Professor Brian Taylor delivers a talk and presentation on proposals between 1920 and 1940 to fundamentally redesign the street system, transit system, and highway system in LA to cope with burgeoning traffic -- why they mostly failed, and why LA is the worse for it today.
A Mini-Symposium from UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025 In 2005, UCLA Professor Donald Shoup published “The High Cost of Free Parking,” revealing the shaky foundations of minimum parking requirements and explaining how these mandates cause problems far worse than the one they were intended to solve. Since then, more than 100 U.S. cities have eliminated any requirements to provide a minimum number of parking spaces from their zoning code, with hundreds more lifting their parking requirements in key areas like commercial corridors and historic downtowns. In this online event, planners, public officials, researchers, and advocates whose cities were among the first to eliminate parking requirements will share their experiences. Speakers will share why their cities chose to end parking minimums, the new development and opportunities these changes have made possible, and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. After the speaker sessions, attendees are invited to participate in breakout room discussions to share their experiences and consider the effects of parking policies in their own communities. Session 1: Sharing City Experiences In this session, we’ll hear from local leaders about why their cities eliminated minimum parking requirements and see examples of new housing and small [...]
The UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies is delighted to announce the inaugural Pacific Coast Transportation Workshop on policy and planning. Join us in Los Angeles from Friday February 20 to Saturday February 21, 2026. We look forward to discussing research and exchanging ideas in a small, relaxed setting. Submit Abstract Questions and Answers Why are you holding this workshop? We aim to provide a low-cost forum that fosters deeper connections between transportation scholars and that stimulates new ideas. The program will focus on a smaller number of thought-provoking papers and reserve ample time for discussion. We will have a mix of full-length presentations with discussants, and brief “egg timer” talks. Who can attend? The workshop is aimed at faculty, postdocs, PhD students, and other researchers working in the broad areas of transportation policy and planning. We particularly encourage scholars in western North America to attend. How do I submit a paper? Please submit an extended abstract of up to 1,000 words here by 5pm Pacific Time on Friday November 14. Abstracts should follow a three-part structure: questions, methods, results. We invite unpublished empirical and theoretical papers on any topic, using any research method, related to [...]
UCLA has been a leader in transportation research and education for more than a century. Over the past 100 years, transportation research at UCLA has shaped the field, from the earliest traffic studies to the emerging mobility technologies of today. As our world and transportation systems continue to evolve, we look forward to another 100 years in motion. Join us on May 4 to celebrate UCLA's long history of transportation research and education. More details to come.