good traffic.

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...

While bleak and gray at times, winter can be the prime time for observational and behavioral learnings in our local environments. Sneckdowns (snow + neckdowns), multi-day snow-covered cars, and unmaintained/disregarded sidewalks each tell us something. We also touch briefly on takeaways from convictions of the Jeffersonian grid: foresight and planning to widen our ideological tent, republican idea...

Dominic Leonardo — Rhode Island city planner, and the reputable @cityglowup on socials — is in good traffic to discuss the simple-yet-vital process of documenting progress. Transformations — or, glow-ups — have long been an effective way of visually storytelling change, and garnering momentum. Dominic does the vintage before/after in a contemporary fashion better than anyone. We discuss: 00:00 On...

We're back for the first episode in 2025 (!!), where we'll work harder to thread the needle between championing urbanism wholeheartedly, and understanding public concerns about safety + comfort. This year, nuanced thought will be as critical as ever. It should not be controversial to say that — in pursuit of building better places and ways to move between them — women and children must feel safe....

Vancouver continues to be the favorite city I've ever been to, largely due to what is arguably the best city park in North America: Stanley Park. Plus, a non-sponsored holiday gift guide for urbanists, listed below. We discuss: 00:00 Vancouver is the best. 00:49 The marvel of Stanley Park. 02:17 Density and nature. 03:19 Vancouver's natural setting. 07:20 Winter challenges and urban mobility. 08:0...

Sam Balto — cofounder of Bike Bus World , and leader of the Portland Bike Bus — is back in good traffic for an updated chat on children’s mobility, the failure that is school carlines, and the paradox of prompting local-level progress via a national community.

 We discuss: 00:00 Bike bus year in review. 01:19 The global bike bus community. 04:08 Bike commuting infrastructure for families. 07:02 E...

Coby Lefkowitz is back in good traffic. Amidst leading Backyard in developing housing in Southern California (and tweeting up a pleasant storm), Coby has written a new book. Building optimism is available now. We get into it, in this conversation. We discuss: 00:00 Building Optimism: the new book. 02:12 The genesis of the book. 05:42 Challenges and realities of American urban development. 10:27 Hi...

Thankful for you all. Pardon a slight deviation from our usual Tuesday release. We discuss: 00:00 Thanksgiving and urbanism. 04:35 A journaling exercise. 10:01 Upcoming guests and episodes. 11:21 A note on black friday and parking minimums. A sample journal exercise. First, the point of gratitude, followed by a summarized root-cause analysis. Apologies for brevity, these were transcribed from my f...