Alex Karner
@alexkarner.bsky.social
associate professor//community & regional planning. mobility justice, transportation equity, civil rights, environmental justice, accessibility, GIScience, etc. views my own.
longer-form writing: https://alexkarner.substack.com
longer-form writing: https://alexkarner.substack.com
Pinned
Alex Karner
@alexkarner.bsky.social
· Aug 28
Coalitions in Motion: Labor and Riders Organizing for Transit Justice - Alex Karner, 2025
journals.sagepub.com
Unionized labor is often seen as a barrier to better transit, but in this new piece I argue that finding common ground between grassroots rider unions and formal labor unions could be a powerful approach for advancing mobility justice goals and winning more reliable, frequent, and safer service.
Reposted by Alex Karner
I minored in AADS and did my work study in the department and it’s been far more valuable to my ability to critically analyze our current moment than the philosophies I was taught in the Government program. This is precisely why these programs are being targeted.
This is a travesty. African and African Diaspora Studies at UT Austin has been one of the best programs in the country. And for historical context, this is explicitly about reversing the gains of student movements in the 60s and 70s.
www.statesman.com/news/educati...
www.statesman.com/news/educati...
February 12, 2026 at 7:05 PM
Reposted by Alex Karner
This is a univ that, despite whatever efforts they've put in since 1954, still has a Black student population that sits between 5% and 6%, despite Black ppl making up 12% - 13% of the Texas population. In 1979, 2.4% of the student pop was Black. They've barely doubled that in almost half a century.
February 12, 2026 at 6:53 PM
This is a univ that, despite whatever efforts they've put in since 1954, still has a Black student population that sits between 5% and 6%, despite Black ppl making up 12% - 13% of the Texas population. In 1979, 2.4% of the student pop was Black. They've barely doubled that in almost half a century.
Reposted by Alex Karner
This is AWFUL. Univ of Texas is consolidating 4 depts into 1: African and African Diaspora Studies and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, American Studies, and Mexican American and Latino Studies will become "a Social and Cultural Analysis department." www.texastribune.org/2026/02/12/t...
UT-Austin to merge race, ethnic and gender study programs
More than 800 students are pursuing degrees in the affected departments, which include African, Latino and gender studies.
www.texastribune.org
February 12, 2026 at 6:42 PM
This is AWFUL. Univ of Texas is consolidating 4 depts into 1: African and African Diaspora Studies and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, American Studies, and Mexican American and Latino Studies will become "a Social and Cultural Analysis department." www.texastribune.org/2026/02/12/t...
We knew something like this was coming. Still--a big shock.
🚨 UT Austin is planning to shutter its African and African Diaspora Studies (AADS); Mexican American and Latina/o Studies (MALS); Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGSS); and American Studies departments. 👇
aaup-texas.org/blog/f/ut-au...
aaup-texas.org/blog/f/ut-au...
UT Austin Closing Ethnic, Gender and Area Studies Departments
Social: X @TexasAaup and Bluesky @texasaaup.bsky.social
aaup-texas.org
February 13, 2026 at 2:42 AM
We knew something like this was coming. Still--a big shock.
Reposted by Alex Karner
They will create a world so dangerous that you feel you have no choice except to drive a car, or own a gun, or flee a country that they violently destabilized. And they will use that car, that gun, that decision to seek asylum as an excuse to shoot and kill you.
January 25, 2026 at 12:43 PM
They will create a world so dangerous that you feel you have no choice except to drive a car, or own a gun, or flee a country that they violently destabilized. And they will use that car, that gun, that decision to seek asylum as an excuse to shoot and kill you.
Reposted by Alex Karner
One day, if we are lucky, the erasure of American history will itself be remembered as a shameful chapter in American history
January 23, 2026 at 1:30 AM
One day, if we are lucky, the erasure of American history will itself be remembered as a shameful chapter in American history
Reposted by Alex Karner
The actions of a pitiful, cowardly government
January 23, 2026 at 12:09 AM
The actions of a pitiful, cowardly government
Reposted by Alex Karner
Some interpret "abundance" to mean an "abundance of highways." Ben of America Walks is leading a panel at the #crossroadsconvening on "Centering Transportation Equity in the Abundance Agenda" to do better than that. FYI, "some" is the Abundance Caucus in Congress, cdn.sanity.io/files/ifn0l6...
cdn.sanity.io
January 15, 2026 at 3:02 PM
Some interpret "abundance" to mean an "abundance of highways." Ben of America Walks is leading a panel at the #crossroadsconvening on "Centering Transportation Equity in the Abundance Agenda" to do better than that. FYI, "some" is the Abundance Caucus in Congress, cdn.sanity.io/files/ifn0l6...
Reposted by Alex Karner
"We are at a crossroads, figuratively and in reality"
Do we choose disinvestment and harm or repair and renewal?
@theycallmeoboi.bsky.social at #CrossroadsConvening
Do we choose disinvestment and harm or repair and renewal?
@theycallmeoboi.bsky.social at #CrossroadsConvening
Update for tomorrow's #CrossroadsConvening: We send our best to Dr. Bullard who is unable to join us.
However, we're grateful to announce that @theycallmeoboi.bsky.social, President & CEO of Equiticity, will now be giving the keynote address!
However, we're grateful to announce that @theycallmeoboi.bsky.social, President & CEO of Equiticity, will now be giving the keynote address!
January 15, 2026 at 2:56 PM
"We are at a crossroads, figuratively and in reality"
Do we choose disinvestment and harm or repair and renewal?
@theycallmeoboi.bsky.social at #CrossroadsConvening
Do we choose disinvestment and harm or repair and renewal?
@theycallmeoboi.bsky.social at #CrossroadsConvening
Update for tomorrow's #CrossroadsConvening: We send our best to Dr. Bullard who is unable to join us.
However, we're grateful to announce that @theycallmeoboi.bsky.social, President & CEO of Equiticity, will now be giving the keynote address!
However, we're grateful to announce that @theycallmeoboi.bsky.social, President & CEO of Equiticity, will now be giving the keynote address!
January 14, 2026 at 12:54 PM
Update for tomorrow's #CrossroadsConvening: We send our best to Dr. Bullard who is unable to join us.
However, we're grateful to announce that @theycallmeoboi.bsky.social, President & CEO of Equiticity, will now be giving the keynote address!
However, we're grateful to announce that @theycallmeoboi.bsky.social, President & CEO of Equiticity, will now be giving the keynote address!
Reposted by Alex Karner
Post a perfect album from the 90s that isn't Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden or Alice in Chains.
December 27, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Post a perfect album from the 90s that isn't Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden or Alice in Chains.
Reposted by Alex Karner
Excited to be part of this conference! register!
Free public registration is now open for the Crossroads Convening on Transportation Equity and Justice, 1/15/26 at the MLK Library in DC.
Registration is free. We've got three sessions across four tracks. Confirmed speakers include Robert Bullard, Anna Zivarts, Naomi Doerner, and Gretchen Goldman.
Registration is free. We've got three sessions across four tracks. Confirmed speakers include Robert Bullard, Anna Zivarts, Naomi Doerner, and Gretchen Goldman.
Crossroads: A Transportation Equity and Justice Convening
Join the Union of Concerned Scientists and our transportation partners for a one-day event to discuss transportation equity and justice. Thursday, January 15, 2026, 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET, at the Ma...
secure.ucs.org
December 12, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Excited to be part of this conference! register!
Reposted by Alex Karner
This is going to be a fun event where—unlike at the @nationalacademies.org Transportation Research Board—we're going to actually talk about issues of equity, justice, and mobility. Register if you can make it to DC in January!
Free public registration is now open for the Crossroads Convening on Transportation Equity and Justice, 1/15/26 at the MLK Library in DC.
Registration is free. We've got three sessions across four tracks. Confirmed speakers include Robert Bullard, Anna Zivarts, Naomi Doerner, and Gretchen Goldman.
Registration is free. We've got three sessions across four tracks. Confirmed speakers include Robert Bullard, Anna Zivarts, Naomi Doerner, and Gretchen Goldman.
Crossroads: A Transportation Equity and Justice Convening
Join the Union of Concerned Scientists and our transportation partners for a one-day event to discuss transportation equity and justice. Thursday, January 15, 2026, 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET, at the Ma...
secure.ucs.org
December 12, 2025 at 7:13 PM
This is going to be a fun event where—unlike at the @nationalacademies.org Transportation Research Board—we're going to actually talk about issues of equity, justice, and mobility. Register if you can make it to DC in January!
Free public registration is now open for the Crossroads Convening on Transportation Equity and Justice, 1/15/26 at the MLK Library in DC.
Registration is free. We've got three sessions across four tracks. Confirmed speakers include Robert Bullard, Anna Zivarts, Naomi Doerner, and Gretchen Goldman.
Registration is free. We've got three sessions across four tracks. Confirmed speakers include Robert Bullard, Anna Zivarts, Naomi Doerner, and Gretchen Goldman.
Crossroads: A Transportation Equity and Justice Convening
Join the Union of Concerned Scientists and our transportation partners for a one-day event to discuss transportation equity and justice. Thursday, January 15, 2026, 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET, at the Ma...
secure.ucs.org
December 12, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Free public registration is now open for the Crossroads Convening on Transportation Equity and Justice, 1/15/26 at the MLK Library in DC.
Registration is free. We've got three sessions across four tracks. Confirmed speakers include Robert Bullard, Anna Zivarts, Naomi Doerner, and Gretchen Goldman.
Registration is free. We've got three sessions across four tracks. Confirmed speakers include Robert Bullard, Anna Zivarts, Naomi Doerner, and Gretchen Goldman.
I posted some thoughts on Deborah Archer's book Dividing Lines. She recommends creating something called a "racial equity impact study" for transportation projects and I don't think that's a good idea. We need actions that planners and engineers can undertake now, given the laws/regs we have.
Do We Need Racial Equity Impact Studies?
Thoughts on Deborah Archer's 2025 book Dividing Lines
alexkarner.substack.com
December 8, 2025 at 4:08 PM
I posted some thoughts on Deborah Archer's book Dividing Lines. She recommends creating something called a "racial equity impact study" for transportation projects and I don't think that's a good idea. We need actions that planners and engineers can undertake now, given the laws/regs we have.
Reposted by Alex Karner
We appreciate University Baptist Church!
November 18, 2025 at 11:57 PM
We appreciate University Baptist Church!
Reposted by Alex Karner
I was really proud to write an endorsement for @carterlavin.bsky.social's book, which is essential reading for anyone who wants to turn their theoretical love of stuff like biking, walking, buses, and mobility justice into political campaigns that actually change our world. Get a preview here. 👇
This Author Wrote the Book on How to Be a Better Transportation Advocate — Streetsblog USA
Step one: read this book.
usa.streetsblog.org
November 19, 2025 at 12:13 PM
I was really proud to write an endorsement for @carterlavin.bsky.social's book, which is essential reading for anyone who wants to turn their theoretical love of stuff like biking, walking, buses, and mobility justice into political campaigns that actually change our world. Get a preview here. 👇
trying out some longer-form writing on substack. first post is about transit rider unions and their untapped potential to win better service across the country. please like and subscribe :)
Transit Rider Unions Across the United States
A critical but understudied force for creating better public transit
open.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 6:59 PM
trying out some longer-form writing on substack. first post is about transit rider unions and their untapped potential to win better service across the country. please like and subscribe :)
this statesman piece is complete drivel--the only source cited is the author of the report. no competing perspectives are offered, despite the substantial criticism that the urban mobility report has generated over the years.
Austin commuters lose 64 hours a year to traffic
A new report found some Texas cities have largely been spared from a national post-COVID rebound in traffic congestion even as it’s become harder to predict when the roads will be most jammed.
www.statesman.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:43 PM
this statesman piece is complete drivel--the only source cited is the author of the report. no competing perspectives are offered, despite the substantial criticism that the urban mobility report has generated over the years.
instead of banning discussion of race and gender, Texas A&M should ban the urban mobility report.
November 14, 2025 at 3:35 PM
instead of banning discussion of race and gender, Texas A&M should ban the urban mobility report.
Reposted by Alex Karner
“In some cases, we’re seeing fees that we don’t think should be charged at all, like pest control fees,” says Kuehnhoff. “Landlords have a duty to provide a pest-free environment already, so they shouldn’t be adding that to the rent.”
These Tenants Are Going on Strike Against ‘Rent Debt’
A new kind of tenants union is ramping up the pressure on corporate landlords.
inthesetimes.com
October 4, 2025 at 12:45 PM
“In some cases, we’re seeing fees that we don’t think should be charged at all, like pest control fees,” says Kuehnhoff. “Landlords have a duty to provide a pest-free environment already, so they shouldn’t be adding that to the rent.”
Bored with TRB's censorship and cancellations?
Submit your work to the Crossroads Convening on Transportation Equity and Justice instead -- proposals due October 25.
www.crossroadsconvening.org
Submit your work to the Crossroads Convening on Transportation Equity and Justice instead -- proposals due October 25.
www.crossroadsconvening.org
October 2, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Bored with TRB's censorship and cancellations?
Submit your work to the Crossroads Convening on Transportation Equity and Justice instead -- proposals due October 25.
www.crossroadsconvening.org
Submit your work to the Crossroads Convening on Transportation Equity and Justice instead -- proposals due October 25.
www.crossroadsconvening.org
Crossroads: A Transportation Equity and Justice Convening will take place on January 15, 2026 at the MLK Library in Washington, DC.
Consider submitting your work, assisting as a volunteer, or sponsoring the event. More details at www.crossroadsconvening.org
Registration will be free.
Consider submitting your work, assisting as a volunteer, or sponsoring the event. More details at www.crossroadsconvening.org
Registration will be free.
Crossroads Convening
About Crossroads
www.crossroadsconvening.org
October 1, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Crossroads: A Transportation Equity and Justice Convening will take place on January 15, 2026 at the MLK Library in Washington, DC.
Consider submitting your work, assisting as a volunteer, or sponsoring the event. More details at www.crossroadsconvening.org
Registration will be free.
Consider submitting your work, assisting as a volunteer, or sponsoring the event. More details at www.crossroadsconvening.org
Registration will be free.
Hearing reports that TRB is censoring annual meeting content. Authors are receiving a "Notice of Non-Selection" when notified that their papers were not sent out for review. Esp shitty for students who submitted work on Aug 1 only to wait two months for no reviews. Shameful behavior by TRB.
September 25, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Hearing reports that TRB is censoring annual meeting content. Authors are receiving a "Notice of Non-Selection" when notified that their papers were not sent out for review. Esp shitty for students who submitted work on Aug 1 only to wait two months for no reviews. Shameful behavior by TRB.