Anna Zivarts: When Driving Is Not an Option with Veronica Jarvis at Browsers Bookshop

Browsers is so pleased to welcome Anna Zivarts on Tuesday, June 11th at 6:00 PM. Zivarts will be in conversation with Veronica Jarvis about her new book, When Driving Is Not An Option (Island Press). The event will be held downstairs at the bookshop.

In When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency disability advocate Anna Letitia Zivarts shines a light on the frustrating, dangerous, sometimes deadly situations involuntary nondrivers face every day and outlines steps to center the voices of nondrivers and make transportation more inclusive. Drawing from both her own experiences as a low-vision, non-driving mom and those of nondrivers across the country, Zivarts amplifies voices rarely heard or acknowledged by the people making decisions about transportation design and funding.

There are many reasons why people are involuntary nondrivers including disabilities (visible or invisible), mental health conditions, age, poverty, and immigration status. Zivarts celebrates the resilience of nondrivers while describing the barriers they encounter, such as nonexistent or broken sidewalks, indirect and lengthy transit trips, dangerous and impossibly wide roadways that divide our communities, and unaffordable and unscalable ride-hail options.

Anna Letitia Zivarts is a low-vision mom and nondriver who was born with the neurological condition nystagmus. Since launching the Disability Mobility Initiative at Disability Rights Washington in 2020, Zivarts has worked to bring the voices of nondrivers to the planning and policy-making tables through organizing, research and policy campaigns led by nondrivers. She began her career as an organizer and videographer, producing videos and collecting stories for the LGBT & HIV/AIDS and Voting Rights projects at the ACLU, and co-founding the union and worker-run video production company Time of Day Media.

Veronica Jarvis is currently a Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Planner at Thurston Regional Planning Council in Olympia, Washington. Veronica previously served two Washington state Governors, one as Budget Assistant for Transportation in the Office of Financial Management and one doing community outreach and events. Although Veronica is a Washington native, she has biked, walked, and rolled all across the United States and world. Spreading the good word of TDM and encouraging better accessibility for all modes is more than a job for Veronica, it is a passion. She enjoys getting around by bike, bus, and foot with her kids, rain or shine in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

This event is hosted by Browsers Bookshop.