People Behind the Plans: Mark de la Vergne

What is mobility? It’s simply the ability to get somewhere, says
Mark de la Vergne, chief of mobility innovation for the Mayor’s
Office in Detroit. But when it manifests in the real world, this
essential facet inevitably presents challenges for all types of
cities, from New York to Austin to Seattle. In Detroit’s case,
those challenges have been built up over years of policy decisions,
but Mark’s job is to alleviate pain points by bringing in new
technologies and services. In the last year, the city has embarked
on a series of innovative pilot projects revolving around
transportation solutions, such as bringing more car-share vehicles
to Detroit's neighborhoods so residents living beyond the city's
core have alternatives to car ownership. His big-vision goals
include improving existing and adding new connected technologies to
the city's infrastructure — not to drum up hype but to actually
address safety and operational issues. Mark names empathy as a
crucial aspect of his work, because knowing what kinds of frictions
exist for different people around the city is key to serving all
Detroiters.