Tag Archives for: Stantec

Stantec GenerationAV™ partners with Swiftmile to advance micromobility and create AV-ready streets

February 16, 2021

 

 

 

 

Stantec GenerationAV™ partners with Swiftmile to advance micromobility and create AV-ready streets

 

Micromobility Hubs will keep light electric vehicles orderly and charged while serving as a platform for autonomous and connected vehicle technology

 

 

 

Stantec GenerationAV™ and Swiftmile have entered into a partnership to bring Swiftmile’s Micromobility Hubs to cities, municipalities, and campuses, helping scale adoption of electric micromobility while providing a new platform for integrating AV and connected vehicle technology. The partnership addresses immediate needs such as sidewalk safety and parking for micromobility, while creating an AV-ready future, pairing the deployment of mobility hubs with mobility programming, complete streets planning, and design.

Micromobility is establishing itself as a lasting element of the urban streetscape and a key mechanism for transport decarbonization. E-scooter and bikeshare ridership was on an impressive growth trajectory before the COVID-19 pandemic, and has been widely supported by public investments in protected bike lanes and open streets over the past year. With increased action by cities and a continued growth in modal options, industry analysts predict that micromobility will thrive over the long term.

The micromobility sector’s continued growth will require more safe places to ride as well as new public infrastructure for vehicles to park and charge. Swiftmile’s Micromobility Hubs can charge any type of light electric vehicle — shared and personally-owned. Hubs include smart technology that can help AVs navigate in complex urban environments, while also providing docking and charging space for delivery bots, which are already being piloted in some cities.

“Both micromobility and automated mobility are critical pieces of the transportation puzzle moving forward, for large and medium-sized cities,” said Corey Clothier, Director of Stantec GenerationAV™. “Our partnership with Swiftmile will connect the dots from urban planning, AV education, and smart technology to make new mobility options work for cities, campuses, and developers alike.”

Swiftmile’s charging stations can integrate mid-band 5G capabilities, which enables data exchange, vehicle to infrastructure communication, AV localization and other intelligent transportation system (ITS) functions. The integration of additional LiDAR sensors can track traffic volumes, trajectory, and speed. This technology-enabled data collection can help inform and plan mobility programs that suit the distinct needs of the community.

“Swiftmile sits at the confluence of three movements: the micromobility boom, the reinvention of urban streetscapes, and growing public investment in green transportation infrastructure,” said Swiftmile CEO Colin Roche. “This new ‘better together’ partnership will help us both accelerate these 3 major movements at scale in 2021 and beyond.”

“We have the tools to design and plan smarter complete streets while providing flexible, sustainable mobility options for people,” said Kate Jack, Smart Mobility Lead at Stantec. “By pairing the next generation of technology with a city’s transportation and development plans, we can create mobility hubs that advance equitable, accessible transportation options in all kinds of communities.”

Learn more about Stantec GenerationAV™ and Swiftmile.

About Swiftmile
Swiftmile is the new class of green infrastructure helping decarbonize urban transport. We build and operate Micromobility Hubs that charge and organize e-scooters, e-bikes, and other light electric vehicles (LEVs). Swiftmile can offer these systems at little or no cost to cities through an on-Hub out-of-home advertising (OOH) unit. Swiftmile is the pioneer and market leader in LEV charging, and is helping drive battery and charging standardization for the entire micromobility sector. Swiftmile is based in San Carlos, CA.

About Stantec
Communities are fundamental. Whether around the corner or across the globe, they provide a foundation, a sense of place and of belonging. That’s why at Stantec, we always design with community in mind.

We care about the communities we serve—because they’re our communities too. This allows us to assess what’s needed and connect our expertise, to appreciate nuances and envision what’s never been considered, to bring together diverse perspectives so we can collaborate toward a shared success.

We’re designers, engineers, scientists, and project managers, innovating together at the intersection of community, creativity, and client relationships. Balancing these priorities results in projects that advance the quality of life in communities across the globe.

Stantec trades on the TSX and the NYSE under the symbol STN.

For more information about Stantec’s response to COVID-19, visit Responding to COVID-19.

Media Contact
Colin Nekolaichuk
Stantec Media Relations
Ph (437) 225-6384
colin.nekolaichuk@stantec.com

The Value of U.S. Downtowns and Center Cities Report Released by IDA

January 29, 2018

 

 

The Value of U.S. Downtowns and Center Cities Report Released by IDA

 

While small in size, these dynamic hubs wield substantial regional influence in tax revenue,
employment, housing and retail activity.

 

 

WASHINGTON, DC – Cities and regions have the potential to leverage profound lasting benefits through investment in downtowns and center cities, according to The Value of U.S. Downtowns and Center Cities report released by the International Downtown Association (IDA). From driving tax revenue and business activity to spurring smart development and innovative workplaces, downtowns play a pivotal role in the long-term health of a region.

 

 

The report is the result of an eight-month study by IDA, in partnership with Stantec’s Urban Places team, an interdisciplinary hub joining the global firm’s urban experts, and 13 downtown place management organization members across the United States to create a replicable, accessible and standard methodology to calculate the value of downtowns. The resulting report articulates the mutual benefits of downtown investment to a broad range of relevant stakeholders. This research shows the importance a downtown has on its city and region, thus demonstrating its unique return on investment to help advise future decision making and to increase support from local decision makers.

The Value of U.S. Downtowns and Center Cities is informed by experts and downtown leaders from around the country, encompassing over 100 key data points, 33 guiding benefits and five principles (economy, inclusion, vibrancy, identity, and resilience). The project examined 13 American downtowns and center cities and was modeled after the award-winning project, The Value of Investing in Canadian Downtowns (2013).

“This project is the most significant body of research IDA has ever produced. It is our first quantifiable study of downtown performance, and its release marks the beginning of our new research division,” said David Downey, CAE, Assoc. AIA, President & CEO of IDA. “I couldn’t be more pleased with the third-party evaluation we have delivered to our 13 member organizations and the new standard IDA has established for the urban place management industry.”

This initial downtown pilot group underscores the powerful impact of these downtowns far beyond their limited physical footprint with a city.

Among its key findings:

Downtowns average just 3% of citywide land, but account for 31% of citywide tax revenue. This means for every 1% of citywide land, downtowns contribute approximately 10% of citywide tax revenue.
Despite the uncertain future of retail, downtown retail is still a significant presence – averaging 16% of citywide retail sales and retail offerings. On average, downtowns generate nine times more retail sales than their citywide counterparts.
Downtowns continue to serve as major employment centers, accounting for 30% of citywide jobs and 40% of citywide office space. They are also adapting to workplace trends, containing 60% of citywide co-working space, 39% of citywide creative jobs, and 31% of citywide knowledge jobs.
Residents aren’t just moving to cities – they are moving to downtowns. Downtown residential is increasing much faster than the rest of the city (38% compared to 5%). Downtowns also saw a 27% increase in residential housing units from 2010-2015, compared to the city’s average of 6%.
Downtowns are multi-modal hubs. Downtowns consistently had higher Walk Scores, Bike Scores and Transit Scores than their greater cities (85-90 compared to 52-57), had higher rates of non-single-occupancy vehicle (SOV) commuters (43% compared to citywide 28%).

The research in this study will empower local leaders to work with the public and private sectors at multiple levels to encourage investment and support the continued evolution of downtown. Investing in a strong downtown is crucial for a successful city and region.

“This report, and all the great data that underlies it, helps to quantify what we’ve known for decades—that a vibrant downtown disproportionately supports the success of any great city. In terms of economic, social, and cultural vitality, downtowns punch orders of magnitude above their weight,” said Craig Lewis, Principal of Stantec’s Urban Places. “Our team is proud to have contributed to this piece of vital research. We look forward to our continuing partnership with the International Downtown Association to help downtowns and business districts—especially IDA members—tell the full story of their importance to city and regional economic performance.”

This year, the partnership between IDA and Stantec’s Urban Places will build and expand upon current research related to successful urban revitalization programs and apply the data towards the development of the first Downtown Vitality Index. This annual index will score urban districts and center cities on key economic, social and environmental factors of downtown vitality using these new data standards and methodology. This novel tool will standardize the value assigned to a downtown as a place for a range of stakeholders; create a useful set of tools for replicable, data-driven measurement; and define a baseline for progress assessment and peer comparison.

In 2018, IDA will work with a second cohort of 12 downtowns to further standardize and benchmark the value of American downtowns.The Value of U.S. Downtowns and Center Cities complete report is now available as a free download on downtown.org.

IDA thanks participants in the following cities for their cooperation in this research: Downtown Partnership of Baltimore (Maryland); Charlotte Center City Partners (North Carolina); Downtown Grand Rapids (Michigan); BLVD Association (Lancaster, California); Miami Downtown Development Authority (Florida); Downtown Norfolk Council (Virginia); Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (Pennsylvania); Downtown Sacramento Partnership (California); Centro San Antonio (Texas); Union Square BID (San Francisco, California); Downtown Santa Monica (California); Downtown Seattle Association (Washington); and Wichita Downtown Development Corporation (Kansas).

About International Downtown Association

The International Downtown Association is the premier organization for urban place professionals who are shaping and activating dynamic city center districts. Our members are downtown champions who bring urban centers to life, bridging the gap between the public and private sectors. We represent an industry of more than 2,500 place management organizations, employing 100,000 people throughout North America and growing rapidly around the world. Founded in 1954, IDA is a resource center for ideas and innovative best practices in urban place management. For more information, visit downtown.org.

About Stantec

Communities are fundamental. Whether around the corner or across the globe, they provide a foundation, a sense of place and of belonging. That’s why at Stantec, we always design with community in mind.

We care about the communities we serve—because they’re our communities too. We’re designers, engineers, scientists, and project managers, innovating together at the intersection of community, creativity, and client relationships. Balancing these priorities results in projects that advance the quality of life in communities across the globe. Stantec’s Urban Places team is an interdisciplinary hub within the firm bringing together leaders in planning and urban design, smart mobility, resilience, development, mixed-use architecture, smart cities, and brownfield redevelopment. We work in downtowns across North America—in cities and suburbs alike—to unlock the extraordinary urban promise of enhanced livability, equity, and resilience. Learn more at www.stantec.com/urban-places.