Episode 36: Designing the future of mobility, feat. Dan Sturges

Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast

GUESTS: Dan Sturges and Lukas Neckermann
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Lifelong car fan and vehicle designer Dan Sturges discusses his new book, ‘Near to Far: A design for a new equitable and sustainable transportation system’. The book is both the culmination of a life in vehicle design and the automotive industry, and something a manifesto for the future of mobility.
You’ll note the reference to Dan being a car fan, but not a petrolhead, for reasons that will become clear.
The list of organisations which he has worked is long; a transportation designer, entrepreneur, and educator, his career started as an automobile designer at General Motors, and has since included time at, among others, ITS at UC Davis, GEM cars, Segway, Calstart, IntraGO, Local Motors, Acorn Delivery, and the US Transportation Research Board committee for New Public Transportation Systems and Technology.
Dan has become increasingly disillusioned by the increase not just in the number of vehicles on the road, but also the size of those vehicles, many of which are disproportionately large for everyday use. And it’s that term, everyday use, which Dan seeks to address in his book. The references to vehicle size here lean towards what’s offered to North American buyers, but even in Europe, it's difficult to think of a vehicle that got smaller from one generation to the next.
In this episode, Dan talks about how you can be a mobility advocate and a car fan – they’re not mutually exclusive; how car designers can help in the transition from ownership to usership; and why the transition is impossible without a holistic mobility ecosystem that incorporates new vehicles, new infrastructure, and new business models.
Also on this episode is Lukas Neckermann, of Neckermann Strategic Advisors – Lukas is, as many listeners will know, a major advocate of urban mobility, and like Dan, has a background in the automotive industry.
EPISODE NOTES
You can learn more about Dan's book - Near to Far: A design for a new equitable and sustainable transportation system - by following this link, and by checking local Amazon stores for availability.
ABOUT THE GUESTS
Dan Sturges
Dan is a mobility designer, educator, and entrepreneur. Learn more about Dan here - and connect with him on LinkedIn
Lukas Neckermann
Lukas is a consultant, speaker, mobility advocate and the author of several books on the future of mobility.
Learn more about Neckermann Associates here
Connect with Lukas on LinkedIn

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