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A workshop for American urban design and urban planning. Join a prolific collective of city and neighborhood staples as we look to better brand American urbanism. New conversations, each week.

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All Episodes

00:56:33

96 / How cities avoid becoming clichés / with Ryan Short

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2025/10/29

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 lifecycle of a cliché, and how cities of various sizes can and should) go about avoiding becoming one.The new

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00:12:23

95 / What is our healthcare equivalent?

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2025/10/15

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 communicating accordingly. Timeline:00:00 The urbanist wish list.00:33 Strategy.01:29 Lessons from the

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00:48:21

94 / A new book on Big Car / with David Obst

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2025/09/28

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 history of how corporate and political power entrenched car dependence in America — from the invention of

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00:14:00

93 / The pretext for infrastructure investment is there.

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2025/09/18

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 folks persisting in spite of lacking infrastructure as a signal and hunger for more?Timeline:00:00 A

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00:27:14

92 / The problem with those “most walkable cities”...

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2025/09/06

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 different list: five practical protocols to quickly gauge walkability when visiting a new city.Timeline:00:00 Why

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00:44:34

91 / A model for communal workforce housing / with...

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2025/08/28

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 and roommates, Matt shares on what it takes for small-scale developers to build solutions in places like

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00:54:34

90 / Public space design, on the U.S. + Mexico border...

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2025/08/14

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 and El Paso shows how small-scale public space interventions can improve safety, foster community

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00:51:07

89 / How Cambridge gets stuff done / with Burhan Azeem

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2025/08/07

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 for his Cambridge constituents (outcomes > process). We also underscore the powerful influence of

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00:51:54

88 / Why Bentonville (& NWA) is booming / with Sophie...

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2025/07/17

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 alongside local roads, to robust greenway projects, and urban integration with natural surroundings, the area has

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00:31:25

87 / Summer festivals are a gateway to urbanism.

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2025/07/13

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 eateries, and running into friends could be a norm rather than a novelty.Instead of closing a parking lot

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00:54:54

86 / Families are smaller, yet homes are larger /...

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2025/07/04

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 minimums are the silent killer of affordability, and how small-scale development is the most durable path

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01:01:00

85 / Talking housing policy (or anything) with Gen Z...

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2025/06/19

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 to communicate policy to/with. Add in a segment of the generation (more on this breakdown in the episode)

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00:30:00

84 / Capping vehicle speeds at 85 mph, & safety...

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2025/06/05

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).

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00:53:17

83 / Charlotte's trajectory / with Clayton Sealey

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2025/05/29

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 ever-present predicament of strengthening civics education.We discuss:00:00 Charlotte's appeal.03:03

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00:48:22

82 / May urbanism news you may have missed / with...

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2025/05/16

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 work (links below).We discuss:00:00 Sam's recent activities.02:42 The Bike Bulletin newsletter.03:38

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00:57:11

81 / On the national housing policy discourse / with...

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2025/05/07

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 she tackles alternatives to single-family zoning and the social implications of various housing models

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00:49:29

80 / Pedestrian & driver relations, traffic data...

good traffic. ·

2025/05/02

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 NYC.02:06 On road safety and traffic fatality data.05:50 Analyzing traffic data and trends.11:38 Car bloat,

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00:53:43

79 / Shifting suburban strategy in Sacramento / with...

good traffic. ·

2025/04/10

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 diverse housing types, walkability, and practical sustainability. Health, connectivity, and engagement is

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00:26:20

78 / A tariff countermove, & bikeshare revisited.

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2025/03/28

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 Wrapping up.

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00:25:45

77 / Walking makes us better drivers.

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2025/03/20

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 to move about. In these places, we are the same people, merely using different tools, for different

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97 results

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