MIAMI LEADER:
Marta Viciedo is a Miami native of Cuban decent. As a Miami leader she is developing solutions to the problem of mobility and transportation in the city. According to Marta, solving Miami’s problems comes down to “ensuring that anyone that calls Miami home, even if temporarily, be invested in the city and its communities.”
WHY MIAMI?
While Miami is struggling with some fairly big, complex issues like worsening traffic, inequality, disparity, and climate change, it still has all the bones of a great city, and I believe it can grow into more than just a nice place to live. I would love to see Miami be a model for other cities across the globe. In so many ways, Miami is already the picture of what all of America is becoming: a multi-ethnic, growing community with evolving needs and priorities.
The challenges here are as big as the opportunity and I’m compelled and more than a little excited to be part of a big, bold vision that moves everyone forward.
WHAT IS THE MOST PRESSING ISSUE TO SOLVE ON YOUR LIST? WHY?
My work generally focuses on improving some aspect of the city — it could be public spaces, transportation, community growth, and resilience. Truth is, all of these are pressing issues, but the one I am most excited by is transportation and mobility.
Mobility is so important because how move around affects how we experience and connect to a place. In Miami, we are almost required to own a car to be able to do basic things — get to work, drop off the kids at school, go grocery shopping, visit a friend, or see the dentist. Transportation affects our community in many ways: it builds social equity, provides opportunity, affects quality of life, and enhances economic growth. In order to be the inspiring, distinctive, and resilient city we all know Miami can be, we need safe, comfortable, and reliable choices for getting around.
HOW CAN WE SOLVE IT?
It’s about ensuring that anyone that calls Miami home, even if temporarily, be invested in the city and its communities. This city, and any city, is what people make it to be. A place doesn’t just happen, instead it’s something that grows and evolves with us, becoming what we demand of it.
One thing to insist on is a Miami where anyone can reliably get to their destination using their preferred method of travel. It might be walking, biking, transit, driving, or a combination of these and it would also mean having a well-connected transportation network. In the end, we have to take ownership of something that is already ours: the roads, streets, and sidewalks, which are the most common and abundant public spaces within our city, and insist that they serve everyone equally.