Urbanism Speakeasy

Peter Norton was a guest host for WMAR’s Virginia Insights, a regular NPR show. (You may remember hearing Peter interviewed by me in this episode.) Peter invited Fionnula Quinn and me […]

  Many of you know that Congress for the New Urbanism was a major inspiration for this show. Not the national conference itself — but the tribe of people who […]

Michael Lewyn has been teaching at numerous law schools for 14 years, and has written extensively about urban and suburban development. Like several other guests on Urbanism Speakeasy, we first met […]

Todd Drezner is a New Yorker who wants to create a documentary for anyone who’s ever been stuck in traffic. So I’m going to make the educated guess that if […]

 photo by Laura Pfeifer Laura Pfeifer is an urban planner living in Toronto, Canada. (Ignore what you hear me say on the show. She used to live in Montreal.) She’s been involved […]

  Kathryn Gray is the coordinator of Transportation for Michigan, a coalition of Michigan communities working to make their surroundings more livable. Kathryn has studied social relations, policy, public affairs, and public administration. At Transportation for Michigan, Kathryn's eyes are focused on 4 major areas - funding reform, complete streets, regional transit, and rail. You can read more about their work at Trans4m.org. With that, let's jump into the conversation about Michigan's transportation issues. I think you'll find they face the same type of challenges you do, even if you don't live in Michigan.   1% of Michigan revenues are for improving walking and biking. It's not an argument for more funding. At least it doesn't need to be. It's a statement about how Michigan, like so many other states, spends infrastructure money. Most states have a transportation policy that focuses almost exclusively on building bigger and faster roads. In recent years, more agencies are talking about how to get out of that mindset and accommodate other modes. Especially, the most fundamental modes -- walking and biking. How is Michigan doing? Is Kathryn happy with how tax dollars are being spent? She talks about the legacy of motor cities.   80+ communities in Michigan have adopted a complete streets policy. Michigan is one of the leading states in terms of complete streets adoption. Kathryn discusses the success rate and whether or not these policies are mere lip service. Are streets really improving their character?   Don't supersize my street! Let's say a town or city wants to fund a road diet instead of a road fattening. Is there a way local governments are able to make those projects happen? Or are they at the mercy of the state? Kathryn talks about the importance of early citizen engagement. Get active when your metropolitan planning organization (MPO) is developing lists of long-range projects -- that's when the average citizen can have the most meaningful impact.   Sprawl, the great isolation design. Kathryn talks about regional transit from two perspectives not usually taken: The isolation of seniors and tourism. We've created a culture where people can have a 45-minute commute to work. Creating transit systems on sprawled road networks is very difficult. Seniors moved into remote suburban and rural areas, but are  now in need of more medical care and can't necessarily drive. As for tourism, Michigan is not a drive-thru state. It's a destination. And when people arrive by plane, they're immediately forced to rely on autos.   Connect with our guest Kathryn Gray would be happy to connect with you. Here are the best places to reach her or Transportation for Michigan: Trans4M website Facebook Twitter   Sponsor Urbanism Speakeasy listeners: try Audible FREE for 30 days and get a FREE audiobook. Listen to your brand new audiobook while you walk around your community thinking about how you might spend transportation dollars better than your federal or state government. Give Audible a try.

  Emily Washington works for the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and blogs atMarketUrbanism.com. She has a master's degree in economics and focuses her attention on state and local policy issues. Before we get into the market forces, Emily gives an overview of her background to give some context about her educational and career path so far.   Is there a transport decongestant pill? Emily recently wrote an article about how traffic congestion is given a price tag. That is, Americans sit in X minutes of congestion that translates into N dollars of lost time. Usually, studies are followed quickly by a call for more infrastructure spending. The implication is that we always need billions of dollars for more super-highways. Meanwhile, polls routinely show that people don't want to spend more tax money on roads. Emily loves economics and policy, so what's her take on how highways are justified -- especially in densely populated areas like Washington, DC?   Keep my tax dollars out of your museum. Jumping to another area where government likes to intervene. Art. When regulations pile up, the original intent for common good gets lost. When news media pick up a story about censorship, the villain is generally portrayed as a small-town prude who couldn't possibly appreciate diverse cultures. And while it's true that individuals will openly express distaste or anger about some works of art, their right to speak about it is just as valuable as the artist's right to create. Why are we taxpayers drawn into the middle of this? Can a city have a local art economy that thrives without big brother?   A free market doesn't need government help. A market full of government intervention and regulation isn't a free market. Free markets get a bad name because of our culture's general lack of economic training. Emily mentions some excellent resources that will be further explored in future podcast shows. First, pick up any Jane Jacobs book - preferably The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Not to become a clone, but to stimulate thought. Second, visit the Mises Institute and expose yourself to Austrian economics. (Or grab this Friedrich Hayek gem from Amazon.) Third...well, share this podcast with a friend!   Connect with our guest Emily Washington would be happy to connect with you. Here are some choice places: George Mason University Mercatus Center Market Urbanism blog Twitter   Sponsor Urbanism Speakeasy listeners: try Audible FREE for 30 days and get a FREE audiobook. Listen to your brand new audiobook while you walk around your community thinking about how much you could do if the government got out of your way. Give Audible a try.

  Jen Krouse is a fellow member of Congress for New Urbanism. She's a consultant who applies classical business training and communications expertise to place-making firms trying to improve the built environment. When she's not looking for new things to see and new ways to see things, Jen travels, jogs, skis, and volunteers for favorite causes. She is a polyglot (a word I had to look up) whose most-used languages are French and Swedish. Her most abused are Japanese and Spanish. Jen has a great story to tell about North Adams, MA. A small city by census standards, but one whose population has seen some exciting tactical urbanism-type projects that many big cities have yet to experience. Her education is a combination of art, economics, and business. So our conversation hops around a bit. Please check back Wednesday for this week's show notes.   Sponsor Urbanism Speakeasy listeners: try Audible FREE for 30 days and get a FREE audiobook. Listen to your brand new audiobook while you walk around your community looking for opportunities to narrow streets. Give Audible a try.

  Urban: so much more than "big city". What is urban? It's more than mega-cities. Language is important - you'll want to hear this. If you aren't familiar with new urbanism, Reid drops some names for you to investigate. (And I'll be quick to add a hearty amen to this list!) Four thought leaders on street design are listed below with links to some of their work. Amazon is a partner, so you're helping the Urbanism Speakeasy if you purchase through us -- with zero additional cost to you. Don Appleyard Jane Jacobs Kevin Lynch Allan Jacobs   What makes a place walkable? Ok, on with a discussion of Pedestrian and Transit Oriented Design. It's intended to be an evidence-based resource for good street design. Craving empirical data? You've come to the right place. Reid unpacks five key qualities of walkable places: imagibility, enclosure, human scale, transparency, and complexity. Tune in for the details on each. We conclude the conversation with some essentials of good street design. You might be surprised by a couple of these. After listening, let us know what you think.   Connect with our guest A Google search for "Reid Ewing" will bring you to a certain celebrity son. So if you're interested in Modern Family, that's fine. But be sure to visit the University of Utah website to find out more about Reid's work. His most recent book is available on Amazon. But if you're an APA member, you'll get a $20 discount! Pedestrian- and Transit-Oriented Design (Amazon) Pedestrian- and Transit-Oriented Design (American Planning Association member discount) University of Utah   Sponsor Urbanism Speakeasy listeners: try Audible FREE for 30 days and get a FREE audiobook. Listen to your brand new audiobook while you walk around your community looking for opportunities to narrow streets. Give Audible a try.

  Reid Ewing is professor of City and Metropolitan Planning and director of the Metropolitan Research Center at the University of Utah. He has a pile of awards and has written a ton of books. If you happen to be familiar with Urban Land Institute or American Planning Assocation or Institute of Transportation Engineers, you've probably seen his name. Reid authored the US Traffic Calming Manual, and has some new work that I'm looking forward to hearing more about: one book on Pedestrian and Transit Oriented Design, and another called Measuring Urban Design Qualities.   What is livability? What is walkability? Reid starts the conversation with definitions of two key terms. Don't think of livable and walkable as buzzwords for big city planners. Reid talks about the application for any community.   Freedom of [modal] choice. More than half of Americans say they want to walk more and drive less. People are trapped in their cars, often because street networks have little opportunity for safe passage outside a vehicle. Typical push-back to pedestrian-friendly street design sounds like this: "that's nice people want to walk more, but we have road design standards that must be followed." The implication is that what people want is not really practical. How can we plan and design streets that meet people's desire to walk more and drive less? How can we make the leap from fiscally irresponsible sprawl to smarter development patterns?   But wait, there's more! I know, I know...you're loving Reid's insights and you don't appreciate that he was cut off at about half an hour. Don't worry. Part 2 is coming next week!   Connect with our guest A Google search for "Reid Ewing" will bring you to a certain celebrity son. So if you're interested in Modern Family, that's fine. But be sure to visit the University of Utah website to find out more about Reid's work. His most recent book is available on Amazon. Pedestrian- and Transit-Oriented Design (Amazon) University of Utah   Sponsor Urbanism Speakeasy listeners: try Audible FREE for 30 days and get a FREE audiobook. Listen to your brand new audiobook while you walk around your community looking for opportunities to narrow streets. Give Audible a try.   *** UPDATE *** Click here to listen to Part 2 of Andy's discussion with Reid Ewing

For the past 7 years Aurash Khawarzad has been working in urban planning in Fairfax County, Virginia, and at the Project for Public Spaces in New York. He is currently adjunct faculty at Parson’s New School for Design, and a practicing planner. Aurash had some of his work exhibited at architectural biennales in Venice and Chile and San Francisco. TrafficCOM is a project that is being done in partnership with Tomorrow Lab. Holding data is power. These guys have chosen to build an open data business plan. We talk at length about the importance of having reliable traffic data widely available to anyone.   Why count cars and bikes? Aurash gives the TrafficCOM origin story. For listeners familiar with traffic engineering projects, their intended audience may come as a surprise.   Trusting regular people with open data TrafficCOM chose to create an open data business plan. The idea is for non-experts to be able to collect vehicle and bike counts, and post the information to interactive maps. It's the sort of approach that communities will appreciate. Aurash discusses the importance of making traffic data widely available.   Connect with our guest Aurash Khawarzad is active on Twitter, but you should first check out the TrafficCOM Kickstarter page. Watch the short video and think about contributing. Also, be sure to check out Tomorrow-Lab, home of Aurash's business partner. Kickstarter Twitter Tomorrow Lab   Sponsor Urbanism Speakeasy listeners: try Audible FREE for 30 days and get a FREE audiobook. Listen to audiobook while you use your very own TrafficCOM counter on a neighborhood street. Give Audible a try.

Paul Godsmark is an engineer with experience all over the globe. Before moving to Canada a couple years ago, he had projects in 9 countries and on 4 continents. That included the lowest tech (gravel roads in Mozambique) all the way to the highest tech (Intelligent Transport Systems) for major infrastructure.   Cars without drivers; people without cars Paul recently posted the following thoughts on an Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) blog: What are we as a transportation profession doing about preparing for the biggest revolution that we will have seen on our road network since the invention of the car some 120 years ago? Why have we not already started planning for this inevitable paradigm shift that will transform not just our roads, but society as well? What should we do to prepare? As this week's show title suggests, we're talking about driverless cars. Paul's blog post assumes we're close to seeing the technology on our local streets. How close are we?   Hey, have you seen my jetback? I'm a child of the 80s, so seeing autonomous vehicles is nothing new to me. I know that most of them will fight crime, but some may be villainous. But seriously, does this technology really have an impact on ordinary people who live in ordinary places?   The most courteous driver is no driver at all. Paul discusses some of traffic engineering concepts related to driverless cars. Google has made headlines recently about the tens of thousands of mileage their driverless car has had without incident. Paul gets into issues like human behavior and how this technology has the potential to dramatically reduce crashes on our streets.   Someone stole my car with their smart phone! There are still kinks to be worked out in the tech, which is why you don't see driverless cars parading around your town. Yet. Paul talks about some of the big challenges still to be resolved. The most critical is probably cyber-security. Computers can be hacked, and a computer would be driving the car.   Driverless cars can reduce sprawl...and make it worse. All around the world, departments of transportation are shifting their attention from mid-20th century highway building to better networks for fundamental modes of travel - walking and biking. Will autonomous vehicles help or hurt community goals for livable and sustainable streets? People may opt to live in a densely populated area and choose not to own a vehicle since calling a driverless car would be an option. Or people may opt to live even further from their places of work and shopping, meaning long-distance "local" trips would continue our current sprawl habits. Paul doesn't have a crystal ball, but he has put a lot of thought into some of these challenging issues.   Connect with our guest Paul Godsmark (and his recent writing) can be quickly found online. But here are a few places to get you started. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn   Sponsor Urbanism Speakeasy listeners: try Audible FREE for 30 days and get a FREE audiobook. Looking for a story set in the near future with autonomous cars? Give Audible a try.   

  Kristen Jeffers has been writing and speaking under the name The Black Urbanist for some time now. Kristen has studied communication, public affairs, community development and economic development. She likes interacting with people – she writes on her own blog, on other people’s blogs, speaks at events, and recently launched a podcast. Ok, so we’ve established that she loves talking – let’s talk about where she focuses her energy. In the show we squeeze as much into 30 minutes as possible.   The Black Urbanist, an origin story Comic and superhero fans have long appreciated a good origin story. What's in a name? Why does the Black Urbanist exist and how does she use her powers for good in North Carolina and beyond? Besides her work itself, Kristen talks about the special influence of 2 people who wouldn't be classified as urbanism wonks. Mom and Dad.   Civic inferiority complex Got city envy? You aren't alone. Plenty of people are in love with other cities that they never plan to live in. But what can you do in your own backyard? Or your front yard? Or in the street? Kristen recently published an ebook called Killing the Civic Inferiority Complex. We flip through the e-pages. (psst, go read her book here)   Lazy urbanism We've all heard stories of creativity and innovation that is squashed or suffocated by bureaucratic process. Red tape can be an entrepreneur's enemy #1. Kristen has written a bit about what she calls "lazy urbanism". Sometimes people need to just get out of the way and let good things happen organically.   Shiny happy places "I want THAT!" I have 2 young kids. I know all about the appeal of shiny new things. Hey, I want shiny new things too. There are some amazing revitalization projects popping up all around the country in some unexpected places. You don't have to be a New York or Chicago or Boston to be a beacon of human-scale design. What can you do in your rural crossroads, medium-sized city, or spaceport?   Connect with our guest Kristen Jeffers, The Black Urbanist, can easily be found online. Here are the 4 best places to connect with her. Facebook Blog Twitter Instagram   Sponsor links Try Audible FREE for 30 days and get a free audiobook. Yes, there are tons of books on urbanism! It's like listening to this podcast -- give it a try!  

Bruce Liedstrand loves cities of all sizes. He's closing in on 50 years of experience in a variety of capacities -- city attorney, manager, redevelopment director, and now a consultant. Bruce is a strong believer that city planning and design should be people-focused. His mission is to make places safe, useful, and convenient for people. So naturally he fits right in at Urbanism Speakeasy. Scientific method applied to city planning Raise your hand if you remember learning about the scientific method in school. Make observations, develop a hypothesis, make a logical prediction, and then conduct experiments. Bruce was strongly influenced by Michael Freedman, a designer he met in California. Michael introduced Bruce to the mysterious field of urban design  and contributed heavily to Bruce's future work.   We had a plan...it just wasn't our plan Tech geeks have heard of Mountain View, CA because it's where Google built their headquarters. But before Google, Mountain View was the city near Stanford University where you lived after graduation or after a divorce. Design consultants had been hired to develop master plans, but they didn't lead to significant change. So what happened? Bruce explains, including some early experiments with what we now call form-based codes.   I'll know what I want when I see it Picture a really good downtown street. How does it look? Now picture getting out of your parked car in front of a suburban box-retail store. How does it look? Decision makers in Mountain View struggled with defining what they wanted to see downtown. They knew they had plans on shelves that didn't have any real meaning for them. So they did what any non-professional, common sense observer would suggest. They walked outside. In Mountain View and in other cities. What did they like? What could they do without? Bruce describes the evolution of Mountain View's city planning process.   Measuring the effectiveness of your city staff City staff size varies dramatically. Some have large departments for engineering, planning, zoning, accounting, and everything else. Others employ just a handful of people who have to oversee all the city operations. Without considering number of employees, what are some characteristics of a good city staff? What are some ways people can measure the effectiveness of their local leaders?   Meeting needs and giving pleasure No, Bruce is not a marriage counselor. That's the way he rates the quality of cities. Bruce has visited many cities over the last 50+ years. How are American cities doing? What are some ways to keep improving? The biggest challenge might be to stop applying sprawl design to downtowns. Bruce likes to say that downtown is the opposite of the suburb -- so treat it that way.   Planning for seniors "Aging in place" might be the wrong description for what Bruce describes. Aging in one place is more like our current model of car-dependent sprawl, where seniors are forced to be isolated once they lose the ability to drive. Bruce talks about the importance of walkable communities, including some insights from Paris.   Connect with our guest I know, I know. You want to find out more about Bruce Liedstrand's experience with city planning. Go visit his website below. Common Sense Community Design   Sponsor links Try Audible FREE for 30 days and get a free audiobook. Yes, there are tons of books on urbanism! It's like listening to this podcast -- give it a try!  

Boyd Cohen is writer, teacher, researcher, and entrepreneur. Right now, he's living in Buenos Aires with his wife. He operates Smart Cities Hub both curating and writing original content. Economy, environment, finance, governance, mobility, and technology are all covered on his site.   Ever meet a globetrotting climate capitalist entrepreneur? Neither had we! Boyd talks about his education in the US, his time in Canada, and his current ventures in South American cities.   Believe in climate change. Or don't. It doesn't matter. Along with another author, Boyd published Climate Capitalism in 2011. The Amazon tagline for the book is "Believe in climate change. Or don't. It doesn't matter." In the book the authors present case studies about how innovation and common sense are profitable with regards to the way people live and move. Boyd makes the claim that solving the climate crisis is the way out of the economic crisis. Listen to how he unpacks that thought.   The smart cities wheel in the sky keeps on turning. Boyd talks about how he defines "smart cities" and then describes the ingredients of his Smart Cities Wheel. It's a tool currently used by several cities around the world to help develop more holistic planning strategies.   Is living without a car a burden or freeing? Boyd and his wife have eliminated cars from their household -- at least for a period of time. Latin America has suburbs, too. Is Boyd's family trapped in isolation or do they have better mobility? The short answer is: it depends which year of their life you're asking about.   How do you convince the average person that bicycle infrastructure is profitable? Several unrelated groups have reported economic benefits of walkable and bikeable communities in recent years. The League of American Cyclists is probably the most popular one. They reported that Boulder, CO's cycling industry created more than $50M and 300 jobs. In Washington, DC, bikeshare is booming and surveys show bikeshare riders are more likely to spend money at local businesses near the bikeshare stations. Still, Americans like to turn bike projects into partisan politics. How does Boyd convince the average person that bike infrastructure is profitable? Or does he?   Connect with our guest After listening to the show, there's plenty more to explore. If you want to see what Mike Lydon is up to, there are several places to find him online. Be sure to check out the Tactical Urbanism resources! Twitter Smart Cities Hub UBM Future Cities   Sponsor links Try Audible FREE for 30 days and get a free audiobook. Yes, there are tons of books on urbanism! It's like listening to this podcast -- give it a try!