Alumnus Len Simich (Urban Studies ‘84) began working for SouthWest Transit in 1997 and now holds the title of CEO. He credits his years at UMD for providing him with a strong educational foundation and desire to continue learning, which he maintains to this day: “Going through the Urban Studies program at UMD gave me a perspective about creating a better community and world that I may not have had otherwise.”
Simich sees sustainability as an essential feature of his work. He explained, “By its nature, transit is a key component to any community’s stainability. At SouthWest Transit we reduce well over one million car trips per year. When you apply the distance most people travel on our system (25 miles per trip), the impact we make to both air quality and congestion mitigation / reduction on some of the most heavily used freeway segments in the entire metro area is significant.”
SouthWest is also involved in land development, partnering with private developers to build transit-oriented developments around their transit stations. Simich illustrated, “To date we have master planned and developed over 1,000 housing units as well as 60,000 square feet of commercial retail adjacent to our stations, and have introduced sustainable / energy efficient practices such as solar energy, high efficiency LED lighting, and geothermal heating and cooling plants. Developing land we own in this fashion eliminates numerous trips by our current riders which otherwise would have been taken in an automobile.”
Despite the many advantages that come with progress, there are challenges. Simich noted that “funding as well as the perceived cost and public acceptance of operating in a more sustainable fashion” can work against the sustainability goals in each of the three communities SouthWest serves. Nevertheless, he was proud to note, “Our communities have been identified as some of the most desirable places to live in the U.S. with a lot of that success due to the sustainability initiatives each has put into practice for years.”
His advice to students seeking a career in sustainability was direct: “Our future depends upon it. Go for it!”