What if the future of transport in Aotearoa isn’t more roads, but more trains?

In this episode of Crosswalks & Crosstalks, we’re joined by Lindsey Horne from Future is Rail - a community advocacy group campaigning for affordable, passenger-focused, interregional rail in Aotearoa.

With a background in climate-action behaviour change, Lindsey makes the case for where we can get the biggest bang for our buck when it comes to changing how we move around the country.

We talk about why trains are the solution to interregional travel, the dignity and independence they can offer people; their role in getting people to regional centres for healthcare and other services; their potential to reduce transport emissions and deaths and serious injuries; and their resilience when roads are disrupted by natural disasters.

We also get into the marriage of bikes and trains, why our transport system needs to be genuinely integrated, and how our obsession with commuting for work has meant we sometimes forget that people travel to cities for all sorts of reasons.

Lindsey takes us through where NZ’s rail network has come from, where we are now, and where we could go next, including the uncomfortable history of rail, colonisation, deforestation and stolen land.

Finally, Lindsey gives us hope for the future with ideas on what we could actually do tomorrow for a better train network in Aotearoa. We talk about relatively simple wins like adding stops to services such as Te Huia and the Capital Connection, getting private operators involved in routes like Rolleston-Christchurch, and bringing back an overnight Auckland-Wellington train - because if the journey is overnight, who cares if it takes eight or nine hours?

Show notes:

Please email at [email protected] for all the show notes, and sources. We are happy to provide them!

• Future is rail website: https://thefutureisrail.org/
• Reviving Passenger Rail: A Quick Start Guide: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pcMToZeIZ0TWeIGZk5LFN47rGr1Frewa/view?usp=sharing
• Survey with Women in Urbanism Aotearoa: https://thefutureisrail.org/what-we-are-missing-out-on

• NZ rail plan: https://www.transport.govt.nz/area-of-interest/infrastructure-and-investment/the-new-zealand-rail-plan
• Map of NZ railways - north island: https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE27807599
• Map of NZ railways - South island: https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE27807610

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In this episode, Gabriela talks to Wellington councillor Rebecca Matthews, and Tawa Community Board member Miriam Moore about their experiences as women in local politics. They get into topics such as how and why they got into local politics in the first place and how the urban space matters to them, the importance of having someone who represents your values at the table, the blessings and the many curses of social media as a woman in politics, and how supportive female politicians can be of other women regardless of their political affiliations. This is a hopeful episode that might almost convince us that running for local politics can, in fact, be a good time.

Show notes:

• https://www.women.govt.nz/women-leadership/womens-leadership-glance
• Breaking down barriers for women in politics: https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/news/2017/08/breaking-down-barriers-for-women-in-politics
• How to become a candidate by Election NZ https://elections.nz/guidance-and-rules/candidate-hub/becoming-a-candidate
• How to run for parliament (and win) https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/15-09-2023/how-to-run-for-parliament-and-win

Crosswalks x Crosstalks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crosswalksxcrosstalks/

Contact us: [email protected]

Support the pod: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/UF34A6V4JC7YG

In this episode, Gabriella talks to Wellington councillor Rebecca Matthews, and Tawa Community Board member Miriam Moore about their experiences as women in local politics. They get into topics such as how and why they got into local politics in the first place and how the urban space matters to them, the importance of having someone who represents your values at the table, the blessings and the many curses of social media as a woman in politics, and how supportive female politicians can be of other women regardless of their political affiliations. This is a hopeful episode that might almost convince us that running for local politics can, in fact, be a good time.

Show notes:

• https://www.women.govt.nz/women-leadership/womens-leadership-glance
• Breaking down barriers for women in politics: https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/news/2017/08/breaking-down-barriers-for-women-in-politics
• How to become a candidate by Election NZ https://elections.nz/guidance-and-rules/candidate-hub/becoming-a-candidate
• How to run for parliament (and win) https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/15-09-2023/how-to-run-for-parliament-and-win

Crosswalks x Crosstalks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crosswalksxcrosstalks/

Contact us: [email protected]

Support the pod: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/UF34A6V4JC7YG

In this episode of Crosswalks & Crossroads, Gabriela sits down with Kia to explore the powerful intersection between public health, urban planning, and urban design. Drawing from her work in the public health space, Kia unpacks the many ways our urban environments shape us - physically, psychologically, and socially.

From advertising and signage to building height, street layouts, and transport systems, the conversation examines how cities impact our wellbeing at every scale: from the big-picture urban system right down to the individual street and building level. Kia also discusses the broad range of public health measures used to understand these impacts, including infectious diseases, chronic pain, cardiovascular disease, environmental exposure, and more.

Together, the episode highlights just how interdisciplinary and interconnected urban issues really are. Whether discussing transport poverty, accessibility, or environmental design, the conversation reveals how challenges often viewed through a single lens can have deep and lasting public health consequences. It’s a thoughtful exploration of why healthier cities require collaboration across planning, transport, health, design, and policy - and what could be possible when we start seeing those connections more clearly.

Show Notes

• Stephan Heblich & Alex Trew & Yanos Zylberberg, 2021. "East-Side Story: Historical Pollution and Persistent Neighborhood Sorting," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(5), pages 1508-1552. https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/275585078/713101.pdf
• https://www.motu.nz/about-us/public-policy-seminars/events/three-urban-economic-short-courses
• Health and air pollution in New Zealand study. https://environment.govt.nz/publications/health-and-air-pollution-in-new-zealand-2016-findings-and-implications/
• Garden Cities of Tomorrow ttps://www.gutenberg.org/files/46134/46134-h/46134-h.htm
• The relationship between greenspace exposure and telomere length https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969723060795?via%3Dihub

Crosswalks x Crosstalks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crosswalksxcrosstalks/

Contact us: [email protected]

Support the pod: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/UF34A6V4JC7YG

In this mini episode of Crosswalks & Crosstalks, host Gabriela breaks down in bit sized pieces; resource management reform.This episode is part of a new mini series called: Stop, Walk, Talk.

Gabriela discusses what the current resource management system is, what the current New Zealand government wants to replace it with, why people are arguing about it, and why this reform matters to you and your daily life.

The replacement of Resource Management Act is a big deal. It’s one of the biggest legal and political shakeups in New Zealand since the 90s.

From previous governments attempt at resource management reform, to where we are today, this is an episode not to be missed.

Unpack the political complexities, the changes proposed, and the next steps from Select Committee who will be reporting back next month.

Show Notes

Contact us at [email protected]

CrosswalksxCrosstalks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crosswalksxcrosstalks/

In the second episode of Crosswalks and Crosstalk's Host Gabi talks through adventurous play, the impact of risk taking on our development and the barriers to making play accessible for girls with special guest Jacquelyn Collins.

Get ready for a conversation that brings fun, passion and even more whimsy to urbanism.

Show notes

Tim Gill - No fear: Growing up in a risk averse society. - https://rethinkingchildhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/no-fear-19-12-07.pdf

Jacquelyn’s Masters dissertation - Barriers and enablers for girls being active (2021)

Make Space for Girls: https://www.makespaceforgirls.co.uk/

Girls Skate New Zealand: https://www.girlsskatenz.com/

Pump Tracks are for Girls too! Event by WIUA write up by Bike Auckland - https://www.bikeauckland.org.nz/news/pump-tracks-girls/

United States National Institute for Play: https://nifplay.org/play-science/summary-of-key-findings/#play-deprivation

Another study about the impact of play on mental health: https://www.healwithcfte.org/blog/play-mental-health

Dr Damien Puddle - Play opportunities through environmental design: a strategy for well-being: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42322-023-00138-0

The Playful City podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3YTTSQ7BLXbMWMg3DVqdpJ?si=125ba29cf426451f

In the first episode of Crosswalks & Crosswalks, host Gabriela sits down with urban designer, illustrator, communicator, mother, and local board member Emma McInnes.

Emma grew up on a rural farm milking cows, endlessly jealous of her city cousins who lived next to a shared playground. That early contrast - between isolation and shared space - sparked a lifelong fascination with how the design of our cities shapes our lives.

The conversation explores why Emma co-founded Women in Urbanism Aotearoa, how the organisation has evolved to include diverse voices across gender identities and sectors, and why some of its strongest supporters are men.

Together, Gabriela and Emma unpack questions at the heart of urbanism: How do we design cities where people can live with dignity? Why are women’s experiences of cities so different from men’s? And what would happen if we planned transport systems around the real movement patterns of women?

From climate change to transport funding, they also explore why people often “salivate” over mega-projects like bridges and motorways while dismissing smaller, community-focused interventions - despite the latter often having the biggest impact on everyday life.

It’s a conversation about care, power, gender, and the sometimes quieter design decisions that shape how we move, connect, and belong in our cities.

Show Notes

Women’s safety in urban spaces reading material

• The Impact of Urban Design in minimizing Women’s Fear of Crime
• Making safer places: Gender and the right to the city
• Gender, urban space, and the right to everyday life
• Perceptions of Public Safety in the Auckland CBD
• Taking back planning: Promoting women's safety in public places -- the toronto experience
• Lots more contact us at [email protected] if you’d like a full list used for my dissertation.

CrosswalksxCrosstalks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crosswalksxcrosstalks/

Emma McInnes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmamcinnes___/?hl=en

Emma McInnes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-mcinnes-she-her-919b2553/

Website WiUA: https://www.womeninurbanism.co.nz/\

Welcome to Crosswalks and Crosstalks. This is your go to podcast where curiosity meets urbansim. In this teaser you'll get a first glimpse into what's coming; we are talking cities, gender and everything in between. The first episode releases 8th March on International Women's Day.