Streets.mn Podcast

What does it mean to permanently decommodify housing, and how does that help long-term affordability? Find out in this conversation with David Ackos! Episode chapters 00:00 | Intro 01:26 | Housing Co-op vs Cohousing 04:07 | David's Journey 13:33 | Decommodification and Affordability 24:54 | Hypocrisy of wanting both wealth building and affordable housing 31:53 | The Parklet Streets.mn Winter Fundr...

Today we're sitting down with Ray Delahanty to talk about his process and what gives him passion making videos as CityNerd! Links CityNerd YouTube channel CityNerd blog Video: Is Minneapolis Too Nice for Its Own Good? Oh The Urbanity! guesting on Streets.mn Podcast Alan Fisher YouTube channel Attributions Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both track...

If you missed our live event about electing transit champions, fear not! We recorded the panel discussion and are presenting it on the podcast this week. Chapters 00:00 | Intro 04:39 | How can land use and transportation support each other? 09:59 | Finding common ground 21:18 | What strategies does electing champions unlock? 31:54 | Making the legislature more accessible 36:44 | Preventing burnout...

We're joined in the studio by Mallory Baches, President of the Congress for the New Urbanism, who was in town to plan their 2027 conference in Minneapolis. Come listen in on our conversation! Links Further listening: our conversation with CNU board member Spencer Miller-Johnson about zoning mixed-use corridors The Year Without Sunshine by Naomi Kritzer (text and audio versions available) CNU's RFP...

Join us for a conversation with Henry Grabar, author of Paved Paradise, which gives a surprisingly entertaining history of parking policy in America! Links Henry's newsletter Electing transportation champions panel event Mel's first article Attributions Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. F...

What goes into running a non-profit like Streets.mn? Let's take a moment to hear from the board members who make it all possible! Episode chapters 00:00 | Intro 00:31 | Stina Neel & Ian R Buck 09:11 | angela olson 13:48 | Ben Zvan 18:23 | Brian Mitchell 22:10 | Erik Noonan 27:11 | Ian Gaida 31:51 | Jeb Rach 36:23 | Jeremy Winter 40:36 | Morgan Radick 45:00 | Parker Seaman 49:52 | NJ Hanson 54:38 |...

Hear from some of our favorite advocacy organizations what happened at the 2026 Minnesota legislative session, and what we're carrying forward into next year! Links The 2026 Urbanist Legislative Agenda Streets.mn summer picnic Our Streets legislative summary Move Minnesota legislative summary BikeMN Sustain Saint Paul Other orgs that weren't available for the episode All Aboard Minnesota legislati...

Let's sit down with Miles in Transit to talk about his motivation and process for making videos of arbitrary transit riding challenges! Links Miles in Transit Other creators Miles mentioned Tanner DJ Petesake Simon Anderson riding Europe's longest bus route Alwaus Attributions Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their...

Now known as the Minnesota Cargo Bike Library, let's check in with Laura Mitchell about what's new this year! Links Minnesota Cargo Bike Library Merchandise (including the opossum shirt!) Cyclehoop Perennial Cycle Opossum in pannier Opossum setting off the music Katie Jones and Peter Schmitt transporting their newborn in a cargo bike Attributions Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our int...

Lyndale Ave is up for reconstruction, and a group of activists have been working for the last few years to make sure it has the best design it can. Let's listen in on their interview on the Wedge LIVE! podcast. Wedge LIVE! Shownotes After years of engagement and political wrangling, Hennepin County and the City of Minneapolis are ready to approve a new design for Lyndale Avenue South between Frank...

Fans of The War On Cars podcast won't want to miss this episode! We're covering their book Life After Cars , and one of the authors Doug Gordon joins us on the episode. Links Life After Cars Book Club: The Lost Cause with Cory Doctorow Attributions Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find o...

In this episode from the Talking Headways Podcast , Anna Zivarts leads a roundtable about the Week Without Driving event. tk embed Talking Headways Shownotes This week Talking Headways is being hosted by our friend Anna Zivarts who guides a panel of elected officials and advocates to talk about the impacts of the Week Without Driving . They look back at 2025's activities and look forward to this y...

In this new series, we will be chatting with urbanist content creators from across the globe about their craft. First, we have Patrick from the video channel Oh The Urbanity! Chapters 00:00 | Intro 01:00 | How did you get into this? 02:49 | Snow clearance 04:33 | How has your approach to the videos changed? 15:14 | Topics that don't work on video 17:05 | Time budget for filming 20:22 | Balancing t...

Right here in the Twin Cities, we have one of the premiere rehabilitation clinics for birds of prey! Join us for a conversation with Gail Buhl from the Raptor Center to talk all about how these feathered friends interact with the human-built environment. Links https://raptor.umn.edu/ https://midwestperegrine.umn.edu/ Other episodes about urban wildlife Attributions Our theme song is Tanz den Dobbe...

We got some strange interference this week, you may hear parallel universe versions of the Streets.mn Podcast! Episode chapters 00:00 | Intro 00:57 | Midtown Freeway Coalition 07:35 | Carless Whisper 08:08 | Skip Traffic 09:43 | Bike Maintenance ASMR 12:47 | Sponsored by Hondle 13:19 | Muni Squad 29:45 | Streets.nm 33:03 | Outro Links Spanish transit mascot Bussi BikeABQ opposition to gas station...

Follow along with a group of friends taking a car-free from the Twin Cities to ski and snowboard in Whitefish, Montana! Links Whitefish Ski Resort S.N.O.W. Bus (Shuttle Network of Whitefish) Previous episodes referenced Skiing in Winter Park, Colorado Camping and skiing at Afton Alps Biking to ski at Afton Alps Ian's parents vacationing at his home Episode chapters 00:00 | Intro 00:53 | Origins of...

New York Times best selling author Cory Doctorow joins us to discuss his 2023 solarpunk novel The Lost Cause ! Links The Lost Cause Books mentioned in the episode: The Age of Extraction The Neddiad The Yggyssey Attributions Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, T...

Let's check in with some of our favorite urbanist advocacy organizations about their goals for this year's legislative session! Links Land Value Tax Episode All Aboard Minnesota Our Streets Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota Sustain Saint Paul Neighbors for More Neighbors, Yes to Homes Attributions Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by pe...

It's often a tricky balance for public agencies to strike when deciding whether to build a service in-house or to contract with a private company. So when Metro Transit paid for everyone in Minnesota to get premium access in the Transit App, we got curious about the terms of that arrangement. Turns out, there's a lot of interesting data work going on in this partnership under-the-hood! Listen in o...

The young transportation activists of today are the legislators of tomorrow. Let's meet some of the students who are getting involved in advocacy at an early age! Links Our Streets' Bring Back 6th . Harding's transportation page still has a bike map that Ian added in 2020. The Purple People Coalition (note: the Purple Line project has since been renamed the Bronze Line ). Attributions Our theme so...

Scott Dibble and Frank Hornstein have been friends and transportation advocates since before they were elected to the state legislature, so we sat down with them to find out how that has shaped their careers. Attributions Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The...

Snow season is one of the biggest challenges for Minnesota's transportation system. Let's chat with the folks who make sure the snow gets cleared! Links Saint Paul Snow Emergency page Attributions Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet,...

When his mother suffered a stroke in 2018, Matthew Stepaniak wanted to find a way to keep her active both physically and mentally. As an avid cyclist himself, Matthew had the idea to bring cycling to those who couldn't otherwise enjoy it themselves. So he teamed up with Darren Dobier and the two co-founded Limitless Cycling, which helps individuals of all abilities enjoy the outdoors through the p...

OpenStreetMap is the Wikipedia of maps: a publicly-available database of spacial information that anyone can edit. We sit down with prolific OSM contributor Jackson Kruger to talk about the best ways to use the data, and how to get comfortable with contributing to the project. Links OpenStreetMap (keep in mind that the map on this website is more of a tech demo than anything) There are many client...

The Midtown Greenway opened 25 years ago, so let's hear from the folks who pushed for it to happen! George Puzak envisioned the Greenway, Tim Springer was the Midtown Greenway's first Executive Director, and Soren Jensen is the current Executive Director. Links Midtown Greenway trench history by Brian Mitchell: Part 1 & Part 2 Donate to the Midtown Greenway Coalition Attributions Our theme song is...