Mobility & Urban Systems LabUniversity of Illinois Chicago

People

We study how transportation systems shape access, opportunity, and urban life.

Nebiyou Yonas Tilahun

Director

Nebiyou Yonas Tilahun

Professor, Department of Urban Planning and Policy

Nebiyou Tilahun is a professor in the Department of Urban Planning and Policy at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) and director of the Mobility & Urban Systems Lab. He also holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Civil, Materials, and Environmental Engineering at UIC.

His research interests include travel behavior, transportation accessibility and equity, the transit last-mile problem, and the safety and equity effects of automated traffic enforcement. He is also interested in the links between mobility and social and economic well-being.

Tilahun earned a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 2010 and joined the Department of Urban Planning and Policy at UIC in 2012. In 2025–26, he was a Fulbright Scholar in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.

ntilahun@uic.edu312-355-4622Google Scholar

Current Doctoral Students

PhD Candidate, Urban Planning and Policy

Shayan Khanmohammadidoustani

Shayan’s research interests include travel behavior, transportation policy, and emerging mobility technologies. His recent work examines how young adults perceive and value autonomous public transit, alongside research on transportation-mode detection and urban air pollution.

skhanm2@uic.edu

PhD Candidate, Urban Planning and Policy

Sabah Tajin Tarique

Sabah’s work connects transportation and infrastructure planning with questions of poverty, access, and resilience. Her previous research examined transport poverty in Dhaka and the relationship between digital infrastructure, social systems, and inequality in Southern Illinois communities.

stari12@uic.edu

PhD Student, Urban Planning and Policy

David Navarro-Rodriguez

David’s current research focuses on urban employment subcenters, including methods for identifying and analyzing concentrations of employment within metropolitan areas.

dnavar21@uic.edu

Alumni

  • Pietro BuffoniPolicy Analyst, International Transport Forum, Paris
  • Jaeyong Shin, PhDAssistant Professor, Keimyung University, South Korea
  • Yaye Keita, PhDPostdoctoral Scholar, Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida
  • Moyin Li, PhDProject Manager, Transport Analytics, Pace
  • Nooshin JavidiMUPP alumna; doctoral studies in Urban Planning and Policy
  • Shi Yin, MSComputer Science
  • Xitao Lv, MSComputer Science
  • Afshin AllahyariCivil Engineering
  • Sajad AskariDoctoral student, Civil, Materials, and Environmental Engineering, UIC