Sophia Ashebir Shares Thesis Research at Bunker Hill Community College
by Niels Wu
AgeLab researcher Sophia Ashebir presented transportation research at Bunker Hill Community College in July. She was featured as part of a series of STEM-related events put on by the College to foster interest in the sciences and to help students see themselves in STEM fields.
During her talk, Ashebir drew on her thesis research focused on Metropolitan Planning Organizations, or MPOs. Her project used interviews with MPO workers, as well as a national survey, to understand how prepared these organizations are to support their aging constituents.
Overall, Ashebir found that although the majority of MPOs recognize that population aging will impact their planning efforts, their preparedness to address these impacts was lower than for supporting the general population. Only a minority of MPOs had conducted assessments specifically related to older adults’ mobility needs, and those who had tended to focus on a narrow range of mobility solutions like paratransit or ride sharing.
Ashebir also sought to understand MPOs’ connections to other organizations such as transportation providers and nonprofits. These connections were generally seen as helpful, acting as valued sources of advice, but were limited with some groups such as academic institutions or private partners.
Lastly, Ashebir investigated the structural and organizational environments surrounding MPOs. She found that standalone MPOs, which operate as fully independent agencies, often had more autonomy over their finances and operations but felt distanced from important conversations over land use and development. On the other hand, workers at hosted MPOs, which operate under the umbrella of another agency, felt “closer to the people” but were subject to the regulations of the broader agency.
At the end of her talk, Ashebir urged professionals to approach transportation planning holistically by putting aging on their planning agendas, and for the federal government to prioritize aging-related development.
Sophia Ashebir
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