Cato on Facebook
Cato on Twitter
Cato on YouTube
Cato RSS1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20001-5403
Phone (202) 842 0200
Fax (202) 842 3490
Contact Us
Randal O'Toole
Senior Fellow
Randal O'Toole is a Cato Institute Senior Fellow working on urban growth, public land, and transportation issues. O'Toole's research on national forest management, culminating in his 1988 book, Reforming the Forest Service, has had a major influence on Forest Service policy and on-the-ground management. His analysis of urban land-use and transportation issues, brought together in his 2001 book, The Vanishing Automobile and Other Urban Myths, has influenced decisions in cities across the country. In his book The Best-Laid Plans, O'Toole calls for repealing federal, state, and local planning laws and proposes reforms that can help solve social and environmental problems without heavy-handed government regulation. O'Toole's latest book is Gridlock: Why We're Stuck in Traffic and What to Do About It, in which he presents a wide range of innovative ideas and policy recommendations for creating an effective transportation system. O'Toole is the author of numerous Cato papers. He has also written for Regulation magazine as well as op-eds and articles for numerous other national journals and newspapers. O'Toole travels extensively and has spoken about free-market environmental issues in dozens of cities. An Oregon native, O'Toole was educated in forestry at Oregon State University and in economics at the University of Oregon.
Media Contact: 202-789-5200
To Book a Speaking Engagement: 202-789-5226
E-Mail: rotoole@cato.org
Books and Book Chapters
Gridlock: Why We're Stuck in Traffic and What to Do About It, (2010)
"Housing Policy," Chapter 22 of the Cato Handbook for Policymakers, 7th edition.
"Interior Department and Public Lands," Chapter 23 of the Cato Handbook for Policymakers, 7th edition.
"Surface Transportation Policy," Chapter 24 of the Cato Handbook for Policymakers, 7th edition.
Cato Studies
"Defining Success: The Case against Rail Transit," Policy Analysis no. 663, March 24, 2010.
"The Citizens' Guide to Transportation Reauthorization," Briefing Paper no. 116, December 10, 2009.
"The Myth of the Compact City: Why Compact Development Is Not the Way to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions," Policy Analysis no. 653, November 18, 2009.
"How Urban Planners Caused the Housing Bubble," Policy Analysis no. 646, October 1, 2009.
"Getting What You Paid For -- Paying For What You Get: Proposals for the Next Transportation Reauthorization," Policy Analysis no. 644, September 15, 2009.
Articles and Newsletters
"Taking Illinoisans for a Ride," Illinois Policy Institute Brief, July 9, 2009.
"Why Government Planning Always Fails," Cato's Letter, vol. 6, no. 1, Winter 2008.
Opinion and Commentary
"Taking the Driver Out of the Car," The Wall Street Journal, March 20, 2010
"Take a Pass on Trains," Detroit Free Press, February 18, 2010
"Smart-Growth Plans Are a Failure in Portland," Houston Chronicle, November 14, 2009
"Are Proposals For High-speed Rail a Boondoggle?," Detroit Free Press (Online), August 3, 2009
"Why PA Shouldn't Build High-Speed Rail," The Bulletin, July 24, 2009
Events
"When Does Rail Transit Make Sense?," April 9, 2010 [Capitol Hill Briefing]
"Driverless Cars: The Next Transportation Revolution," January 21, 2010 [Capitol Hill Briefing]
"Gridlock: Why We're Stuck in Traffic and What to Do About It," January 20, 2010 [Book Forum]
"The Great Debate: Can Smart Growth Cost-Effectively Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions?," December 3, 2009 [Policy Forum]
"Toward a Customer-Driven Transportation Reauthorization," September 17, 2009 [Capitol Hill Briefing]
Speeches and Testimony
"Comments on Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking," July 15, 2010.
"On Transit and Climate," July 7, 2009.
"Why Government Planning Always Fails," September 29, 2007.
Multimedia
Randal O'Toole discusses light rail on WBT's The Tara Servatius Show April 26, 2010 [Flash Audio, 08:04]
Randal O'Toole discusses light rail tax on KMOX's The Charlie Brennan Show April 5, 2010 [Flash Audio, 27:05]
Randal O'Toole discusses driverless cars on WSJ Radio'sWall Street Journal Tech News Briefing March 30, 2010 [Flash Audio, 00:52]
Randal O'Toole discusses his book Gridlock: Why We're Stuck in Traffic and What to Do About It on KTLK's The Jason Lewis Show March 27, 2010 [Flash Audio, 17:31]
Randal O'Toole discusses his book Gridlock: Why We're Stuck in Traffic and What to Do About It on WIBA's Upfront with Vicki McKenna March 24, 2010 [Flash Audio, 27:59]
Feeds for Cato events: 