By making sustainable city services more attractive and user-friendly cities are increasing both the demand for and the use of those services. From Google transit to open apps to great marketing and branding campaigns there are a growing number of cities, transit agencies, designers, and software developers figuring out innovative and compelling ways to communicate with potential and existing users.

This trend of using innovative communication for sustainable transportation is especially evident by the large number of sessions on the topic at this year’s Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, one of the world’s biggest gatherings of experts in the transportation and urban planning fields.

We at TheCityFix and EMBARQ are especially excited about all of the activity around this topic of communication and sustainable mobility and for anyone attending this year’s TRB Annual Meeting we have put together a list of sessions that should not be missed…

• Everything You Need to Know About Web 2.0: Using Communication and Collaboration to Improve Transportation
• Social Networks and Information and Communication Technology: Implications for Activities in Real and Virtual Spaces
• Electronic Participation: Changing Face of Public Involvement?
• Can Social Marketing Techniques Be Applied to Promoting Bicycling? What Research and Past Campaigns Tell Us
• Award-Winning Examples of Communication from 2010 Competition on Communications with John and Jane Public
• Public Involvement in Transportation
• New Media Communications in Transportation
• Innovative Applications of Social Media and Web 2.0 Technologies in Transportation Research and Communication
• Innovations in Communication: Better Engagement of Customers
• Electronic Participation: Changing Face of Public Involvement?
• Cloud Computing for Transportation Agencies

The same week, EMBARQ and partners are also hosting Transforming Transportation which will feature a half-day session on Communications and Public Involvement in Public Transport with an emphasis on experiences in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.  Unfortunately, that session is already full and registration has closed but we will be posting presentations online, so stay tuned.