Francis Eric Knight Britton was an American political scientist and sustainability activist[1] who has lived and worked in Paris, France, since 1969.
As the main convenor of The Commons: Open Society Sustainability Initiative and its various networks, he is well known for promoting integrated public transport, carsharing and bike sharing.
A former member of the Faculty of Economics at New York University and Mills College, and occasional lecturer at universities in many parts of the world; his work received early support from the Ford Foundation (“Why large transport projects fail and what we can learn from them: Case studies from Paris, London and Zurich”) and a Fulbright Fellowship for his work on “Development Theories and Myths in the Italian South (Mezzogiorno)”.
For many years, Britton has been active in the creation and management of independent, interdisciplinary, cross-cultural peer networks and open partnerships for problem solving and providing counsel and policy direction for Governments, the private sector and volunteer and community groups in a broad range of problem areas involving technological change, sustainable development and social justice.
[3] Much of his work involves co-ordinating the collaborative New Mobility Agenda, which encompasses a number of possible transport solutions, including car free days, carsharing, bikesharing and shared space projects.