Mobility is not a transportation problem. It is a public health problem, a housing problem, a climate problem, and an equity problem. Yet the people working on each of those pieces rarely sit in the same room: This learning community changes that. A small, cross-disciplinary cohort of BU graduate students, convened by Lecturer of Law and City Planning & Urban Affairs and former senior transportation official Rob DiAdamo, will come together to dig into the real challenges facing urban mobility — not from one silo or discipline, but from all of them at once. Hear, connect, and learn from practitioners actively shaping policy and delivery in Massachusetts and beyond — including leaders from MassDOT, MBTA, MIT, Harvard Kennedy School, and advocates across transportation, housing, and environmental sectors.

Applications are due by September 20, 2026.

Apply

What is the Urban Mobility & Infrastructure Learning Community?

A 6-month intensive learning community for 10–15 BU graduate students across disciplines to study real urban mobility challenges, develop actionable solutions, and confront the messy realities of implementation. This is not a seminar. It is a problem-solving collective grounded in live challenges, practitioner expertise, and cross-sector collaboration. We are looking for graduate students who bring different lenses to the table in disciplines such as, but not only:

  • Urban Planning
  • Law
  • Public Health
  • Engineering
  • Political Science
  • Real Estate
  • Business
  • Environmental Studies
  • Other studies not listed

The value of this community comes directly from the diversity of perspectives in the room. If you have ever thought “this problem is bigger than my field” — this is for you.

What to expect from the learning community

There will be five sessions from October 2026 through April 2027, each 60–75 minutes, with time to connect afterward. The sessions will be hosted in person at the Initiative on Cities (75 Bay State Road):

  • 15 min Faculty framing of the topic
  • 20 min Practitioner conversation
  • 30 min Student discussion and Q&A
  • Open Informal networking

Sessions are grounded in 1–2 short readings or case studies distributed in advance. Come prepared to discuss, debate, and push ideas forward — not just listen. Each session connects mobility to a broader policy challenge — because that is where the real leverage is:

  • Public Health: Transit access, active mobility, environmental health disparities
  • Housing & Affordability: Commute burden, transit-oriented development, inclusionary policy
  • Climate & Environment: Decarbonization, land use, resilience
  • Economic Opportunity: Job access, workforce equity, development patterns
  • Procurement & Funding: Project delivery, federal/state/local coordination, budget constraints
  • Political Reality: Stakeholder conflicts, political feasibility, institutional barriers

What you will get out of this learning community

  • Access to senior practitioners from MassDOT, MBTA, the business community, other state/local agencies, and leading advocacy organizations
  • Engagement with live, real-world challenges in procurement, funding, equity, and project delivery
  • A cross-sector network connecting peers and leaders across public, private, and nonprofit sectors
  • Career exposure — understanding what work at the intersection of mobility and policy actually looks like, including the hard realities of implementation

Application & Questions

Interested students can apply by filling out a short form below. Applications are due by September 20, 2026.

Apply

Please reach out to Rob DiAdamo to learn more or ask questions: rdiadamo@bu.edu · 978-407-6276

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