good traffic.

Quick hits re: the federal-level implications of the recent election on transportation, housing, and urbanism in the U.S. No political post-mortems or predictions, but rather look at existing policies and their potential impacts. Surface level breakdown of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), detailing the combined $566 billion in federal transpo...

Aly's back, and with some recent perspective on third places. Particularly, their significance in expanding our sense of home beyond four walls. We talk devised theatre, childhood restaurants, the power of nostalgia, and how to bring up urbanism at thanksgiving dinner. We discuss: 00:00 Aly's back. 02:54 Urbanism and nostalgia. 05:20 On third places. 13:35 Defining routine via walking routes. 21:4...

Mallory Baches returns for a conversation on the highlights of the 2024 CNU congress in Cincinnati, where restorative urbanism and connected communities policy were focal points. We talk the CNU transect and its application in urban planning, emphasizing the importance of landscape architecture. We also examine the challenges of branding and public perception of new urbanism. The chat finishes wit...

Sophia Mohr — Chief Innovation and Technology Officer at the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) — is in good traffic this week ahead of a big vote on November 5. Issue 47 is on the local ballot in Columbus, Ohio — which will help bring BRT to life in the region. We elaborate on the technological advancements ahead, such as traffic signal prioritization, digital payment solutions, and customer e...

Jerome Horne — transit advocate and communications executive — is in good traffic to talk buses, better transit advocacy, and Baltimore (among other places). We discuss: 00:00 Choosing cities for transit advocacy. 02:36 Career transition to public transportation. 09:37 On community building. 17:36 Youth engagement in urban planning. 21:35 Strategies for promoting bus usage. 23:36 Improving bus sys...

Urbanization is a forgone conclusion. Yet, we still hear remnants of the old, more rural American dream being presented as American cultural taste. But, even in our most rural states (like Texas), the vast majority of folks reside in cities. Economic productivity and impact follow suit. People vote with their feet, and taste/preference account for more than aesthetics. The 'shithole' city narrativ...

Sharing a few conversations that have veered into urban planning / design, transportation, American mindset, and the like. Clips shared during the episode: Ari Matti on Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast, on the American pedestrian experience. George Kamel (of the Dave Ramsey Show) on The Iced Coffee Hour, talking the biggest wealth crushers. Neil DeGrasse Tyson on Joe Rogan, discussing the rollout o...

We've passed the year mark. Huge thanks to you all. Here, we hit on five (and a half) summative takeaways from twelve+ months of weekly conversations. These are points that keep showing up ( in dialogue, notes, and research. They will help to steer much of what we do here, in the coming years.

John Simmerman — Founder of Active Towns — is in good traffic to talk the push for more active towns across the U.S. John travels the world's cities via active mobility, and creates stellar content to summarize the trips. By trade, he's an exercise scientist that believes in the power of the built environment as an avenue for solving some of our most pertinent health challenges (obesity, i...

Aside from better infrastructure, varying and incongruent laws make biking very challenging. Should I ride on the sidewalk, or on the road? Where do I belong? Will I actually get a ticket if I make a judgement call? Through the wacky ways that we regulate bikes in the states, we see starkly how they are not viewed as a viable transportation method (yet). We scratch the surface on the head-scratchi...

Dr. Nadina Galle — ecological engineer and author of new book, The Nature of Our Cities — is in good traffic this week to hash out the crossroads of cities, nature, and technology. We talk proper park planning and tree management, and the cities leading the way. The nature side of the urbanism conversation is something we’ll be exploring more deeply here, soon. Nadina is the perfect person to help...

Schools are back in session — and in less than a week, we're already fielding car line and traffic complaints. There has to be a better way to empower children's movement. We discuss: 00:00 Back to school. 01:22 The daily commute struggles. 03:08 Alternatives: The bike bus movement. 05:47 Practical tips for parents and students. 10:54 Commuting while in college. 16:44 Empowering student an...

Kyla Scanlon — author of In This Economy? How Money and Markets Really Work — is in good traffic to talk oil and gas economics and sociology, consumer sentiment and election voting driven by vibes, the implications of widespread car ownership, and more at the X of econ and urbanism. Kyla’s book is the best entry-level econ read out there. Read it, ASAP. You can get your copy, here. We discuss: 00:...

Donald Shoup — economist, author, and distinguished research professor at UCLA — is in good traffic this week re-emphasizing the economic implications of free parking and its hidden costs, advocating for reforms such as market-based pricing for curb parking and parking benefit districts. He delves into the nuances between doctrine and dogma, sharing his perspective from a summary of lifelong resea...

Sam Westby — touring cyclist, bike commuter, and content creator — is in good traffic this week to talk all things biking. We delve into Sam's recent Tour Divide ride, traversing from the Canadian border to the Mexican border on varying surfaces. The conversation also touches on the evolving bike culture in cities like Boston, and the impact of ebikes. We touch on an upbringing in a cycling-fo...

Steve Dunn — New Jersey firefighter and safe infrastructure advocate — is in good traffic this week to talk bikes as financial freedom, bike commuting as a public servant and emergency responder, and work done with his organization Union County Connects . The discussion also covers suburban and urban dynamics, the economic implications of car dependence, and the need for greater collaboration and...

Nico Larco — professor and director of the Urbanism Next Center at the University of Oregon — is in good traffic this week to dive deeply into his new book, The Sustainable Urban Design Handbook , and utilizing Portland as a laboratory for developing leading urbanism practices. We discuss: 00:00 Portland, Oregon's urban design. 02:15 Bike commuting culture in Portland. 03:07 Portland's nat...

Hayden Clarkin — a NYC-based transportation engineer known widely as The Transit Guy — is in good traffic this week to talk the engineering profession, getting transit projects across the finish line, and storytelling the technical aspects of the process. We cover the background, and current stasis, of halted congestion pricing implementation in New York City. We discuss: 00:00 The Transit Guy nam...

Portland, Oregon has a polarizing reputation — it seems drugs and homelessness dominate headlines nationally. Though it has uphill battles like any place, it’s also an undisputed leader in urban design and multi-modal infrastructure. We’re spending the next two weeks here, biking and walking all over the city and its surrounding neighborhoods. Today, we start with three (of many) physical choices...

Joan Lyons — transportation planner and urbanism writer — is in good traffic sharing on the Women Moving People project, which focuses on emboldening women's perspectives in the planning and transportation industries. We agree strongly on the importance of early exposure to urbanism for children and students. Joan also talks her career as a transportation planner in Louisiana, Denver, and Nort...

On inefficiency of single-use spaces. Questioning the norm of planning for exceptions rather than the rule. Cities and individuals make choices based on rarer needs, leading to underutilized spaces. In homing differing usages in one space — like a morning coffee shop turning into a bar at night, or a parking lot hosting a farmer's market — we can deduplicate resources, overhead, and infrastructure...

Kev Polk — founder of Edenicity — is in good traffic this week discussing a permacultural approach to urbanism. This is: ecologically sound cities that provide housing, food, energy, and transportation in a cohesive system. Kev shares his path from space exploration to realizing the importance of localized systems and cities in addressing environmental crises. Kev emphasizes the potential for grea...

On the hobby of spot-checking availability in nearby parking garages, and American driving and parking data. We discuss: 00:00 Counting unused parking spots in downtown Columbus, Ohio. 00:27 Parking garage supply and demand. 01:47 Reevaluating urban land use. 02:44 U.S. parking data. 03:57 Parking case study: Des Moines, Iowa. 06:09 Larger implications of car-centric infrastructure. 11:11 Personal...

Ryan Short — cofounder of CivicBrand — joins good traffic to emphasize why cities and towns of all sizes should care more about branding. We talk the need for civic pride and intentional urban design, qualitative and quantitative data collection, and using community perspective to refine strong, holistic, evergreen messaging. From Dallas, to suburban North Carolina, to mountain town Colorado, Ryan...

Recently, my partner Aly reflected on our walks in Columbus (OH) feeling safer than elsewhere in the states. We discussed the why behind this perceived feeling, and articulated the claim into five attributable rationales. We decided to rehash those, here. As planners, designers, and urbanists get deeper into the technical, it's important to keep the way that a place or piece of infrastructure...