William (Billy) Riggs, Ph.D., AICP, LEED AP is a professor and program director at the University of San Francisco (USF) School of Management, and a consultant and advisor to multiple companies and start-ups on technology, smart mobility and urban development. He has experience in government, venture capital and academia having held academic appointments at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UC Berkeley, San Jose State University, and the University of Louisville in addition to his current work at USF. Dr. Riggs also has two decades of work experience as a professional planner and urban designer, economist, and transportation engineer. This includes work as Director of Research at Sustinere Consulting, an investor and entrepreneur at Just Business, as Principal Planner and Transportation Program Manager for UC Berkeley, and as Planner, Asset Manager and Engineering Technician for the US Coast Guard.
Dr. Riggs’ research focuses on sustainable transportation, technology, economics, urban development and the future of cities. He is a thought leader in the area of autonomous vehicles and future mobility and has over 100 publications; with work featured in media outlets—including the Economist, Wall Street Journal, A&E Modern Marvels, NBC News, The New York Times, Washington Post, PBS and the Atlantic. He is the author of two books, End of the Road: Reimagining the Street as the Heart of the City and Disruptive Transport: Driverless Cars, Transport Innovation and the Sustainable City of Tomorrow.
Dr. Riggs has been both a National Science Foundation Fellow, UC Transportation Center Fellow and is the founder of ReStreet.com—an online tool for democratizing street design. He currently serves as Trustee for the Horicon School District, and in the recent past was chair and commissioner for the City of Palo Alto’s Planning and Transportation Commission and a commissioner for the City of San Luis Obispo for almost 10 years. He is a member of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee on Policy and Law, as well as the Committee on the Landscape and the Built Environment, and previously served on the Standing Committee on Transportation Economics.