Introducing our Washington DC-based correspondent Marcela Moreno!
Here at Pedestrian Space we recently launched a Global Walkability Correspondents Network, as a way to build solidarity among walkability advocates around the world and continue to create media on sustainable mobility and urbanism.
We are grateful to have Marcela on board as our Washington DC area Correspondent. Read on for some of her thoughts as we launch this network.
I think that I became passionate about walkable places that had plenty of mobility options because I grew up in the suburbs of Texas which are so isolating and make it extremely hard to get by without a car.
Marcela Moreno
WHO
I’m Marcela – I am a ‘Transit Technologist’ in title at the Community Transportation Association of America in Washington DC. Basically, I’m a transit planner who really, really likes technology and figuring out how it works. Before that, I was the Transit Projects Coordinator at the City of Asheville in North Carolina. Asheville is small city in the mountains of Western NC. Before that, I was a Research Associate at Georgia Tech working on renewable energy policy. I spent most of my life in Atlanta, GA – I went to middle school and high school in the suburbs and eventually got my Bachelors (History & Sociology) and Masters (City & Regional Planning – Environmental & Health Planning) at Georgia Tech. I am really passionate about making liveable communities and tend to focus on small urban and rural places.
While I love cities, we need the same energy for mobility for our friends and neighbors outside of metropolitan areas.
WHERE
I’m originally from San Antonio, TX, and lived most of my life in Atlanta, GA. I think that I became passionate about walkable places that had plenty of mobility options because I grew up in the suburbs of Texas which are so isolating and make it extremely hard to get by without a car. There wasn’t transit service by my neighborhood, I’d have to walk at least a mile just to get out of my neighborhood, and sidewalks were sparse.
Eventually, I did a homestay in southern France in middle school. We stayed with a French family that showed us around Nice. We walked everywhere. It was safe. It was pleasant. It was easy. It’s probably the first place that I ever thought ‘when I am an adult, I want my life to be like this’.
I’m interested in this work because I want to advocate for and support places that give our communities a dignified means to move.
MARCELA MORENO
Later, I studied abroad in Leeds, UK. I didn’t have a car and was able to get around reliably and quickly with my feet and the bus. Spending half a year in the UK and Europe confirmed my love for cities that supported mobility options. Now, I live in Washington, DC. I love it here – it probably has one of the best transit systems in America. There are definitely some issues, but it’s a work in progress. I’m still figuring out the issues in the area because I’m new here, but I’m excited to learn.
WHY WALKABILITY
There are so many benefits to having a city that supports mobility for all. Getting people out of their cars is good for the environment and physical health (and for your stress levels). You make connections with the people living in your community. It’s good for economic development. You can reduce the burden of transportation costs on people. You create spaces that people idealize (think of those little Christmas villages that people collect – are there cars? No! It’s a cute little village where you can walk everywhere!). Cities or towns that don’t have a lot of mobility options are stifling. It limits peoples’ independence – their ability to access jobs, healthcare, social connection, and generally live life! I’m interested in this work because I want to advocate for and support places that give our communities a dignified means to move.
Marcela Moreno is an urban planner living in Washington DC where she works as a Transit Technologist with the Community Transportation Association of America. She firmly believes that public transportation is a critical social service, and should be accessible, frequent, and reliable for all. She loves exploring new cities, and getting lost on urban reconnaissance trips.
Read Washington, DC, USA Correspondent Marcela’s content here
Learn more about the Global Walkability Correspondents Network here