Transit + Community

Conference

Mpact Transit + Community

Where great thinking comes together about transit, connected mobility options and transit-oriented development. 

Thanks to everyone who joined us in Phoenix!

Original artwork for 2023 Mpact Transit + Community Conference in Phoenix Nov 5-8. Artwork by Tato Caraveo.

Mark your Calendar

Mpact Transit + Community 2024 - Philadelphia

October 20-23, 2024

Stacks of yellow dots

Click Conference Schedule for details about  sessions, plenaries, mobile workshops and pre-conference events.

Mpact Transit + Community conference
November 5-8, 2023 Phoenix, AZ

(formerly Rail~Volution)

Thank you to our 2023 Sponsors! 

woman with bicycle on train platform in Phoenix
The Mpact Transit + Community Conference focuses on the interplay of transit, mobility, land use and development in building great places to live - for everyone.
  • Is your city or region embarked on transit expansion?
  • Are you interested in finding out how to connect mobility investments with development, land use and the built environment?
  • Do you want to leverage investments for maximum community benefit?

Join us for the next Mpact Transit + Community Conference. Network and learn with cross-sector stakeholders. Join with others dedicated to taking a community-first approach to transit, mobility and development projects.

Join us in Phoenix this November! 

Follow these links to learn about the region:

  • Mpact Podcast: Developing with Creativity, with Tim Sprague, Principal, Habitat Metro - LISTEN
  • Mpact Podcast: Do It for the Neighborhood, a conversation with David Longoria, LISC Phoenix, and Ryan Winkle, RAIL CDC - LISTEN
  • Canals in Phoenix: Past and Present - blog post
  • The Making of Tempe Town Lake - blog post
  • Artwork for Mpact Transit + Community Phoenix - blog post
  • Facts about Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun - blog post
  • Video invitation to Mpact Transit + Community Phoenix 2023 - WATCH
  • Mpact Podcast: Inside the Phoenix TOD Community Plan, a conversation with Elias Valencia, a planner with the City of Phoenix, and Victor Vidales, a local resident and business owner - LISTEN
  • Valley Metro Artsline® Program
  • Valley Metro system map
Tempe streetcar amid green trees
Stacks of light gray dots

Attend and deepen your knowledge of:

  • Transit planning, multimodal planning, corridor planning, station area planning and design.
  • Transit-oriented development, trail- and bike-oriented development, joint development, affordable housing and neighborhood development and placemaking.
  • Policies and strategies to combat displacement. Transit equity.
  • Project management for different modes.
  • Technology and integration of new mobility options with transit.
  • Community engagement, outreach tools, communication, data, campaigns and marketing. Advocacy for transit.
  • Community development financing, capital financing, gap financing.
A variety of cacti and other desert plants

The Valley of the Sun - cities including Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa and more

The Valley holds an amazing diversity, from topography to cultures, historic to modern elements. Water is key to life, past and present, with today’s canals and dams overlayed on those built by Native American communities. Natural areas beckon residents outside.

The regional transit system - along with connected mobility options &  development - offers routes away from sprawl and toward more sustainable and equitable places to live. As Mpact Transit + Community comes to Phoenix, the region is  working to reinvigorate and expand support for transit as part of reauthorizing regional transit funding.

The Valley’s light rail system, though recently built, has led to immense and rapid transformation. Light rail, bus and streetcar connect the region’s cities and are reshaping each distinctive downtown through transit-oriented development — from downtown Mesa to Arizona State University in Tempe to infill development in Phoenix.

Person walking by transit stop in Phoenix, scooters and buildings in background

In the places where transit is expanding, there are efforts to preserve and invigorate under-served and historic communities, such as along the South Central Corridor in Phoenix, a Latino and African American area subject to redlining in the past.

a group of young people as Valley Metro train approaches Credit Valley Metro

Here’s what past attendees said:

“Really just being in the same place as so many people who value transit as a necessary part of a more equitable world is what it’s all about.”

“This was one of the most engaging conferences I've attended.”

“Networking with colleagues who have dealt with similar issues and being able to ask questions directly and discuss the issues.”

“The mobile workshops are very useful; seeing on the ground examples of transit-oriented development, economic development or multimodal infrastructure is invaluable.”

"I gained tons of information and ideas on ways to support my own work in my community."

Definitely looking forward to bringing a larger contingent from our office to future conferences.

Stacks of light gray dots

For nearly 30 years, our conference (founded as Rail~Volution) has shaped the vision for transit-oriented communities, in which people of all backgrounds and abilities can connect with each other and reach the places they need to thrive. We’ve influenced policies, planning and the way projects are delivered.

From the beginning, we’ve focused on this idea: that for any new mobility or development project, the people involved should see the project as a way to advance the kind of community they want to live in.

Achieving this is easier said than done. The Mpact Transit + Community Conference is the place to share both challenges and innovative solutions, to exchange best practices and push for the next breakthrough.

The four days of the Mpact Transit + Community conference provide a diversity of ideas and approaches that boost your capacity to collaborate, innovate, communicate and lead.

Bus in intersection Phoenix metro
A group of people boarding a train. Credit Valley Metro

Mobile Workshops • Sessions • Plenaries • Networking

Through more than 60 conference sessions as well as plenaries and networking events, attendees delve into issues facing cities and regions everywhere, including climate change, transit-oriented development, housing affordability and designing cities around transit and emerging mobility options. Sessions focus on planning, design, finance, communications, policy, community engagement and innovations in technology. Through our signature Mobile Workshops participants experience the conference city first-hand and learn directly from local practitioners, leaders and advocates how projects were done.

The annual Mpact Transit + Community conference is the product of our network.

  • Our National Steering Committee, a group of cross sector practitioners who work at Mpact Partner companies and organizations, puts together conference sessions, drawing on the topics and presenters submitted in our Call for Speakers. The National Steering Committee works to include a diversity of perspectives, geographies and backgrounds.
  • The local host committee organizes mobile workshops, pre-conference events, the Welcome Reception and regional day.
  • Our new leaders group organizes networking events and innovative learning opportunities as a way to welcome people new to the conference and our vision for transit-oriented communities.
Attendees conversing with one another

National Steering Committee

Learn More

Two people talking at a rail station with bikes

Local Host Committee

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Group of friends waiting the train in the platform of subway station.

Mpact Innovators

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