good traffic.

Dr. Tayana Panova — a psychologist focused on the long-tailed effects of American suburbs and sprawl — is in good traffic to talk the X of urbanism (or lack thereof) and psychology. Dr. Panova summarizes how American urban and suburban design over the last century has had profound effects on our mental, social, and physical wellbeing. She centers the need to reshape people in our urban environments; making them more walkable and conducive to human connections. Tayana also previews her upcoming book, which further studies these points.

We discuss:

00:00 Dr. Tayana Panova is in good traffic.

00:44 The intersection of psychology and urbanism.

01:59 The state of youth psychology in a suburbanized nation.

02:27 Perceptions of the suburbs.

06:35 Technology molds psychology… especially cars.

10:00 The impact of car dependence on our minds.

12:35 The concept of control in urban planning.

15:38 The freedom paradox.

20:32 Shaping POV, via travel.

28:24 A pure joy found in walkable spaces.

29:47 The relationship between urban design on mental health.

35:36 A suburban dilemma.

42:44 Room for improvements.

49:15 The joy of commuting in well-designed cities.

Further context:

Connect with Dr. Panova:

Connecting with me, Brad:

Ryan Johnson — CEO and founder of Culdesac — is in good traffic, amidst building the first car-free neighborhood in the United States, in Tempe, Arizona. We talk the evolution of American neighborhoods, working with cities instead of against them, and the future of mobility beyond private car ownership. Ryan also speaks on the potential pathways to living car-free, as well as the math, places, and ebikes that enchant those paths.

Appropriately, we’re live from the new good traffic studio at Culdesac Tempe, in Tempe, Arizona. We'll be live from the site all Spring.

We discuss:

Further context:

Connecting with Ryan:

Connecting with me, Brad:

There's been a mixed and varying reaction to scooters in our cities (even amongst urbanists). With Bird's recent bankruptcy — following a whirlwind few years — it's an interesting time to take stock of our cultural opinion of micromobility as a whole.

Did the unregulated, wild-west-esque attempt at democratizing micromobility actually set us back in gaining public support for new ways of moving around the American downtown?

A side note: we just moved — we're now live from Culdesac Tempe.

Connecting with me, Brad:

Jonathon Stalls — A walking artist, and leader of Pedestrian Dignity and Intrinsic Paths — is in good traffic (by way of Denver, CO) to talk the power of human mobility and transportation’s most foundational form: walking. Jonathon adds a poetic and expressive element to the inanimate and harsh likes of pavement, engineering, and cities at large.

His storytelling is unrivaled in its ability to convey the realness and rawness of human movement in our American cities, outside of the automobile.

We discuss:

Further context:

Connecting with Jonathon:

Connecting with me, Brad:

Jon Jon Wesolowski — The Happy Urbanist, content creator, and Chattanooga community leader — is in good traffic for a conversation about the conversation itself. Jon Jon is the most effective creator of entry-level, accessible urbanism content. He's bringing in new ears and minds at a rapid rate, and the collective is better because of it. We also talk the upward trajectory in Chattanooga, as well as recent worldwide travels.

We discuss:

Further context:

Connecting with Jon Jon:

Connecting with me, Brad:

Coby Lefkowitz — developer, writer, urbanist, and tweeter — is in good traffic to discuss the longstanding distrust of the big, bad developer in the urbanism conversation, and how partnership (versus vilification) is the pathway to building better places.

Coby is the Founder of Backyard — a development group focused on gentle density in great American cities.

We discuss:

Further context:

Connecting with Coby:

Connecting with me, Brad:

Taylor Schaffer — President and CEO of Downtown Indy Inc. — is in good traffic to share an ongoing story on the proliferation of placemaking, urbanism, walkability, and the potential to live car-free or car-lite in Indianapolis, Indiana.

This is the first-ever episode of the new good traffic subseries: Walkable Pockets. We'll traverse underrated, often unsuspecting, pockets of the U.S. where one can find walkability at the crossroads of affordability. The usual suspects for walkable community are often either too pricey, too far, or too impractical for many folks to move or travel to. This series will bring walkable neighborhoods (or, pockets), and the potential of a less car-dependent lifestyle closer to home, and within budget.

We discuss:

Further context:

Connecting with me, Brad:

Holiday markets and festivals are great. The traffic we sit in to get to them is quite the opposite. If we built more of the walkable environments that we love (those which festivals replicate), we wouldn't have to sit in standstill traffic, merely to access them for a couple of hours.

Also, U.S. traffic deaths are on the rise. It's a uniquely American predicament.

Further context:

Connecting with me, Brad:

An evening episode, following a weekend at MLS Cup in the underrated city of Columbus, Ohio. Festivals, sporting events, concerts, and holiday gatherings are all great entryways into the concept of walkable cities; people are empowered to explore an environment on foot - often on streets closed to cars, and opened up to people. They're a trojan horse, if you will. This audio is a reflection from one of those (don’t worry, if you don’t like soccer this one is still for you!).

We discuss:

Further context:

Connecting with me, Brad:

The first installment of a new subseries: a weekly walkabout (working title). We'll take stock of recent readings and stories, experiences while navigating via foot and bike, and comments received on social. Aly Marchant (who you may remember from conversation 6) joins and leads the chat from her very relatable perspective, as she still feels this whole urbanism thing out.

We discuss:

Further context:

Connecting with me, Brad: