…And I mean all three of those words extremely literally.  They perfectly describe an event I attended last weekend in San Francisco called TransportationCamp, an event put on by OpenPlans. This “unconference” focused on transportation and technology, and while the diversity of attendees was impressive, I doubt any of them would be offended by being labeled a “transportation nerd.” There were students, urban and transportation planners, activists, transit coordinators, civil engineers, software engineers, coders, bloggers…the list goes on. But while backgrounds varied, all attendees shared a vested interest in the future of alternative transportation and some rational optimism about what technology could do to help progress us forward.

TransportationCamp was an “unconference,” a word I had not heard or used before registering for this event. I’m guessing that that may be true for you too, so here’s a brief explanation from their website:

An “unconference” is a conference where sessions are programmed and led by the attendees. Unconferences are popular in the tech world because they reflect the culture of the industry – hands-on, flexible, a little casual but very hard working. And usually, really fun.

All the sessions are open for attendees to define, describe, and lead. Session can take almost any form. Each lasts no more than 60 minutes in length (and if the conversation is really flying after 60 minutes, you can always schedule a follow-on session). Organize solo, or indicate that you’re looking for collaborators. Possible formats include: a slide presentation followed by Q&A, a panel discussion you have organized, a wide-open brainstorm, or any other arrangement of your design.

Basically what it looked like was this:

Session topics were put on large post-it notes that were then organized and scheduled on a giant board. We consulted the board throughout TransportationCamp to decide where to go next.

Which then led to this:

We broke off into our small, topic based groups and dug in.

I went to a discussion session on livable streets and how the public and private sectors can collaborate and work toward this worthy goal together.  The small group members pointed out that both the public and private can be resistant to change, but that non-profit organizations can sometimes act as a bridge and can work to educate both sides. I also attended brainstorms on pedestrian and bike data collection and ways to use that data if it were easier to attain. Solid data is always useful to show what routes and  infrastructure are being used most so that improvements can be made where necessary, but the high tech methods of gathering such data went just a little ways over my head. I also found myself engaging in conversations about how mobile apps can promote biking, and/or how they can promote livable streets. This night club, converted to conference space, was completely filled with fascinating discussions and an amazing climate of openness, collaboration, and eagerness to share.

It was incredibly heartening to be surrounded by so many individuals who are so passionate about transportation that they were willing to give up their weekends just to enlighten and inspire each other. I look forward to continuing the conversation and rolling on forward!