The War on Cars
Zoning is an invisible force that dictates how and where we can build housing, offices, factories, parks and more. It dictates how we access such places and can reinforce car dependency, often in ways that burden the communities that can least afford it, reinforce segregation, and exacerbate climate change and other environmental harms. In her new book, Key to the City: How Zoning Shapes our World, author Sara Bronin argues that zoning does not have to lead to negative outcomes, and that if we understand its power, we can use zoning to build the kinds of communities everyone deserves. Bronin...
info_outline TEASER: When Athletes Ditch the CarThe War on Cars
This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, . During the recent US Open Tennis Championships in New York City, top-seeded American player Jessica Pegula got some attention when she posted an Instagram reel showing her taking the subway from Manhattan to the event venue in Queens. “I don't like taking a car, and I like trains,” she said. “So I always try and take the train.” We can relate. Pegula’s post inspired us to have a discussion about other sports stars who, at least occasionally, like to skip the luxury...
info_outline Project 2025 and the Stakes for TransportationThe War on Cars
There’s been a lot of talk this election season about Project 2025, the initiative from the Heritage Foundation to prepare for a potential second Trump administration. Understandably, much of the conversation about Project 2025 has been about the stakes for abortion access, rights for LGBTQ+ people, protections for civil servants, the Department of Education, Social Security and much more. But there’s also a 10-page chapter about the Department of Transportation, written by a former Trump administration official, that outlines a lot of ideas and plans that could spell doom for many vital...
info_outline What We Did on Our Summer Vacation, featuring Rick StevesThe War on Cars
Why do Americans spend lots of money to visit walkable, bikeable, transit-friendly European cities, only to come back to the U.S. and oppose all those things where they live? Rick Steves has some thoughts. Countless people know and love the popular travel writer for his guidebooks and long-running television programs, which encourage people to explore Europe’s “backdoor” destinations—those off-the-beaten-path locations that have just as much or more to offer than its more touristy cities and sights. Rick takes a thoughtful and philosophical approach to travel and believes it offers...
info_outline TEASER: Voices of Velo-cityThe War on Cars
This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, . In June, Doug attended Velo-city, an annual cycling summit hosted by the European Cyclists' Federation that brings the bike world together. This year's conference was held in the Belgian city of Ghent. While there, Doug wandered the exhibition floor talking with people from all over the world — including elected officials, city planners, advocates, industry representatives, academics and bike-curious regular citizens — about why it was important for them to attend...
info_outline Listener Origin Stories (Patreon Bonus Re-Release)The War on Cars
Episode 133: Listener Origin Stories (Patreon bonus re-release) We’re taking a short break to work on our forthcoming book and some of our upcoming fall shows. We’ll be back with new free episodes in early September. In the meantime, please enjoy this re-release of our Patreon bonus episode from December 26, 2023. You can get all of our Patreon bonus episodes and more subscriber-only content – plus stickers! – by signing up to support us at . (A new Patreon-exclusive bonus episode will be released in two weeks.) * * * * * Last November we told you . Everything from early...
info_outline TEASER: Walking 4,000 Miles with Holden RingerThe War on Cars
This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, . This month’s exclusive Patreon bonus episode is an interview with Holden Ringer, who recently finished walking more than 4,000 miles across the country from the starting point of LaPush, Washington. Holden is a 26-year-old originally from Dallas, Texas, and he used his odyssey to fundraise for the organization America Walks, as well as to raise awareness about active transportation and meet with fellow-minded advocates along the way. As he says, “Advocacy is built into...
info_outline Vehicular Cycling and John Forester, Part 2The War on Cars
NOTE: This is part two of a two-part episode. To hear both parts right now and without ads, . In part two of our deep dive on John Forester and his 1976 book Effective Cycling, we take a look at the paltry data and research underpinning the alleged safety benefits of vehicular cycling and the long-term impact Forester had on cycling for transportation in the United States. Even though cities such as New York started building protected bicycle lanes in earnest in the late 2000s and early 2010s — and even though quality bike infrastructure has existed in places such as Davis, California...
info_outline Vehicular Cycling and John Forester, Part 1The War on Cars
NOTE: This is part one of a two-part episode. To hear both parts right now and without ads, . "Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles." That quote is the core philosophy of John Forester, the father of vehicular cycling. Forester, who died in 2020, was a major figure in the the world of cycling advocacy and transportation policy, and his influence shaped street design and bicycle safety in the United States for decades. We take a deep dive into Forester's 1976 book, Effective Cycling. Part guidebook, part encyclopedia, part polemic, Effective...
info_outline Critical Mass Nairobi with Cyprine OdadaThe War on Cars
Cyprine Odada is the Executive Director of Critical Mass Nairobi and an urban planner specializing in active mobility. Ever since founding the Kenyan capital’s chapter of Critical Mass, the largest gathering of non-competitive cyclists in Africa, Cyprine has helped get more people on bikes from different neighborhoods, ages, and social and economic groups, changing the perception of who rides a bike in Nairobi and building more political support for bike infrastructure in a city where cars dominate. By focusing on the joy of cycling and the way in which the bicycle can connect people and...
info_outlineBecause it has the word “engineering” right in there, the field of traffic engineering is something most people assume is governed by science and rational rules. But a new book, written by a traffic engineer himself, argues that is not the case at all. In Killed by a Traffic Engineer: Shattering the Delusion That Science Underlies Our Transportation System, Wes Marshall — a professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado Denver — says that the idea that the design of our transportation system is based on science couldn't be further from the truth. By examining a century's worth of history, studies, old professional journals and current standards, Marshall argues that his colleagues need to do some deep soul searching about the rules they follow so that they no longer design a system that kills tens of thousands of people per year.
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This episode was edited by Yessenia Moreno. It was recorded by Josh Wilcox at the Brooklyn Podcasting Studio.