The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has announced the release of the final report for“Mobility Mindset of the Millennial in Small Urban and Rural Areas.” Authored by P.I. Natalie Villwock-Witte and Karalyn Clouser, the report focuses on a survey of residents in four states to understand whether Millennials in small urban and rural communities have the same mobility mindset as those in large cities. The collaborative research was sponsored by the University Transportation Center program, through the Small Urban and Rural Livability Center (SURLC). MnDOT offers an excellent fact sheet on the project, as well as the full report.
WTI Center: Small Urban and Rural Livability Center
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Natalie Villwock-Witte’s Millennial research featured in WIRED magazine
Last week, WIRED magazine published a feature article on its website about one of WTI’s projects documenting Millennial transportation trends. “Rural Millennials Still Dig Driving. They Have No Choice” highlighted the findings of WTI’s survey of Millennials in four states (Minnesota, Montana, Washington, and Wisconsin) to determine whether there are differences in transportation preferences between Millennials in urban and rural areas. Principal Investigator Natalie Villwock-Witte was interviewed for the article about her project, which found that 87% of rural Millennials prefer to drive themselves to work, as compared to 75% or Millennials in urban areas. Read the full article here.
New Publication: Small Town and Rural Multimodal Networks
The USDOT Federal Highway Administration has released “Small Town and Rural Multimodal Networks,” a report developed by the Small Urban and Rural Livability Center (SURLC) at WTI, Alta Planning and Design, and the National Association of Counties through SURLC’s Street Guide Project. The report is intended to provide ideas and guidance to small towns and rural communities who wish to enhance active travel networks for modes such as bicycling and walking. The guide also provides innovative examples of successful projects that are applicable to rural communities. David Kack, Rebecca Gleason, and Taylor Londsdale served as co-authors on the report, which is available on the FHWA website. Or, you can download the pdf here