good traffic.

Nolan Gray — Senior Director of Legislation and Research at California YIMBY — is in good traffic this week for a discussion on how the state with America’s biggest housing problem has become a national leader in reforming the rules of the built environment. California is often treated as both a cautionary tale and a blueprint — derided for its crises yet envied for its innovation. Nolan walks us...

Ryan Short — author of the new book The Civic Brand , and founder of place-branding firm Civic Brand — joins the show this week for a discussion on how cities can more meaningfully define their brand. The term has been used and overused in almost every industry imaginable, and yet, Ryan argues the importance of the idea at its root. Particularly, for places. Through this, we spend time on the life...

An opinion brief, on defining and messaging urban design's healthcare-equivalent issue. Democrats are centering the current government shutdown showdown around a salient issue: healthcare. It's a smart framework, as the issue has long been a winner for them, and it benefits large swathes of folks across the political aisle. We need to do a better job of strategizing our shorthand, and comm...

Davis Obst — author of the new book Saving Ourselves from Big Car , and former literary agent best known his work on All the President’s Men — is in good traffic this week. His career has spanned some of the most pivotal exposés in modern history — from the Pentagon Papers to Watergate. Now, Obst turns his focus to corruption of the American auto lobby. In the conversation, David traces the deep h...

What do Albuquerque, Anchorage, and Albany have in common? Beyond cultural and climate differences, each city — like countless others in the U.S. — has given over about a third of its downtown land to off-street parking. This week, we reframe the way we talk about infrastructure investment. Rather than citing too few users as a reason not to invest in better infrastructure, what if we saw the folk...

This week, we spend time on the hype (and the pitfalls) of those endless “top ten cities for ...” lists. They’re catchy, shareable, and often the first thing people see when they think about moving or traveling. But do they actually tell us much about what it’s like to live car-lite or car-free in American cities? So, instead of telling you our top ten cities to move to, we came up with a differen...

Matt McPheely — developer of the Union House project in Greenville, South Carolina — is in good traffic this week to talk about building flexible housing that helps move a city's workforce closer to jobs, in a city not usually known for experimental cohousing developments. From navigating zoning codes and neighborhood opposition to designing adaptable homes that work for both single families a...

Miguel Mendoza — founder and director of Nómada Estudio Urbano in Ciudad Juárez — is in good traffic this week for a conversation on tactical urbanism, placemaking, and cross-border design between Mexico and the United States. From wooden pallet furniture in one of the most violent cities in the world, to Bloomberg Philanthropies–supported park and street projects, Miguel’s work in Ciudad Juárez...

Burhan Azeem — the youngest Cambridge City Councilor ever elected — is in good traffic this week for a dive on effective local politics, building bike infrastructure quickly in the states, and being elected to office at 24. The city — home of Harvard and MIT — is getting a ton done, and fast. Burhan's work focuses on housing, transit, and actually completing ambitious infrastructure projects f...

Sophie McAdara — Programs and Operations Manager for Bring It Home , and former City of Bentonville urban planner — is in good traffic this week to discuss just what the heck is going on down in Northwest Arkansas. Bentonville, and neighboring towns, have been part of a regional boom in recent years. National attention has followed, and much praise has been given. From mountain bike lanes alongsid...

This week, we discuss the potency of urbanism's gateway drug: summer festivals. Culturally, Americans love to frequent farmer's markets, watch fireworks, and attend live arts shows in the park. We often don't realize that these are all functions of a walkable environment (even if often temporary). Vendor tents are proxies for small shops, food trucks could be permanent neighborhood eat...

Eric Kronberg — Principal at Kronberg Urbanists + Architects — is in good traffic this week to talk about the mechanics of building better neighborhoods. Are family units have gotten smaller, while our home sizes have gotten larger. This means less supply, and less opportunity to build more. We get into what makes zoning reform such a powerful tool in evolving this housing dynamic, why parking min...

Tahra Hoops — Policy wonk, and Director of Economic Analysis at the Chamber of Progress — joins the show this week to talk about the generation that's been simultaneously told it's going to "save the world," has "no work ethic," has "been through a lot," and yet is "soft." Zoomers are a nuanced bunch, and that makes us a unique and challenging crew t...

This week, we're workshopping ways to get car companies to prioritize pedestrian safety. Why don't all cars have speed governers that cap at, say, 85 mph? And, a call for community feedback. For context: On TomTom's safety tech. @SubwayTakes on TikTok. On 'Brick ' which I may have called Block, in the episode...my mistake).

Clayton Sealey — Charlotte, North Carolina civic leader and the brain behind @cltdevelopment — is in good traffic. We hit on progress in the rapidly growing southern city, roadblocks at the state level, and housing / transit policy momentum. We also discuss the how behind getting involved with city council in your locale, utilizing North Carolina's many collegetowns as American precedents, and the...

Writer of the weekly Bike Bulletin newsletter (subscribe right now.) — Sam Westby — is back on the show. We knock out a current events survey, with topics curated through both of our weekly research habits in the urbanism, bikes, and adjacent worlds. It's mostly positive, and hopefully always constructive. Sam's off to Spain to bike for a while. Make sure to follow his incredible rides and...

Diana Lind — founder & author of The New Urban Order newsletter — joins us to discuss her extensive career writing on urban planning, zoning, and American housing policy. She talks about the evolution of urbanism and architecture media, and how it has shaped public discourse surrounding growth, housing crises, and city development. The conversation reaches into her book Brave New Home , where...

This week, we survey intricacies and discrepancies in driver and pedestrian safety data. Intermixed are a few recent anecdotes and observations from a week in New York City spent exploring with landscape architects, developers, and friends alike.  It's always a reinvigorating trip for a pedestrian and transit-adorer; a few of my recs are found in this audio. We discuss: 00:00 On recent travels to...

Rachel Bardis — COO at California developer Somers West — is in good traffic this week to check on an ambitious project taking shape outside of Sacramento, California. Rachel shares where Braden 's development currently stands, including recent infrastructure work and plans for lot deliveries. We touch historical context of the project, and the importance of creating a community that integrates di...

A potential countermove to the fresh auto tariffs, and another dive on bikeshare + micromobility in evolving large American cities like Columbus, Ohio. We discuss: 00:00 New car and car part tariffs. 01:34 In praise of walking. 04:04 Impact of tariffs on transportation choices. 09:31 Bikeshare programs. 14:11 Columbus' new bikeshare partnership. 17:53 Opportunities in bikeshare adoption. 25:21 Wra...

We're back from a spring break. This week: on how driving cultures vary from city to city, within the U.S. Most importantly, how being a part of those cultures influences how we experience other folks within them. In short, walking / biking more makes us a better driver. Cities where those driving are not drivers , but rather pedestrians that are just driving in this moment, tend to feel safer...

Tesho Akindele — Charlotte real estate developer and former pro soccer player — is back on the show for a catchup re: progress at the Camp North End development in Charlotte, how we maintain the optimism amidst uncertainty in growing cities like Charlotte and Columbus, and an MLS season preview. The catch: we preview the season through the lens of off-field factors. Included are a few recommendati...

A tribute for — and a republish of our August '24 episode with — Donald Shoup. May he rest in peace. What a life he led.

Scott Snodgrass — Founding Partner and developer at Meristem Communities — is in good traffic this week to discuss progress on Indigo : a walkable neighborhood at the X of agriculture and urbanism. Amidst the Houston sprawl, Scott and his partners are doing things differently by leaning into principles of food cultivation, community, car-free streets, and car-lite routines. This approach is differ...

Aly's back. We watch some clips of overheard urbanism from throughout pop culture, over the past couple of weeks. Clips played: Colin Cowherd and Nick Wright talk walkability. Chalamet bikes the red carpet. Gunna runs in the road. The cat knocked the camera over, and made lots of noise. Apologies! We discuss: 00:00 Urban design adjacent clips and discussions. 04:57 Colin Cowherd is moving to Chica...