On July 15-16, CURA along with the STEAM Factory, the Sustainability Institute (SI) and Portland State University (PSU) hosted a National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored workshop on New Mobility and Cities at the STEAM Factory space at 400 Rich Street in Franklinton. The two day workshop focused on exploring a research network of urban sustainability observatories through data-enabled university-community partnerships.  
 
Workshop participants explored how to leverage data from smart city and other technologies to create urban data observatories that can track community progress towards environmental sustainability and social equity, and cultivate an innovative ecosystem for new mobility technologies that fosters these goals. Participants also discussed how to use urban observatories to enable new forms of sustainable urban systems science and policy that involves universities, community stakeholders and citizens as partners.    
 
More than 60 people participated, including Ohio State and Portland State faculty and staff, and community stakeholders from the public and private sectors in both cities. Local participants included the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, Smart Columbus, Central Ohio Transit Authority, the Columbus Foundation, EmpowerBus and Honda.  Portland participants included members of the city's Department of Transportation, Portland TriMet and SmartPDX. Also represented were speakers and participants from the University of Minnesota, Rutgers University, the US Forest Service and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network. Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin inspired the participants with opening remarks about the city's mission to improve social equity using innovative mobility.