Investing in the Future of Mobility

Join us for an edifying event that explores the crucial role of local US governments in shaping the future of electric vehicle infrastructure and the far-reaching implications for environmental sustainability and equity.

US local governments are on the front lines of transforming the nation’s mobility infrastructure to support the imminent large-scale shift to electric vehicles. The decisions local government actors make about whether, where, and how to invest in EV infrastructure will have important consequences for our ability to meet emissions goals, and for the future of mobility more broadly. However, most local governments have severely limited capacity and resources to plan for these important investments, and we know very little about how these critical decisions are being made. Are local decision-makers mainly responding to directives and incentives that come from higher (federal, state) levels of government, or are the primary pressures coming from within their jurisdictions? Are the pressures mainly positive, pushing them towards a new mobility future, or are they mainly negative, preventing them from achieving greater levels of investment? How are local governments engaging with the private sector? And what are the environmental and equity implications of their decisions? 

Elisabeth R. Gerber is the Jack L. Walker Jr. Collegiate Professor of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. She has faculty appointments in UM’s Ford School of Public Policy, Department of Political Science, Institute for Social Research, and Center for Academic Innovation. She is the founder of ViewPoint Educational Technologies. She co-leads the Detroit Metro Area Communities Study and directs the Ford School’s Program in Practical Policy Engagement. Gerber’s research focuses on urban, regional and metropolitan policy, especially in the areas of sustainability, transportation, and water policy; climate adaptation; and community, workforce, and economic development.