian D. Taylor, and Levi Tillemann.