34 avsnitt
good traffic Brad Biehl
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- Samhälle och kultur
good traffic is a workshop for walkable urban design and urban planning in the U.S. Join a prolific collective of city and community leaders as we look to brand American urbanism. New audio, every Tuesday.
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33 / Girls on trains / with Aly Marchant
Aly Marchant — my transit-taking girlfriend and a good traffic regular — is back for a walkthrough of being a women on public transportation. She shares recent challenges, protocols to help avoid and navigate uncomfortable situations, our collaboration towards mitigation as a couple, the role of young men, and optimism for female riders.
For context:
Gender distribution of public transit travelers in the United States (via Statista).
Connecting with me, Brad:
On Instagram.
On TikTok.
On LinkedIn. -
32 / Induced demand, Jevons paradox, & wider bike paths.
Expanding highways and adding lanes doesn't solve traffic. If it did, the cities that have been doing so for decades would have fixed their traffic woes. But, they're worse than ever.
Through the continuously misguided approach to transportation, we've learned a lot about the principle of induced demand, and Jevons paradox. In short, when we increase capacity in the name of efficiency, what we actually increase is demand and use. Thus, efficiency actually goes down.
What if we were to induce the demand for other methods of transportation? With more and better bike infrastructure, would we not see a rise in those biking? Paris has done just this, and it is working. Biking has now passed driving in the city, as a means of transportation.
Your move, *insert name of American city*.
For context:
A great walkthrough on why expanding highways doesn't solve traffic (via Business Insider).
Increased roadway capacity induces additional vehicle miles traveled in the short-run, and even more in the long-run (via National Center for Sustainable Transportation).
Shots of the Salt River Shore and Rio Salado Pathway in Phoenix, Arizona (via AllTrails).
Connecting with me, Brad:
On Instagram.
On TikTok.
On LinkedIn. -
31 / Scalable development patterns vs. personal lifestyle choices, & a weekend in SLC.
This week, we briefly touch base on three prevailing sentiments, from recent comment sections:
There is a massive difference between a personal lifestyle choice, and a scalable development pattern.
Folks seem to think the only kind of real estate or housing that one can buy is a detached, single-family home on a large lot. Of course, this is not true.
"Not everyone wants to live in a city!" Yes, correct. Just as not everyone wants to live in any specific place. Yet, more people live in cities than anywhere else (>80% of the U.S. population (via Census.gov, UMich)). We need to plan, design, and build accordingly.
We also reflect on a weekend trip spent walking Salt Lake City neighborhoods, and observing positive infrastructure improvements amidst a sprawling metro.
One note: in this episode, we referenced episode 29, in conjunction with recent comment sections. We meant episode 28. Catch up on that audio here.
For context:
On Salt Lake City bike infrastructure improvements (via The Salt Lake Tribune).
A new SLC bus stop + buffered bike lane, approaching an intersection.
A protected intersection, in downtown Salt Lake City.
A UTA train pic (underrated, and greatly enjoyed).
Connecting with me, Brad:
On Instagram.
On TikTok.
On LinkedIn. -
30 / Getting the U.S. back on its feet / with walkability expert Dan Burden
Dan Burden — America’s most legendary walkability and bikeability expert, and director of innovation at Blue Zones — is in good traffic to share a lifetime’s worth of work on making cities and streets more livable. He’s played a role in walkable design projects in thousands of communities, in all 50 states.
Dan is also the mastermind behind the 4,300 mile long TransAmerica bike route, and leader of the famous bike journey from Alaska to Argentina.
We discuss:
00:00 Dan Burden is in good traffic.
00:45 Dan’s first autonomous vehicle (Waymo) ride.
04:06 Biking into a career in urban planning and design.
13:35 Getting tapped to be the nation’s first bike and pedestrian coordinator… in Florida.
18:50 Walkability gaining momentum in American cities.
36:33 The three stages of cultural bike adoption.
37:38 Maintaining optimism throughout a long career in city planning.
43:37 Planning for the future of urban transportation.
52:35 Navigating political and social landscapes in city building.
01:00:37 Urban planners are storytellers.
01:12:22 Reflecting on a 50+ year career.
For content:
Biking across the U.S., thanks to Dan.
Dan’s work archive.
Blue Zones.
Connecting with Dan:
On LinkedIn.
Connecting with me, Brad:
On Instagram.
On TikTok.
On LinkedIn. -
29 / A Texas-sized mistake: highway expansion in Austin (& other lone star cities) / with author Megan Kimble
Megan Kimble — Journalist and author of new book City Limits: infrastructure, inequality, and the future of American highways — is in good traffic to discuss the most infamous part of our cities. Megan contextualizes the current fight over the widening of I-35 through downtown Austin, navigating a freeway-crazed Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and extensive research into the relationships between American cities and their highways. We talk the history, present struggles, and future ramifications of investing in auto-centric infrastructure.
Megan’s new book is out today, April 2nd, wherever you buy your books.
We discuss:
00:00 Megan Kimble is in good traffic.
01:34 Urbanist origin story: Tucson to Austin.
03:24 Texas' current highway expansion fights (in Austin, Dallas, and Houston).
05:08 I-35 expansion in Austin.
08:33 Funding transit vs. highways in Texas.
11:31 Grassroots movements and state decisions.
17:56 The case for removing urban highways.
19:41 Model highway removal projects in Rochester, New York.
27:09 More on Tucson urbanism.
29:55 The racial context of American highways.
35:49 A walkable collegiate commute in Tucson.
37:34 Where to find Megan’s new book.
For context:
Megan’s book — City Limits: infrastructure, inequality, and the future of American highways — out now.
On Austin’s current I-35 challenge.
Connect with Megan:
On Twitter.
On Instagram.
Connecting with me, Brad:
On Instagram.
On TikTok.
On LinkedIn. -
28 / Suburban subcategories, rural & urban common ground, & conservative urbanists.
Using the word suburb to describe both small towns and endless sprawl seems like a mistake. Small towns — even when on the periphery of a larger city — sometimes do gentle density even better than cities do. Sprawl is the beast that we are up against.
We also touch on the misconception that cities and growth are bad for the environment, and why the rural v. urban debate is a false polarization. A common enemy is involved.
We round out this week’s good traffic by listening to republican governor of North Dakota (recently flirted with as a potential Trump VP pick) Doug Burgum’s recent comments on zoning and walkability at the National Governors Association winter meetings. Many other (perhaps unsuspecting) political figures have shared similar sentiments, as of late. The short of it: republicans and conservatives have plenty of reasons to support walkability and urbanism, too.
00:00 The subcategories of suburbs: small towns and sprawl.
09:30 The false tension between rural and city, and why we may be on the same page.
15:28 Walkability is bipartisan; republican leaders are in favor.
For context:
Doug Burgum on walkability (via National Governers Association).
How much does a mile of road cost? (via Strong Towns).
The cost of sprawl in U.S., summarized (via California YIMBY).
Kansas City’s outsized land area growth, as compared to population growth, in the mid-1900s (via Strong Towns).