I attended the TransportationCamp DC 2016 on January 9, 2016 at George Mason University in Arlington, VA. There were over 400 people there—a packed house and a diverse group in every aspect. Every age was represented as well as diverse interests and careers in transportation. Bike groups from various cities, public transit, planners, engineers, journalists and bloggers, advocates and technical experts all had the opportunity to propose a workshop and then lead the discussion.
This really was a unique meeting referred to as an un-conference. In this type of format, there are no predetermined workshops. There’s a ton of positive energy and people at the meeting use this forum to be heard. At a conference of people who want to share their ideas, it was heartening to see that people were equally open to listening as well. The most valuable part of the meeting for me was the networking. The room used for the welcome is purposely small to force interactions. Everybody had to make an introduction and a number of people came up to me afterwards to introduce themselves as ITE members.
TransportationCamp was fun and exciting –unique and diverse. It was a great experience for me as I begin to learn about transportation and the vast possibilities inherent in this industry.