Transportation, Urban Planning, and Racial Bias: Insights from Professor Michael Smart

In this episode of EJB Talks, Stuart Shapiro interviews Professor Michael Smart, beginning with how he became involved in transportation planning and its impact on poverty and racial bias. Professor Smart shares his background in transportation, discussing how his work with people reentering society after incarceration and the transportation challenges they faced led him to focus on this area. The conversation also covers Dr. Smart's research on the impact of living in transit-accessible areas and racial bias in traffic stops, drawing from innovative data sources like traffic cameras and cell phone data. Some of his results may surprise you.  Professor Smart emphasizes the importance of meaningful research that addresses pressing societal issues and aims to impact real-world problems, and as director of the school's doctoral program, he encourages doctoral students to pursue research driven by curiosity and relevance to today's challenges.