Changing the World: How Charu Kukreja Accepted the Challenge

“Challenge accepted” is a call to action. It’s a commitment to growth, innovation and excellence. It’s about pushing boundaries, embracing new ideas and not shying away from obstacles.​

Our people accept the challenge every single day – and we’re showcasing a few of their stories. Today, we connected with our Transportation Planning Group Lead, Charu Kukreja, who's based in Los Angeles, California, U.S.:

The challenge: When it comes to transportation, solutions today must be multi-modal, meaning fossil-fuel burning single-occupancy vehicles are only one element of the story.

Tell us more about this challenge.

Especially in California, widening roads and highways is no longer the default position. With ambitious state goals around mitigating and adapting to climate change and reducing greenhouse gases, we’re expanding the range of potential solutions to our transportation challenges and thinking about how people can get around safely and comfortably on transit, foot, bicycles and slow-speed electric vehicles. Our team is working on more holistic planning to envision more sustainable, resilient and equitable communities in the future. That means there are a lot of considerations and a lot of partners to bring into the conversation – many more than have historically been a part of the transportation planning process.

Can you share an example of how you’re approaching this?

We just started a project with the Los Angeles Country Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the largest transit agency by ridership in the state of California and the third largest in the United States. Here in Los Angeles, the number of days of extreme heat is expected to more than double by 2050 and the transportation sector is a major contributor to the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Metro is the first transportation agency of its kind to design a funding program to implement urban greening solutions (which include tree plantings, shade structures, bioswales and cool paving). Our team is helping to develop a framework for this program that centers on equity and guides meaningful investment of public dollars. Essentially, the goal is to implement urban greening solutions to address increasing extreme heat days while also improving quality of life in transit-dependent communities.

What’s the hardest part of this?

While Metro has its own facilities and stations, when you reach the ground level and station area, that belongs to the city of Los Angeles or one of 87 other cities in the region or unincorporated Los Angeles County. It’s a real patchwork of governance. For Metro to be the regional leader in climate sustainability, it requires a lot of partner engagement and enthusiasm to bring the best value and benefit to our communities.

How do you define success?

Success is only possible through thoughtful co-creation. We’re starting by helping Metro set up this framework and engage partners – including public agencies, community-based organizations, and cultural and higher education institutions – to work together to co-create beautiful and compelling urban greening projects, especially in our communities that need it most.