Infrastructure

Research Paper June 17, 2026 Moving the Needle? Understanding the Uneven Performance of State and Local Land, Transportation, Energy, and Water Conservation Efforts To what degree have state and local governments “moved the needle” with land, transportation, energy, and water conservation efforts? Are America’s urban communities and near-urban environments truly better off?  John Landis Urban Development
Josué Tanaka headshot glasses red tie
Urban Leadership Awardee Josué Tanaka
Principal Finance Advisor at C40 Cities Visiting Professor in Practice at the LSE Grantham Research Institute
Josué Tanaka is a 2026 Nussdorf Urban Leadership Prize Winner. Climate Change & Resilience State & Local Finance
Announcement June 10, 2026 Transportation Initiative at Penn Welcomes Nadine S. Lee as a Senior Strategic Advisor The Transportation Initiative at Penn (TRIP) announces the appointment of Nadine S. Lee, former President and Chief Executive Officer of Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), as a Senior Strategic Advisor Urban Development
News June 2, 2026 Alstom strengthens U.S. rail future through partnerships with academic institutions Leslie Richards, founder and director of the Transportation Initiative at Penn, welcomes partnership with Alstom to bridge transportation research and real-world practice. Urban Development
Podcasts May 29, 2026 Special Briefing on Boosting Infrastructure Investment for Global Cities: Lessons from the $4 Trillion U.S. Municipal Bond Market The $4 trillion U.S. municipal bond market has drawn increasing international attention as a model for financing long-term public investment. State & Local Finance
May 14 2026 Past Event Special Briefing on Boosting Infrastructure Investment for Global Cities: Lessons from the $4 Trillion U.S. Municipal Bond Market Speakers:  William Glasgall Susan Wachter Alexander Chilton Paul Smoke Emily Brock Pietrangelo De Biase Sean Dougherty State & Local Finance
Apr 09 2026 Past Event Death of Distance Redux? How AI is Changing the Future of Cities Speakers:  Elizabeth Delmelle Erick Guerra John Landis Susan Wachter Xiaojiang Li Urban Development
Mar 26 2026 Past Event Special Briefing on Transportation Opportunities & Challenges in the New Federalism Speakers:  William Glasgall Leslie Richards Eryn Hurley Baye Larsen Robert Poole Naomi Renek Lauren Schapker State & Local Finance
Article February 12, 2026 Fernando Ferreira on the Economic Value of Zoning Reform Fernando Ferreira studies how public policy and market forces interact to shape cities, housing markets, and public outcomes State & Local Finance
Feb 20 2026 Past Event Wharton-Weitzman Future of Cities Conference: Reimagining Urban Futures Urban Development State & Local Finance
Patrick Sabol
Staff Patrick Sabol
Program Director, Transportation Initiative at Penn
Patrick Sabol is the Program Director for the Transportation Initiative at Penn (TRIP). Urban Development
News December 16, 2025 Leslie Richards on Penn’s Ambitious New Transportation Initiative The former CEO of PennDOT and SEPTA is working to break down silos and overcome the barriers to innovation. Leslie Richards Urban Development
News December 9, 2025 NYC leading office-to-housing conversions Penn IUR Faculty Fellow Vincent Reina of the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design on what it takes to make office-to-housing conversions viable. Housing
Podcasts December 5, 2025 Special Briefing on AI in Government—More Efficiency but Fewer Workers? The launch of ChatGPT in 2022 sparked an “AI arms race” with trillions of dollars in investment and profound implications for productivity and employment. Join William Glasgall, Penn IUR Fellow and Volcker Alliance Public Finance Adviser, and Susan Wachter, Co-Director of Penn IUR and Wharton professor, and our expert panel as we discuss how generative AI and related technologies are reshaping public sector operations, workforce needs, and infrastructure planning. Panelists include Jon Hartley, Policy Fellow, Hoover Institution; Leigh Palmer, Vice President, Google Public Sector LLC; Megan Kilgore, City Auditor, City of Columbus, Ohio; Howard Neukrug, Executive Director, The Water Center at Penn and Professor of Practice, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Pennsylvania; and Thomas Sanchez, Professor, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University. Jon Hartley Leigh Palmer Megan Kilgore Howard Neukrug Thomas Sanchez State & Local Finance
Article November 14, 2025 Fellows in Urban Leadership Explore Climate Resilience in New York City The University of Pennsylvania’s 2025-2026 cohort of Fellows in Urban Leadership traveled to New York City for a full-day immersion into the layered, interdisciplinary work of building urban climate resilience. Climate Change & Resilience
Article October 29, 2025 Jere R. Behrman on the Impacts of Community Infrastructure on Children’s Learning Jere R. Behrman is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics and Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, a Penn IUR Faculty Fellow, and a Research Associate at Penn’s Population Studies Center (PSC), Population Aging Research Center (PARC), and the Penn Development Research Initiative (PDRI). State & Local Finance
Podcasts October 28, 2025 Special Briefing on Strategies for Closing the US Infrastructure Gap Public infrastructure gaps and deferred maintenance are critical challenges for state and local governments. Join William Glasgall, Penn IUR Fellow and Volcker Alliance Public Finance Adviser, and Susan Wachter, Co-Director of Penn IUR and Wharton professor, and our expert panel as we discuss how states and municipalities can better measure, manage, and fund infrastructure gaps. Panelists include Geoffrey Buswick, Managing Director & Sector Leader in U.S. Public Finance, S&P Global Ratings; Camila Fonseca Sarmiento, Director of Fiscal Research, Institute for Urban and Regional Infrastructure Finance; Hughey Newsome, Chief Financial Officer, Sound Transit; Leslie Richards, Professor of Practice, City and Regional Planning, Weitzman School of Design and Former CEO of SEPTA; Fatima Yousofi, Senior Officer, The Pew Charitable Trusts.  Geoffrey Buswick Camila Fonseca Sarmiento Hughey Newsome Fatima Yousofi Leslie Richards State & Local Finance
Article October 20, 2025 Erick Guerra on the Costs and Benefits of Roads Erick Guerra studies the intersection of transportation, land use, and travel behavior, particularly in rapidly urbanizing and motorizing cities.  Urban Development
Oct 17 2025 Past Event The Richards Transportation Initiative at Penn Launch Event Speakers:  Leslie Richards Leigh Palmer Urban Development
Oct 16 2025 Past Event Special Briefing: Strategies for Closing the US Infrastructure Gap Speakers:  William Glasgall Susan Wachter Leslie Richards Camila Fonseca Sarmiento Geoffrey Buswick Fatima Yousofi Hughey Newsome State & Local Finance

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