In Indy, residents don’t just use infrastructure, they help design it. 

In this episode of Beyond Streets, we sit down with Natalie van Dongen, Director of Community Outreach for the City of Indianapolis, and Daniel Stevenson, Deputy Director of Policy & Planning at the Indianapolis Department of Public Works. Together, they share how the City of Indianapolis is flipping the script on traditional urban planning with Community Powered Infrastructure. 

From tactical urbanism pilots that boost safety, to residents pitching and crowdfunding projects, to a CPI Lending Library that puts real tools in people’s hands, it's a lesson in building trust, unlocking creativity, and empowering community pride.

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• Greg Rogers
• Greg Rodriguez
• Samantha Roxas

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What does it take for a city to bet big on its future and actually bring the community along for the ride?

In this episode of Beyond Streets, we sit down with Sabrina Sussman, former USDOT official, longtime Zipcar leader, and now head of Nashville’s Choose How You Move program. After voters approved a bold ballot measure to raise local funds for mobility improvements, Nashville is embarking on a generational investment in sidewalks, transit, and safe streets.

We talk with Sabrina about:

• Why she left D.C. for Nashville and how Civic Match helped connect national talent to local needs.
• The years of community input and trust-building that made this ballot measure possible.
• How focusing on basics first—sidewalks, signals, safety, and service—helped secure public buy-in.
• What “trust” really means when government asks residents to invest.
• Why Choose How You Move is as much a talent and workforce initiative as it is a transportation one.

It’s a story about public trust, civic courage, and what it means to deliver visible change in a city that decided to invest in itself.

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• Greg Rogers
• Greg Rodriguez
• Samantha Roxas

www.beyondstreets.org

How do you move public engagement beyond checking the box?

On the latest episode of Beyond Streets, we sit down with LaToya Thomas, founder of Brick and Story, who has built a practice around one powerful idea: engagement should be meaningful, strategic, and rooted in community stories.

We talk about:
 👉 Why “listening” is a strategy, not a checkbox
 👉 What trust looks like in neighborhoods facing gentrification and displacement
 👉 The role of storytelling in shaping better projects and decisions
 👉 How rural and urban communities both wrestle with growth—and what we can learn from each other

LaToya reminds us that engagement isn’t about post-it notes on a wall. It’s about creating spaces where people feel heard, respected, and part of shaping their future.

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• Greg Rogers
• Greg Rodriguez
• Samantha Roxas

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In this episode of Beyond Streets, we talk about how rural mobility, aging in place, and data standards are, amazingly, at the center of a more inclusive, tech-enabled transportation future. We sat down with Jana Lynott—longtime transportation policy expert, livability advocate, and self-proclaimed “transpo geek”—to unpack what it really takes to make our streets and systems work for older adults and underserved communities.

From building smarter dial-a-ride networks to demystifying the link between digital infrastructure and physical access, we explore how to close gaps in mobility, health, and equity. Plus, we take a walk down memory lane with the AARP Livability Index, Complete Streets policies, and how Denmark might just be the blueprint America needs.

Learn more about the studies referenced in this episode: 

• www.aarp.org/futureoftransportation
• A Step Forward: How Complete Streets and Neighborhood Walkability Make Streets Safer for Older Adults
• Connecting Community Transportation: Lessons Learned from Transactional Data Specification Demonstration Projects 

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• Greg Rogers
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What if buying a secondhand e-bike were as easy and trustworthy as buying a certified pre-owned car?

In this episode of Beyond Streets, we talk with Marta Anadón Rosinach, Head of US at Upway, a company redefining the second-life market for e-bikes. A former Uber Eats executive, Marta shares how her personal obsession with e-bikes turned into a mission: making high-quality, affordable, refurbished e-bikes accessible to more people in more places.

We dig into:

• Why e-bikes are a powerful and fun tool for reclaiming cities from car dependency
• How refurbishment cuts carbon emissions by up to 95% while creating local jobs
• The challenges and opportunities of scaling in the US vs. Europe
• The role of policy in safe battery recycling and expanding incentives
• Why investing in workforce training is a crucial, overlooked lever in micromobility adoption

From tariffs to transit agency partnerships to e-bike theft myths, this conversation has it all, and it’s for anyone who cares about the future of sustainable urban transportation.

Learn more about Upway: https://upway.co/

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• Greg Rogers
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Warren Logan doesn’t just talk about change, he clears the path for it. Whether it’s translating between city departments and private developers, batch-submitting 311 requests, or reworking zoning rules down to the inch, this man makes room for progress in places where inertia and red tape usually wins.

As the Director of Government Partnerships and Community Affairs for the Northlake project and Principal Advisor at Progress Public Affairs, Warren is helping reshape how cities and private partners collaborate. In this episode, we dig into how he's transforming a once-overlooked stretch of downtown into a neighborhood that actually works for people.

It’s not magic—it’s a well-functioning, healthy risk-taking, sandbox. One where the public sector gets support, the private sector shows up with more than capital, and everyone involved knows what role they play.

We talk about creating safe spaces for risk, building shared vision across sectors, and what happens when you design a process that helps every partner do their job better. Oh—and yes, RuPaul’s Drag Race comes into play. Because if you’re not lip syncing for your life in local government, are you even trying?

Learn more about the Northlake Project: https://www.northlake-oakland.com/

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• Greg Rogers
• Greg Rodriguez
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In this episode of Beyond Streets, we sit down with urban planning legend David Dixon—dubbed by us as the “Urban Planning Yoda”—to explore how cities can adapt to a changing world. From walkability to housing, transit to community-building, David brings decades of insight into how post-WWII patterns shaped our cities and how today’s leaders can design more equitable, vibrant, and people-centered places.

We talk about why density is a tool (not a threat), how community needs are shifting, and why enlightened self-interest might just be the secret to unlocking political will.

A hopeful, grounded, and deeply practical conversation on what it takes to build cities that invite us in and bring us together.

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• Greg Rogers
• Greg Rodriguez
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As the school year winds down, Beyond Streets leans into the everyday intersections between education, transportation, and equity. This week, we sit down with Namita Brown, managing partner at Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost and a powerhouse in California education law.

From collective bargaining to broadband, school transportation to walkability, Namita offers a wide-angle view on the unseen scaffolding that keeps our schools—and students—functioning. 

We dig into how COVID reshaped schools as sites of cultural and political conflict, why transportation access is still a quiet crisis, and what parents, educators, and policymakers can do about it.

If you're navigating school lotteries, IEPs, or just figuring out how to get your kid to class on time, give this one a listen. 

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• Greg Rogers
• Greg Rodriguez
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In this episode, we head to Buffalo, New York—a post-industrial city with deep roots and a bold future. We sit down with Justin Booth, Executive Director of GOBike Buffalo, to explore how biking, community-led planning, and quick-build infrastructure are reshaping the city’s streets and values.

From “Recycle-a-Bicycle” to regional trail planning, Justin shares the journey of GOBike’s 25-year evolution and the coalition-building needed to reconnect communities fractured by expressways. We discuss what it really takes to make change: listening to neighborhoods, rethinking parking culture, and focusing on the basics—like sidewalk snow removal and safer crosswalks.

Buffalo’s past holds lessons for every city rethinking its future. This one’s for planners, parents, advocates, and anyone who believes cities should work for people and a variety of transportation modes, beyond cars. 

🛠️ Topics covered:

• Community-led quick-build projects
• Repurposing the Kensington and Scajaquada expressways
• Bike equity, youth empowerment, and transportation demand management
• The intersection of advocacy, politics, and public health

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• Greg Rogers
• Greg Rodriguez
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Infrastructure Week is back — and no, it’s not just for D.C. insiders and engineers.

This week on Beyond Streets, we’re joined by Ross van Dongen, who wears a lot of hats at United for Infrastructure and Accelerator for America. We get into what’s actually happening on the ground with all the federal dollars flowing into cities. 

We talk about:

• What a “C” grade on our national infrastructure report card really means 
• Why those annoying orange cones might be the most hopeful thing you’ll see all week
• How cities like Phoenix and Waterloo are making real change — from better transit to cheaper internet
• The real barriers to getting money from D.C. to Main Street, and what needs to change

If you’ve ever wondered why infrastructure takes so long — or what you can actually do about it — there's never a better time to start learning than now. 

🎧 Tune in and get ready for Infrastructure Week with a helpful perspective on what it means to build a stronger, more connected future.

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• Greg Rogers
• Greg Rodriguez
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www.beyondstreets.org