At Mpact, we see the potential for transit and mobility, land use and development —taken together — to create better lives and brighter futures.
We connect and support a network of leaders, practitioners and advocates dedicated to engaging with communities to define what’s possible and share practical, proven ways to get there.
We believe communities should work for all people.
Everyone should be able to connect and reach the places that help them thrive.
Achieving that reality is easier said than done.
It takes being intentional.
It takes being willing to confront barriers.
It takes as much heart and soul as it takes innovation and technology.
It takes diverse expertise and experience.
The work is worth it because the benefits are profound:Â sustainable, healthy, equitable and resilient communities - for everyone.
Why transit and mobility, land use and development?
Because decisions about them shape communities for generations, defining possibility and access to opportunity. These decisions determine...
- Whether a place is healthy, equitable and sustainable.
- Whether people can connect with each other and get to jobs, school, grocery stores, church, parks and recreation.
- Whether people can only drive to get places, how much time they spend in traffic, the quality of the air they breathe and how much land is paved over.
The decisions we make today will determine whether our communities and planet will thrive.
Vision
We envision America’s cities and regions transformed into livable places – healthy, economically vibrant, socially equitable and environmentally sustainable – where people have transportation choices.
Mission
We serve as a catalyst for the movement to build livable communities with transit by inspiring people in communities and regions to make better transit and land use decisions. We do this by partnering, equipping and connecting people and institutions at all levels.
Values
Our History
Founding
Founded as Rail~Volution, arising from efforts in Portland, Oregon, to engage community in shaping outcomes from a new light rail line (hence: rail~volution).
Bold ideas about linking transportation and land use, part of the resurgence of downtowns around new transit projects, especially rail.
We helped make the case for transit-oriented development: that it could be popular and successful to build along high capacity transit.
Success! But also a growing recognition of displacement – that new projects, intentionally or not, often continued a history of exclusionary transportation & development practices.
Redouble focus on transit & TOD but with greater commitment to community vision and engagement. Aligning and shifting power and resources. Sharing case studies of working with communities to shape outcomes.
Evolving new best practices and innovative tools even as mobility changes and we face the challenges of persistent inequity and the need to address climate change causes and impacts.
Today
We are Mpact: Mobility, Community, Possibility. Our mission has not changed. We support and equip a network dedicated to building better places for people, by taking a community-first approach to transit, mobility and development.