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Todd Litman

Todd Litman is the executive director of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute.

Member for

20 years 9 months

Contributed 458 posts


Full Bio

Todd Litman is founder and executive director of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, an independent research organization dedicated to developing innovative solutions to transport problems. His work helps to expand the range of impacts and options considered in transportation decision-making, improve evaluation methods, and make specialized technical concepts accessible to a larger audience. His research is used worldwide in transport planning and policy analysis.



Mr. Litman has worked on numerous studies that evaluate transportation costs, benefits and innovations. He authored the Online TDM Encyclopedia, a comprehensive Internet resource for identifying and evaluating mobility management strategies; Transportation Cost and Benefit Analysis: Techniques, Estimates and Implications, a comprehensive study which provides cost and benefit information in an easy-to-apply format; and Parking Management Best Practices, the most comprehensive book available on management solutions to parking problems. Mr. Litman is a frequent speaker at conferences and workshops. His presentations range from technical and practical to humorous and inspirational. He is active in several professional organizations, including the Institute of Transportation Engineers and the Transportation Research Board (a section of U.S. National Academy of Sciences). He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Transportation Research A, a professional journal.

Choosing Ignorance is Stupid

<p class="MsoNormal"> People love statistics. They let us understanding the world beyond our own senses. <em>USA Today</em> publishes a daily <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/snapshot.htm">Snapshot</a> which presents a graph of random statistics. Sports talk and business analysis are dominated by statistics. We measure our progress, or lack thereof, and compare ourselves with others, based on statistics about our size, activities and accomplishments. </p>

Avoiding Undesirable Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

Planners strive to anticipate future needs, which sometimes creates self-fulfilling prophecies: by preparing for a situation we help cause it. This is particularly true of automobile dependency. Planning decisions intended to accommodate automobile.

Avoiding Logical Fallacies in Planning

<p class="MsoNormal"> Our profession relies on logical analysis of accurate data. There are an amazing number of ways to go wrong. </p>

Using Cartoons to Explain Smart Growth

Consider adding this animated video, which explains how past planning practices created sprawl and how smart growth policies can help solve multiple problems, to your family's Sunday morning cartoon rotation.

Debating Smart Growth

<p class="MsoNormal"> Last Thursday I debated the merits of <a href="http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/about_sg.htm">smart growth</a> with <a href="http://ti.org/antiplanner/">‘Anti-planner’ Randal O&#39;Toole</a> at a <strong><span style="font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: #1f497d"><a href="http://www.southfraser.net/2012/01/south-fraser-ontrax-presents-debate-on.html">community forum</a> </span></strong>in Langley, a rapidly-growing suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia. <span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', sans-serif">A recording of the Debate and presenters&#39; slide shows are available at <a style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: #005884" href="http://www.southfraser.net/2012/02/smart-growth-debate-media.html">www.southfraser.net/2012/02/smart-growth-debate-media.html</a>. </span>At the end more than three quarters of the audience voted for a <a href="http://www.southfraser.net/2012/01/smart-growth-debate-resolution.html">pro-smart-growth resolution</a>. This may reflect some selection bias – people concerned about sprawl may have been more likely to attend – but I believe that given accurate information most citizens will support smart growth due to its various <a href="http://www.vtpi.org/sg_save.pdf">savings and benefits</a>.   </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> Smart growth sometimes faces <a href="/node/54342">organized opposition</a> by critics. It is important that planners respond effectively and professionally. Here is my critique of O&#39;Toole’s claims and some advice for planners who face similar critics. 

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