Don't Let 'FOMO' Ruin Transportation Planning

The "fear of missing out," also known as FOMO, is no way to make transportation decisions, according to this article.

1 minute read

June 27, 2019, 11:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Hyperloop One

Kevin Krejci / Flickr

"More likely than not, your elected officials are basing mobility policy decisions not on cost-benefit analysis or strategic foresight, but on a classic modern insecurity: FOMO."

That's David Zipper's theory, explained in an article for CityLab. When transportation decision makers start make the FOMO mistake, cities get saddled with expensive demonstration projects for autonomous vehicles that show off more than provide benefits for residents.

There are other kinds of projects that move forward as a result of FOMO, according to Zipper, like the Hyperloop of the Boring Company, both of which have made progress, in iterative forms somewhat resembling their original ideas, in Las Vegas, Chicago, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and a route connecting Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

"The problem with these projects," writes Zipper, "is that they are the policy equivalent of Instagram glamour shots, crafted to elicit admiration and envy rather than improve lives. And, like the mayor of Springfield in TheSimpsons who is determined to get a new monorail before Shelbyville does, their backers insist on unveiling the shiny new technology ahead of anyone else."

Wednesday, June 19, 2019 in CityLab

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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