Hi Nicholas,
One of the more challenging aspects of certain modes of freight transportation--and I would cite urban rail--is the complexity of their relationship with industrial land use, manufacturing systems and logistics technology, and the capacity for strategic public/private partnerships in a given regional context.
Los Angeles is but one of many cities that have great reservoirs of under-used industrial land left over from the WW1 era that actually have strong locational attributes--close to global port resources, continental rail connections, major freeway corridors--all of which might conceivably contribute to significant reductions in less-productive ton-miles and freeway usage generally. But these precincts are stranded in their present state by a host of factors, some of which I could include--
> lack of interest from the Class I rail industry sector in continuing to innovate in systems and technology that would allow more penetration into urban manufacturing and terminal hub operations;
> the decades long cycle of decline--hopefully now about to reset--in the attention given to American manufacturing sector;
> the "perception lag" in both manufacturing and in logistics sectors that is still largely grounded in assumptions over-use of cheap land on the ex-urban periphery, an over-use of (now increasingly limited) freeway and inter-state capacity, and assumptions centering on use of lots of less-skilled labor on the suburban edge relying exclusively on SOV personal transportation;
> a broad lack of public sector capacity to redevelopment, re-assemble and re-package obsolete urban industrial precincts--and, most particularly, equitably engage in the various incumbent stakeholders and communities of interests;
> imperfectly perceived or appreciated opportunities in locating employment sites near urban concentrations of increasingly diverse (sometimes highly skilled) labor--and the utility of public transit access in supporting an employer's commute shed.
> the lack of particular acumen and advocacy from the industrial realty and real estate development sector focused on urban site opportunities; and
> the lack of applied analysis and innovation on the part of industrial manufacturing and logistics users on achieving long-term efficiency payoffs through better trade-offs in more intense use of better located urban sites and reduced (over) use of increasingly constrained highway resources.
So I would like to see if we could reach out to some of the more thoughtful, cutting edge actors in the industrial land development and high technology manufacturing sectors to see where there might be opportunities to start a dialogue. Unfortunately I don't have contacts to suggest myself. Perhaps there might be staff at EDA in the Department of Commerce that could advise--.
Regards,
Jeff Carpenter, AICP
(formerly with the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles)
On Sep 28, 2012, at 5:45 AM, Kehoe, Nicholas P. wrote:
FHWA is now planning the Talking Freight seminars for 2013. We would like to hear directly from you regarding potential topics and speakers, so that we can continue to meet your needs.
If you have an idea for a topic, please send the topic and a brief description to Nicholas Kehoe ([log in to unmask]). If you have suggestions for presenters, please send names and contact information if available.
If you've never participated in Talking Freight and want to learn more, please visit http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/FPD/talking_freight/index.htm. On this page you can also register for upcoming seminars. FHWA's Office of Freight Management and Operations and the Office of Planning host the Talking Freight seminars. The seminars are part of a broader Freight Professional Development Program aimed at providing technical assistance, training, tools, and information to help the freight and planning workforce meet the transportation challenges of tomorrow.
Seminars are held via web conference. This format allows for extensive participation of freight stakeholders from across the country. Through the use of web conferencing, participants can view the speakers' presentations on their personal computer and hear the audio portion of the presentation by dialing into the assigned teleconference number or by listening through your computer speakers. The seminars are typically held on the third Wednesday of each month from 1:00 - 2:30 pm ET and are open at no cost to all interested parties in both the public and private sectors.
Talking Freight Seminars are eligible for AICP Certification Maintenance credits. Each seminar is worth 1.5 credits. In order to receive credit you must attend the full seminar and either login with your full first and last name, or type your full name into the chat box if you are attending with a group of people. To learn more about AICP Certification Maintenance, please visit http://www.planning.org/cm/.
We hope you continue to participate in Talking Freight, and if you have not yet attended a seminar we encourage you to register to see what it's all about!
Nicholas P. Kehoe | SAIC
Transportation Engineer | Transportation Solutions Division
Science Applications International Corporation
8301 Greensboro Drive
MS E.12.3
McLean, Virginia 22102
Energy | Environment | National Security | Health | Critical Infrastructure
Please consider the environment before printing this email.
This email and any attachments to it are intended only for the identified recipients. It may contain proprietary or otherwise legally protected information of SAIC. Any unauthorized use or disclosure of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender and delete or otherwise destroy the email and all attachments immediately.