The Creation of America's Car Culture
The War on Cars
This episode is part of a special series called "Changing American Car Culture" funded with the generous support of The Helen and William Mazer Foundation. As historian Peter Norton documents in his book, , the death and destruction caused by the introduction of automobiles into U.S. cities in the early part of the 20th century caused a lot of people to challenge the notion that such machines would ever become popular. In response, autmobile companies, car dealers, driving enthuisasts, and others went on the offense, creating the culture that gave rise to the mass adoption of cars and the...
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PREVIEW: A Talk with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo
The War on Cars
This is a preview of a . For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, presale tickets to live shows, and more, . Back in September, Sarah moderated a conversation with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo as part of Climate Week events in New York City. The event was presented by the and , a Paris-based nonprofit that focuses on improving air quality. We talked about her work removing cars from the city, reducing air pollution, and cleaning up the Seine. for access to the entire episode. Order our new book, , out now...
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Welcome to Life After Cars
The War on Cars
Today we celebrate the publication of our new book, . In this episode, we serve up a sample of the audiobook and talk about some of the things we learned and that surprised us during the process of bringing Life After Cars to publication. Also, who should play us in the movie version? Listen to hear our thoughts and let us know your opinion. We are so grateful to all of our listeners and supporters for making this day possible. Go out there and . . Please support independent booksellers! and receive exclusive access to ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content,...
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The War on the War on Cars with Ted Mann
The War on Cars
In this episode, we talk about the Trump Administration’s full-on financial assault on all the modes of transportation we hold dear here at The War on Cars. Biking, walking, public transit—basically, anything deemed “hostile to cars” or that has something to do with sustainability and equity is under attack. Ted Mann, a reporter at Bloomberg News , joins us to explain what is going on with federal transportation funding for active transportation projects and more. You can find more of Ted’s work or follow him on . and receive exclusive access to ad-free versions of...
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Cities for Children with Tim Gill
The War on Cars
is a London-based independent scholar, writer and consultant on childhood, and a global advocate for children’s play and mobility. He is the author of and We met Tim when he appeared on a panel with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo that Sarah moderated during Climate Week in New York. When we heard what he has to say about cities and children, we knew that we had to have him on the show. So we grabbed him before he could leave New York. We talked on a bench in City Hall Park on a weekday morning, so you can hear the sounds of a city that is waking up and going to work and school in the...
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PREVIEW: The Cars of TikTok
The War on Cars
This is a preview of a . For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, presale tickets to live shows, and more, . If you spend any time at all on social media, you’ve seen countless videos of all kinds of different people talking about all kinds of different things with one setting in common: the car. We got together in the studio with journalist and author Mathew Rodriguez to discuss the way cars have become our nation’s premier social media content studios—and all the weirdness that entails. We...
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Political Courage with Brad Lander
The War on Cars
Brad Lander has been a fixture in New York’s progressive political scene for nearly two decades now, and has earned a reputation as a strong advocate for bike lanes, bike share, driver accountability, and congestion pricing. This year, though, he’s become known in a new way. As a candidate in a crowded Democratic mayoral primary, Brad cross-endorsed Zohran Mamdani, who eventually won the race with a margin that shocked the Democratic establishment. And in June, mere days before the primary ended, Brad was escorting a man named out of an immigration hearing . Brad joins us to explain how...
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TEASER: Cars Drive Us Apart, Subway Takes Unite Us
The War on Cars
This is a preview of a . For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, presale tickets to live shows, and more, . In this bonus episode, Doug and I discuss a couple of recent studies that look at just how destructive cars are to the social fabric of our communities, how they decrease life satisfaction, and how walkable neighborhoods with public gathering places are an important resources for combating the loneliness epidemic. As we often say, we have custom-built our communities for cars, in the name of...
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Should the Bus Be Free? With Yonah Freemark
The War on Cars
Should the bus be free? That’s the question everyone following the New York City mayoral race is asking, with Democratic primary winner Zohran Mamdani promising to focus on fast, free buses if he’s elected to City Hall. Eliminating bus fares is a big idea, but is it a good one? Like a lot of things in politics, there’s no simple answer. That’s why we asked Yonah Freemark — a researcher in cities, land use, and transportation at the Urban Institute — to walk us through the pros and cons of making the bus free for everyone. Whatever you think about it, the good news is that everyone...
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PREVIEW: We Know What We Read Last Summer
The War on Cars
This is a preview of a . For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, presale tickets to live shows, and more, . While we were researching and writing last year, we read and pulled information from dozens upon dozens of books. There were also a handful of books that caught our attention but that, try as we might, didn't quite warrant inclusion in our own. In this Patreon exclusive, we talk about two of these books: "Road Safety: How to Reduce Accidents" by T.S. Skillman (1965) and an anthology called "He Rides...
info_outlineNOTE: This is part two of a two-part episode. To hear both parts right now and without ads, become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars.
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 for decades — John Forester's legacy continued well into the 21st century, with federal guides such as AASHTO's "Green Book" discouraging or even prohibiting things such as parking-protected bikeways until as recently as 2018. On top of that, many of Forester's disciples held positions atop major advocacy organizations and city bike planning departments for years, and used their influence to prevent the construction of protected bike lanes. In a lot of ways, we're still pedaling in the world John Forester created.
This episode was sponsored by Bull Moose Softgoods and Cleverhood. Listen to the episode for the latest discount codes.
LINKS/SOURCES
Read Peter Flax in conversation with John Forester, via Bicycling Magazine.
Northeastern University's Peter Furth takes on John Forester.
STUDY: "Risk of injury for bicycling on cycle tracks versus in the street," by Lusk, Furth, et. al.
PAPER: "A Historical Perspective on the AASHTO Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities and the Impact of the Vehicular Cycling Movement," Schultheiss, Sanders, and Toole, 2018
AASHTO’s Draft Bikeway Guide Includes Protected Bike Lanes and More, Streetsblog 2016
Key Design Guide to Finally Include Protected Bike Lanes, Streetsblog 2018
'Death Of A ‘Dinosaur:’ Anti-Cycleway Campaigner John Forester Dies, Aged 90, by Carlton Reid in Forbes
Read Bike Boom: The Unexpected Resurgence of Cycling, by Carlton Reid.
Read Bike Battles: A History of Sharing the American Road, by James Longhurst.
How the former Dallas bicycle coordinator held back cycling infrastructure for years, via the Texas Observer.
Dallas' Former Bike Czar Tells Newbie Riders to Go Play in Traffic, via the Dallas Observer
Access John Forester's website via the Wayback Machine.
If you're a glutton for punishment, pick up a copy of John Forester's Effective Cycling.
Grab some merch in our official store!
This episode was edited by Yessenia Moreno. It was recorded by Josh Wilcox at the Brooklyn Podcasting Studio.