good traffic.

By Brad BiehlSociety & Culture Places & Travel

good traffic. episodes

November 28, 202311 / The bike bus, active transportation, & empowering kids / with Coach Sam Balto
Coach Sam Balto — a physical education teacher, active transportation catalyst, and Portland bike bus leader — is in good traffic to open up on sustainable and healthy transportation options for children, disrupting the school car line, and what it all means for the collective movement of our cities.

We discuss:
00:01 Coach Sam Balto is in good traffic, and he’s driving the bike bus.

02:08 What is the bike bus? On the concept and origins in Portland, Oregon, and beyond.

04:02 The impact of bike buses and active transportation on the physical and mental health of our youth.

05:00 Parental involvement and feedback in the urbanist movement.

10:57 The role of social infrastructure in our cities.

18:53 The future of scaling bike buses in U.S. cities.

27:05 Teacher’s potential role in the urbanism equation, and what happens when we give kids the tools they need.

39:56 Reflections from a recent visit to walkable college town Tempe, Arizona.

45:05 How to connect with Coach Balto.

Further context:
A Balto-led Portland bike bus in action.

bikebus.world

On the bike bus inspiring legislature.

On the worldwide bike bus momentum.

Connecting with Sam:
On TikTok.

On Instagram.

Connecting with me, Brad:
⁠⁠⁠On Instagram.⁠⁠⁠
⁠⁠⁠On TikTok⁠⁠.⁠
⁠⁠⁠On LinkedIn⁠⁠.
47 min
November 21, 202310 / The state of the American dream, selling walkability, & suburban shifts / with realtor Obi Johns
Obi Johns — Rising Columbus, Ohio real estate professional (and budding urbanist) — is in good traffic to address the state of the American dream, how walkable neighborhoods have begun to replace the suburban fantasy of old, and how realtors are selling in the shifting market.

We discuss:
The American Dream.

Home buying and real estate in 2023.

Millennials and Gen Z want to live in walkable neighborhoods and cities.

Capitalism is signaling in favor of walkable environments.

Columbus, Ohio is still, somehow, underrated.

Bridge Park (Dublin, Ohio), and what suburbs building walkable places tells us.

Marketing walkability (or, not even needing to...), and more urbanist real estate trends.

Greater context:
The Bridge Park project.

My take on Bridge Park.

Brad and Obi explore one of Columbus’ most walkable neighborhoods.

Anticipated freeway cap projects in Columbus.

Connecting with Obi:
On Instagram.

Connecting with me, Brad:
⁠⁠On Instagram.⁠⁠
⁠⁠On TikTok⁠⁠.
⁠⁠On LinkedIn⁠⁠.
1 hr 11 min
November 14, 202309 / Athletes should be urbanists / with former pro footballer Tesho Akindele
Tesho Akindele - Former Major League Soccer and Canadian national team player turned urbanist and real estate developer - is here for the pitch on why athletes make great urbanists, and a dialogue on the intersection of sports and American cities.

We discuss:
The importance of urbanism becoming a part of popular culture, rather than just criticizing it.

The urbanist pitch to athletes, and why athletes make great urbanists.

Living and playing in sprawling cities like Orlando, Florida and Dallas, Texas.

Shaping the built environment in mid-large American cities like Charlotte, North Carolina.

The role that sporting clubs should (and are beginning to) play in U.S. cities.

Locker room urbanism talk.

Growing in the real estate development profession.

Community impact, and why there is nothing like bettering the built environment.

Our new campaign: players biking to stadiums on gameday (s/o Klay Thompson).

Building better neighborhoods.

Explore further:
Camp North End - Tesho's current work in Charlotte, North Carolina.

A brief bio.

Connecting with Tesho:
On Twitter (X)

On Instagram

Connecting with me, Brad:
⁠On Instagram⁠
⁠On TikTok⁠
⁠On LinkedIn⁠
43 min
November 07, 202308 / Norway's electric car experiment.
The prompt for this week's audio was David Zipper's recent Vox article, titled "Why Norway — the poster child for electric cars — is having second thoughts."

Electric cars as the salient solution to climate change does a disservice to another brand of innovation: simplicity that works. Or, as we call it, biking, walking, public transit, and the like.

We discuss:
David Zipper's article on Norway's past decade of heavily incentivizing electric vehicle ownership.

Why EVs cannot be the bulk of the solution to our cities' climate challenges.

The geometry and economics of cities and their space.

The common disconnect between Federal goals and cities' best interests, and how funding for one can severely undermine the other.

Eisenhower's Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, and the risks of blanketed national policy and subsidy.

Bifurcation and classism.

Cautionary learnings for American planners and politicians.

What American's can do to evangelize simple innovation that works.

Explore further:
"Why Norway — the poster child for electric cars — is having second thoughts" by David Zipper (Vox)
Background on Eisenhower's Federal-Aid Highway Act, from KPBS in San Diego.

Connecting with me, Brad:
On Instagram
On TikTok
On LinkedIn
23 min
November 01, 202307 / Parenting, a plant shop, & no parking minimums / with "Density Dad" Barry Greene Jr.
Barry Greene Jr. - The “Density Dad”, plant and record shop owner, car-free commuter, and Richmond urbanist - is in good traffic this week to discuss how parenting and entrepreneurship intersect with cities and urbanism.

We Discuss /
Misunderstanding density.

How cities help parents.

Creating the modern third place for people.

Richmond, Virginia and parking minimums.

Leading a local plant and record shop with NO off-street parking!

Living car-free in Richmond, Virginia.

What cities can learn from towns.

Anyone can start a community hub in their neighborhood.

Writing as Density Dad on Substack.

Connect with Barry /
On Instagram - https://instagram.com/barrygreenejr and https://instagram.com/density.dad
On Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/barrygreenejr
On Substack - https://density.dad

Explore further /
Shades of Moss - Richmond, Virginia's plant and record shop - https://www.shadesofmoss.com

Connecting with me /
On Instagram - ⁠https://www.instagram.com/bbiehl/⁠
On TikTok - ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@citiesforpeople⁠
On LinkedIn - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradbiehl/⁠
50 min
October 24, 202306 / Walkable cities are good for your love life / with Aly Marchant
Alyssa Marchant - actor, teacher, and my beautiful urbanist girlfriend - is here this week for an important conversation on how walkable cities, bikes, and public transportation have been the life-changing foundation for our relationship and love life.

We discuss:
Building a relationship and an active lifestyle at the same time.

Solving relationship problems by taking long walks with your partner.

Simple, fun, and cheap dates.

Walking and biking as a creative exercise for actors and creatives (Timothee Chalamet spoke on this, recently).

How density helps art, with Austin's rising comedy scene as an example.

A practical route to longevity with your romantic and life partner.

Connecting with Aly:
On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/alyssa.marchant/?hl=en
Online - https://www.alyssamarchant.com/

Connecting with me:
On Instagram - ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/bbiehl/⁠⁠
On TikTok - ⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@citiesforpeople⁠⁠
On LinkedIn - ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradbiehl/⁠
51 min
October 17, 202305 / Street furniture, local hardware stores, & getting started in your neighborhood / with Placemakin' Draven Pointer
Draven Pointer - architectural designer at Better Block, craftsman of street furniture, woodworker, and Marvel maniac - joins the traffic from Dallas, Texas.

We discuss:
Building better blocks, and getting started in your neighborhood.

The built environment continues making adult friendships impossible.

Americans' love for college (and why walkable cities are to thank!).

Street furniture and its outsized impact.

What if SimCity had mandatory parking minimums (yikes)?

Open-source placemaking resources.

Local hardware stores, Home Depot, and finding local experts all around you.

Explore further:
Better Block Wikiblock street furniture library - https://www.betterblock.org/wikiblock
Better Block projects - https://www.betterblock.org/our-work

Connecting with Draven:
On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dray_arch/

Connecting with me:
On Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/bbiehl/⁠
On TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@citiesforpeople⁠
On LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradbiehl/⁠
53 min
October 10, 202304 / Urbanism and water conservation / with 'Western Water Girl' Teal Lehto
Teal Lehto - known as Western Water Girl for her thorough storytelling and commentary on the worsening water crisis in the U.S. - brings the water conservation conversation to the city.

We discuss:
Why the conservationist and urbanist movements don't come together more often?

Las Vegas, Nevada as an urban model for water conservation.

Decoupling population growth from water usage.

Water rights in the Western United States.

What cities like Phoenix and Los Angeles need to start doing for the future of their water, people, and their built and natural environments.

Desalination, Arizona's wishful and wildly expensive plans, and finding a sustainable path forward for the state.

Lawns in the desert.

Agriculture, eating beef, and what city dwellers can do to play a role in progress.

Connect with Teal:
On TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@westernwatergirl

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/westernwatergirl/

Connect with me:
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bbiehl/
On TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@citiesforpeople
On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradbiehl/
48 min
October 03, 202303 / Car calculus, landscape architecture, and TikTok / with creator Paul Stout
Paul Stout - @TalkingCities on TikTok, prolific creator, future landscape architect, and Culdesac alum - sits down for a chat on all-things content, cities, cars, and crafting practical places for people.

We discuss:
Being THE original TikTok urbanist.

Sharing the Gen-Z perspective on walkable cities at the United Nations this summer.

Introducing hundreds-of-thousands to urban planning and design.

Admiring cars... just not in cities.

Most of your favorite urban planners were landscape architects.

Mexico City's stellar Bus Rapid Transit, and what New York City and others can learn.

A dreamy, simple bike commute in Salzburg, Austria.

The economic arguments against car ownership.

Utrecht's last 20 years of human-centered planning.

The power of precedents in design and rallying support.

Connect with Paul:
On TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkingcities

Connect with me:
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bbiehl/
On TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@citiesforpeople
On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradbiehl/
1 hr
September 26, 202302 / Growing up in the Netherlands / with pro footballer Eva Van Deursen
Eva Van Deursen - professional footballer for Bayer Leverkusen and the Dutch National Team - joins live from Phoenix, Arizona for the second episode of the show.

We discuss:
Growing up in the Netherlands and its world-leading bike culture and infrastructure.

The differing psychology between Dutch drivers and American drivers, and how the built environment has conditioned us each.

Getting a proper introduction to bikes at a young age.

How biking and walking make you a better driver.

Making it harder for people to drive, while making it easier for them to choose other modalities.

How to truly protect cyclists: helmets, or safer infrastructure?

What happens in the body and mind when we choose active transportation.

Culture shock of biking on U.S. roads for the first time.

The professional athlete's role in creating better cities and communities.

The impact of secure bike parking.

Connect with Eva:
On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/eva_vandeursen/?hl=en

Connect with me:
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bbiehl/
On TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@citiesforpeople
On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradbiehl/
51 min

About good traffic.

From the publisher's feed

A workshop for American urban design + urban planning. Join a prolific collective of neighborhood staples as we look to better brand American urbanism.