Adeel Lari, who retired this past summer from the University, has joined the TPEC Advisory Board. Lari was the founding director of Institute for Urban and Regional Infrastructure Finance (IURIF) and an essential member of the TPEC research team.
In nearly 50 years of transportation, Lari conducted pioneering work in right-of-way contracting, transportation finance, telework, and implementation of numerous technological innovations.
A highlight of this work was leading Connecting Minnesota, a public-private initiative to build a statewide fiber optics network. Another point of pride is his work in “value capture,” an approach that collects a share of the increased value stemming from transportation investments. His research, including a study funded by the state legislature, is cited and used nationally and internationally (such as his work in Singapore). His efforts also led to several partnerships with entities such as the National Governors Association and the World Bank; the latter requested him to consult with the Indian government.
Another major effort was eWorkPlace, a state-sponsored, multi-year initiative that helped Twin Cities-area businesses foster teleworking. The initiative received $3.5 million—the largest such investment in the country for telecommuting—to decrease congestion and environmental degradation caused by transportation. “I was able to partner with nearly 100 businesses to prepare them—even before COVID-19—for a telecommuting future, which gave them an advantage during the pandemic,” Lari says.
Lari also championed diversity in the state. His recent telecommuting research, for example, looked at disparities by race, gender, and income.
Looking ahead, Lari sees hope for self-driving vehicles to help disadvantaged communities. “Self- driving vehicles, along with AI to analyze data, could help us solve transportation challenges and decrease car dependence,” he says.