Zakhary Mallett

Zakhary Mallett's research investigates the interrelationship between transportation finance, travel behavior, and urban form.  He seeks to explain the extent to which an individual's travel behavior and location choice are influenced by the inefficient pricing of transportation, and how this influences aggregate travel patterns, urban spatial structure, and distributional impacts.

Previously, Zakhary served as an elected member of the governing board of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART).  As a BART Director, he spearheaded the agency's affordable housing policy and advocated for policymaking that was conscious of the long-term impacts of present-day decisions and based on empirical findings.

Zakhary earned his Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development from the University of Southern California; Master of City Planning from the University of California, Berkeley; and bachelor's degree from Stanford University.  He began his post-secondary education at West Valley College in Saratoga, California.

Related News

• Michael Manville and Rosie Tighe: YIMBY-ism — Is Upzoning a Viable Solution to the Affordable Housing Crisis?
• Spatial Structure and Travel Patterns of the Post-Pandemic City
• Ten Inducted into Bouchet Graduate Honor Society
• Zakhary Mallett: Inequitable Inefficiency: A Case Study of Rail Transit Fare Policies
• Cornell AAP Announces Eight New Faculty Members, Including Cross-Disciplinary Social Justice Cohort

Classes (Selected)

• CRP 3840/5850 Transportation and Land Use Planning

Awards, Grants, and Fellowships (Selected)

• Best Student Paper, Transportation Research Forum (2022)
• Student of the Year, Pacific Southwest Region University Transportation Center (2022)
• Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program Graduate Fellowship, Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of Transportation (2021, 2020, 2019)
• Transfer Hall of Fame Awardee, West Valley College (2017)

Exhibitions and Presentations (Selected)

• "Spatial and Temporal Variability of Rail Transit Costs and Cost Effectiveness" (Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC, 2022)

• "Competing Principles of Transit Fare Policies" (University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 2021)

• "BART to San Jose Planning and Politics" (University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 2018)

Publications (Selected)

• Mallett, Zakhary. "Spatial and Temporal Variability of Rail Transit Costs and Cost Effectiveness." Transportation Research Record (Forthcoming).
• Boarnet, Marlon G., Zakhary Mallett, and Clemens A. Pilgram. "Dockless Scooter Travel: A Land Use Model with Implications for California." METRANS Transportation Center, 2020.
• Mallett, Zakhary, and Marlon G. Boarnet. "Transit Planning and Management." International Encyclopedia of Transportation, 2021, 349–359.