Greg GRIFFIN

Imagine if we managed cities by outcome (fatality reduction), rather than outputs (call responses). Maybe fire & police could get on board w Safe Systems.

Pioneering U.S. Street Photography, With Vienna in the Background

“Don’t shoot until the subject hits you in the pit of your stomach” was her advice to her pupils.

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/a...

YouTube video by Portland Bureau of Transportation PBOT Vision Zero Roadway Reorganization Explainer

youtube.com/shorts/OWnLs...

This is what good decisions look like.

Human Transit, Revised Edition

All print books are 50% off at Island Press, including my book Human Transit, the book that welcomes everyone into clear thinking about public transit! Stock up for the holidays! Print edition only (because giving ebooks is no fun)! islandpress.org/books/human-...

‘The Evergreen’: What to do about freeways Every American city — including Portland — is divided by crumbling old highways, and every city is trying to figure out what to do with them. Listen in this week as "The Big Dig" podcast in Boston joins in.

"The Big Dig" podcast from Boston came to town for a conversation with OPB’s Lillian Karabaic, whose "Stop Requested" project looked into public transit across Oregon, about Portland’s own attempts to solve that puzzle and undo the harms of the past.

Opinion | The Promise of the Bronx River Parkway

The Promise of the Bronx River Parkway www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/o...

It’s the biking fitness 💪

Motion to create a new city staff position for Odnarodude stateside.

@bmj.com, a renowned health journal, slams car bloat:

"Cars are becoming steadily larger, [and] with this comes potential harms to health...Action is needed locally, nationally, and internationally to curb sales of new SUVs and to reduce their presence in urban areas."

www.bmj.com/content/391/...

Bicyclist turning across the new 4th Ave bike lane in Portland, OR.

Park Blocks in fall foliage, Portland, OR

Today’s Friday, and downtown Portland is doing alright. Mark me as safe 😜

In January-Feb, LinkedIn served me lots of ads for Secret Service jobs. Maybe they need critical pedagogy 😆

These distances are from a 2019 Oregon travel survey (www.oregon.gov/odot/Plannin...). Your mileage may vary.

City leaders need to consider biking, scooting, and transit more when shaping urban areas.

In the I-35 rebuild through Austin, will speed trump trust? | Opinion The $4.5 billion TxDOT project shows what happens when an agency charged with building also decides how much scrutiny it deserves, Greg Griffin writes.

My latest op-ed in the Austin American-Statesman shows the risks that TxDOT and other DOTs take when they self-approve environmental reviews.

This finding is a small part from my research on the book Transport Truths (Bristol University Press, 2025)
www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

My modeling friends down the hall at the MPO (not Portland) years ago talked about ‘land use’ and it was just population & employment guesstimates for each traffic analysis zone. Past travel mode choice carried to future with no changes. There was no real feedback between years.

Thanks, I’m happy to share and pleased to hear of requests to libraries for the book!

Looking forward to it!

Portland, I'm coming your way!

On Oct 10 I'll give a keynote at the PacTrans Transportation Conference, discussing ways that cities can future-proof themselves for self-driving cars.

Info: pactransconference.com

Thanks to @trecpdx.bsky.social for extending the invite.

Not that I know of. But, a cheeky jurisdiction could translate LTS to the infrastructure bike route versus lane codes in Google’s data.

Years ago, I did run LTS for the Austin region, which formed the basis of our regional planning maps and then also for local navigation maps like San Marcos’.

Working in transportation, I’d thought algorithms sent more streetscape Captchas to me. But I think tech companies are using is to train AIs to automate 🚗

Transportation pros know that economics are a small part of travel modeling. How quixotic are our forecasts?

Believe in A.I.? Buy Beaten-Down Value Stocks.

“… when major government policies shift overnight, making long-term economic projections is quixotic at best. Still, some people do it for a living.” @jeffnyc.bsky.social in www.nytimes.com/2025/09/12/b...

Welcome back to the West Coast and enjoy your bike rides!

In Portland, I get very different transit options using Google Maps vs Transit app, so usually check both. Kind of frustrating, but also happy to have info that was just guessing some years ago. Is your commute e-bikable?

PSU researchers simulate earthquake to test soil-strengthening treatment Researchers at Portland State University tested a soil treatment to fortify soil against liquefaction. We'll hear from two researchers to learn more.

Last week, a plot of land in North Portland felt a shake—not one caused by an earthquake, but by a machine known as T-Rex. PSU researchers were simulating a minor quake.

Hear from researchers Arash Khosravifar and Diane Moug of @maseehcollege.bsky.social on @opb.org: www.opb.org/article/2025...

Councilor Mitch Green standing with a Nike bike at an intersection

Is this the first time in history a sitting Portland City Council member has corked an intersection during a bike ride? Cc: @councilorgreen.bsky.social

A group rode/walked to City Hall today ahead of the council discussion on Vision Zero, led by @councilortkl.bsky.social.

Request: Do any of y'all use TransCAD in your work? If so, would you be willing to do a zoom talk in my class this term? I can't offer any real money, but I'll venmo you coffee money at least. 😏🙏

Maybe a good opportunity to pull in an MPO modeler guest lecture? We used TransCAD in grad school in Austin, but I’m no regular user.

The sub-text for me is not about artificial intelligence, but rather about ways that people are thinking about the future of society with technology. Ironically, not all urban planning education programs, engage directly with serious thinking about the future, regardless of ideology.