Nebiyou Yonas Tilahun
Professor
Director, Mobility and Urban Systems Lab
Urban Planning and Policy
Contact
- Building & Room:
- 231 CUPPA Hall, MC 348
- Address:
- 412 S. Peoria St., Suite 231
- Office Phone:
- (312) 355-4622
Email:
About
Nebiyou Tilahun is a Professor in the Department of Urban Planning and Policy at the University of Illinois Chicago and Director of the Mobility and Urban Systems Lab. His research focuses on travel behavior, transportation accessibility, and equity, examining how transportation systems shape access to opportunities and the distribution of benefits and burdens across communities.
His work addresses barriers to transit use, how people value travel conditions and the built environment, and the safety and equity implications of automated traffic enforcement. Through his lab, he works with students and collaborators to develop research and public tools, including the Metropolitan Chicago Accessibility Explorer, that support transportation planning and policy.
Tilahun teaches transportation planning methods, spatial statistics, planning methods, and plan making studio courses. He earned his PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 2010 and joined UIC’s faculty in 2012.
Selected Publications
Xu, W., Smart, M., Tilahun, N., Askari, S., Dennis, Z., Li, H., & Levinson, D. (2024). The racial composition of road users, traffic citations, and police stops. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(24).
Tilahun, N. (2023). Safety impact of automated speed camera enforcement: Empirical findings based on Chicago’s speed cameras. Transportation Research Record, 2677(1), 1490–1498.
Maharjan, S., Tilahun, N., & Ermagun, A. (2022). Spatial equity of modal access gap to multiple destination types across Chicago. Journal of Transport Geography, 104, 103437.
Shin, J., & Tilahun, N. (2022). The role of residential choice on the travel behavior of young adults. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 158, 62–74.
Ermagun, A., & Tilahun, N. (2020). Equity of transit accessibility across Chicago. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 86, 102461.
Tilahun, N., Thakuriah, P., Li, M., & Keita, Y. (2016). Transit use and the work commute: Analyzing the role of last mile issues. Journal of Transport Geography, 54, 359–368.
Education
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
- Ph.D., Civil Engineering, 2010
- M.Sc., Civil Engineering, 2005
- B.S.C.E., Civil Engineering, 2001