“When you learn about someone’s commute, you learn about their life.”
For Manager Ambar Wortham, transportation planning is about more than moving people from point A to point B; it’s about understanding the systems, places, and daily experiences shaping how they move. Business Development Manager Susana Pereyra sat down with Ambar to discuss her path from engineering to planning, her love of greenways, and why the future of transportation depends on co-creation, resilience, and really listening.
SP: Okay, Ambar, today is really about hearing your story and highlighting your expertise. I’d personally love to focus on your transportation expertise, but if an answer doesn’t naturally go there, feel free to take it in whatever direction you’d like. With that being said, I’d love to start with how you found your way into transportation work, or planning in general. Was that always the direction you expected to take?
AW: Planning wasn’t my first plan exactly, but I’m not surprised that I ended up on that path. I went to school to be an engineer. I was really interested in civil and environmental engineering.
I was always interested in infrastructure and the systems we live within, how they work and how they move through transportation systems. I grew up in this region, really across the East Coast, and I found it interesting to see how the experience of using public transportation differed across geographies, both structurally and socially, and what it meant for people to use different modes.
I got into urban planning, and specifically transportation planning, by really studying my environment. At first, it was sidewalk improvements. Then that evolved into active transportation. I was part of the team that initially set up Relay Bike Share in Atlanta, and the way we approached engagement was later used as a model by ITDP, which was really cool. It was highlighted in their bike-share mobility report.
From there, my work started evolving across all the different modes. It’s been really fulfilling to work on so many different kinds of projects.
SP: Was there a role, project, or even a mentor that you feel shaped your path?
AW: I was talking to someone about this recently. I’ve been very blessed to have amazing managers throughout my entire career.
Every single person was incredibly helpful in shaping my career. They gave me the space to create products, write plans, and do research, with oversight, of course, and with their direction. Starting out, it was amazing to think, “Wow, I get to work on these plans.” Then the plans actually got adopted! Change in real time.
It made me want to do more, and I was able to continue seeing that change through advocacy and other consulting work.
SP: How did that eventually lead you to Public Works?
AW: I think there were two things. First, I’ve had a strong track record of amazing managers, particularly the principals I worked with. I was really intrigued by Melissa’s [Community Health Principal] background and experience.
I thought it was interesting to talk about urban planning through the lens of community health. I draw inspiration from many different methods and disciplines, and I was really interested in the way she approaches her work.
Second, I was really interested in doing New York City-specific projects. It’s been a blessing to work on projects all over the country, and I wanted to do more local work to better understand New York City. Plus, to be able to say, “I was a planner working on New York City-specific projects?” That’s meaningful.
SP: How would you describe your transportation expertise and the kinds of problems you feel you’re especially good at helping clients solve?
AW: I look at transportation as a whole system. Traditionally, there has been a lot of tension between modes competing for a finite amount of space—the streetscape. Who gets priority?
My approach, and the approach I’ve been thankful to take with amazing clients throughout my career, is to look at it more holistically. One person doesn’t use only one mode as they move through the world. Everyone utilizes multiple modes, so I take a more holistic approach to understanding how people move.
That also means understanding the need to work across not only different modes, but different departments. When we get deeply involved in our work, we can sometimes stay within our particular lanes. It’s exciting to open up the tent and recognize how many agencies and departments have to work together to reach a shared goal, which is usually ease, flow, and longevity.
We want to make sure that all the time and energy being spent by staff, residents, community members, and other people using the space results in something worthwhile and sustainable. We shouldn’t have to completely revisit a project in two or five years because someone was left out.
It’s been rewarding to be a person, and part of a team, that helps bring in as many people as possible to create the best result.
SP: Transportation can sound very technical from the outside, but so much of it is about how people experience their communities. How has that shown up in your work? Is there a particular project you’re especially proud of?
AW:. It’s always nice talking to people because when you learn about their commute, you learn about their lives. You begin to understand what people are holding and the things they’re literally and metaphorically navigating. Then you can see how the project we’re working on might help with that.
It’s rewarding to do work that is incredibly technical and has guidelines we need to adhere to, while also having opportunities to speak with residents, community members, and clients. We get to understand the larger scope of what people are experiencing as they try to move through their day or usher a project forward.
Simply providing space to listen is meaningful. A lot of people don’t get that in their day-to-day lives—someone who is actually focused on what they have to say and taking it to heart.
SP: Are there any trends or changes in the field that you’re watching closely or are particularly interested in?
AW: One thing I’ve always been interested in, or acutely aware of is how we should embrace water more in transportation.
What does the future look like when people may need to learn how to use canoes or other forms of water transportation in response to climate change or climate disasters? How do you equip people to navigate and move across water now, especially if sea levels continue to rise?
How do we adapt formal modes of transportation, like buses, bikes, and others, to an ongoing and changing coastline? I think about that a lot. We need to make our infrastructure more resilient, but we also need to build people’s skills so they’re able to navigate those changes.
SP: What do you think people outside the field misunderstand about what it takes to do this work well?
AW: There’s a quote that says something like, “good design is invisible. People don’t notice until it doesn’t work.” There are so many people involved in designing everything around us.
There are dozens or hundreds of people involved in creating something that seems as simple as a sidewalk, greenway, or other form of infrastructure—even something like turning on a light switch and having it work.
When you see paint on the street or asphalt, someone had to measure that. Construction workers are doing the physical work, and they’re following plans that were designed down to the millimeter to make sure everything is where it needs to be.
We don’t necessarily see all those people because they aren’t physically on the street with us or wearing an orange vest.
SP: “How many people does it take to fix a streetlight?”
AW: Exactly. It reminds me of one of my favorite activities from school: explaining how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Some people say, “Just put two pieces of bread together.” But if you really spell out how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, there are so many steps and micro-steps we don’t think about.
I think about building our cities in the exact same way.
SP: Are there any transportation projects or challenges that energize you the most?
AW: Greenways, honestly. Those are my favorite. A large part of my focus has been multimodal and active transportation.
It’s nice to be outside, walk a site, and have that connection to nature. That’s especially important in work like ours, where we use computers to do so much of our work and naturally spend a lot of time in offices.
I really enjoy greenway projects because you’re able to be on-site and directly connected to nature, people, and the landscape. You can physically see the change that you’re designing, or co-creating, I should say, with the community, designers, engineers, and everyone else involved.
Greenway projects bring together so many stakeholders and departments. And you also get to be outside and ride a bike. What’s not to love?
SP: I was going to ask what you hope to do more of at Public Works, but I feel like we have a great grasp on greenway projects. Is there anything apart from that that you’d specifically like to do more of here?
AW: I really enjoy taking photos of projects and highlighting them. I like being able to capture a feeling or these little moments of joy.
SP: Was there a particular moment of joy you were thinking of as you said that?
AW: Sometimes people only see the fluorescent lights of a community meeting. It’s after work, and it can feel like another thing they have to do.
But seeing someone contemplating what they wrote, reading a project history, and the wheels turning or the sparks flying? It’s so human.
I like capturing snapshots of that, I enjoy bringing projects to life beyond a two-dimensional map. People can see, “Oh, my street is pretty beautiful,” or, “That’s what it looks like now.” and it isn’t a rendering. I enjoy creating a more immersive experience through photography.
SP: I love that. We’re getting close to time, so is there anything about your background or approach that we haven’t covered but that feels important to how you do this work?
AW: I have a background that draws from many different avenues, and I’m thankful for that. A lot of my professional and personal experiences have allowed me to be immersed in my environment and in the natural world in particular.
I think co-creation is a really positive thing to experience. It requires a lot of listening and creating space, really creating an atmosphere where people are able to share, be heard, and feel validated. The goal is not conflict, but coherence.
SP: Great. This was wonderful. Thank you so much for your time!
