Stay ConnectedA podcast by the creator of the popular YouTube channel Not Just Bikes, The Urbanist Agenda is an exploration of the latest topics in urban planning and urban mobility from your favourite urbanist YouTubers.
Each month we’ll put another important topic on the agenda and pull back the curtain to discover how online urbanists plot and scheme to make cities work better for everyone.
Copyright: © NJB Studios B.V.
America has Traffic Engineers. The Netherlands has Transportation Engineers. One is concerned with moving as many cars as possible, the other builds transportation systems. In this podcast, I'm joined by Steffen Berr, an American Traffic Engineer turned Transportation Engineer who now lives in the Netherlands. We discuss the myopic approach taken by Traffic Engineers in America, and how it ultimately ruins cities.
Steffen has a great article that is worth reading:
https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/america-has-no-transportation-engineers
Strong Towns Conversation with an Engineer: https://youtu.be/P9BUyWVg1xI
Wonderland Road: https://youtu.be/Ds-v2-qyCc8
Directly support the production of this podcast, and listen to every episode early (and without ads!) by subscribing to Nebula: https://nebula.tv/agenda
Not Just Bikes: https://nebula.tv/notjustbikes
Build the Lanes: https://www.youtube.com/@buildthelanes
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Our family has lived in the Netherlands for 5 years now. In this episode, I have a conversation with my wife, Mrs. NJB, about our experiences and how it compares to other places we've lived before.
Directly support the production of this podcast, and listen to every episode early (and without ads!) by subscribing to Nebula: https://nebula.tv/agenda
Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
I was recently asked to comment on a news story in my hometown of Fake London in Canada: a single mom had her car break down and she couldn't afford to fix it, so she asked people how feasible it was to go car-free. In the end, she had to spend $6000 on a new transmission because living car-free was effectively impossible.
It got me thinking how crazy this situation is, especially compared to where I've lived in Europe. So I've brought back certified European Adam Something to discuss how this is unlikely to happen to most Europeans, but how that could change, if right wing politicians get their way.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/london-would-you-give-up-your-car-1.6877193
Directly support the production of this podcast, and listen to every episode early (and without ads!) by subscribing to Nebula: https://nebula.tv/agenda
Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes
Adam Something: https://youtube.com/@adamsomething
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Rowhouses have been around for literally thousands of years: a house that's connected to the house next to it. This type of housing is illegal in huge swaths of the US and Canada, but it's extremely common elsewhere because it is the greatest form of housing.
Jason from Not Just Bikes is joined by Justin Roczniak from the Well There's Your Problem podcast to discuss why rowhouses are the superior form of housing, and why we should bulldoze every city to build them.
References and further reading:
https://statisticalatlas.com/neighborhood/Pennsylvania/Philadelphia/East-Passyunk/Population
https://www.phila.gov/media/20190521124726/Philadelphia_Rowhouse_Manual.pdf
Directly support the production of this podcast, and listen to every episode early (and without ads!) by subscribing to Nebula: https://nebula.tv/agenda
Well There's Your Problem: https://www.youtube.com/@welltheresyourproblempodca1465
Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Paying for public transit is way too complicated, especially if you're an occasional user or tourist. Can open payments make this process easier for everyone?
In this conversation, Jason from Not Just Bikes and Thea from Urban Caffeine discuss recent developments in open payments. If we're going to charge for public transit (which is a whole other conversation), how should payments be collected? Why are we still using obtuse way s of paying when credit cards and debit cards exist?
References and further reading:
https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-better-payment-systems-can-improve-public-transportation/
https://www.bytemark.co/bytes-of-knowledge/what-are-open-loop-payments-in-public-transit
https://www.intelligenttransport.com/transport-articles/78096/open-loop-payments-united-states/
Directly support the production of this podcast, and listen to every episode early (and without ads!) by subscribing to Nebula: https://nebula.tv/agenda
Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjusbikes
Urban Caffeine: https://youtube.com/@urbancaffeine
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Toronto's mayor stepped down, which gives the city a unique opportunity to make a meaningful change. Without an incumbent in the race, the field is wide open for someone new to take charge. Will Toronto choose good urbanism, or will it continue down its car-centric trajectory?
In this episode, Jason from Not Just Bikes and Reece from RMTransit go through the top candidates in the Toronto mayoral election and give our takes on who we think should be (or shouldn't be) the next mayor of Toronto.
Relevant articles:
https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/why-does-doug-ford-care-who-becomes-mayor-of-toronto-1.6436389
Directly support the production of this podcast, and listen to every episode early (and without ads!) by subscribing to Nebula: https://nebula.tv/agenda
Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes
RMTransit: https://youtube.com/@rmtransit
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Traffic engineers in the US and Canada have complex guidebooks and formulas for everything they do, but somehow they still build places that are dangerous, expensive, ugly, and terrible at actually moving people. Jason (Not Just Bikes) and Ray (CityNerd) discuss how all this engineering still results in bad outcomes.
All Traffic Models are Wrong (Strong Towns)
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2021/9/7/all-traffic-models-are-wrong
WSDOT VS. REALITY
https://www.sightline.org/2011/07/13/wsdot-vs-reality/
https://riskcenter.wharton.upenn.edu/climate-risk-solutions-2/its-time-to-rethink-our-roads/
https://cityobservatory.org/the-limits-of-data-driven-approaches-to-planning/
Directly support the production of this podcast, and listen to every episode early (and without ads!) by subscribing to Nebula: https://nebula.tv/agenda
Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes
CityNerd: https://youtube.com/@citynerd
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
During the covid-19 pandemic, many US cities made streets off-limits to cars and opened them to people walking an cycling. These "open streets" were loved by urbanists everywhere, but now that the lockdowns are over, many of these places are being given back to motor vehicle traffic. In this episode, I talk to Dave from the YouTube channel City Beautiful about these closed open streets and what the future of "open streets" might look like in the US and Canada.
How New York City Lost 63 Miles of Pedestrian-Friendly 'Open Streets'
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/11/nyregion/open-streets-nyc.html
Directly support the production of this podcast, and listen to every episode ad-free and sponsor-free, by subscribing to Nebula: https://nebula.tv/agenda
Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes
City Beautiful: https://youtube.com/@citybeautiful
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Toronto has almost completely stopped issuing parking tickets to drivers, even as it faces critical budget problems. But this is just one more decision in a long line that allow drivers in Toronto to get away with almost any behaviour. From running red lights to driving literally twice the speed limit, the Toronto Police have proven, time and time again, that Toronto drivers are above the law.
Want to do something about it? Join Friends and Families for Safe Streets: https://www.cycleto.ca/friends-and-families-safe-streets
Directly support the production of this podcast by subscribing to Nebula: https://nebula.tv/agenda
Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes
RMTransit: https://youtube.com/@rmtransit
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The 15-minute cities conspiracy has almost nothing to do with urban planning, and everything to do with climate change denialism. Urban planning has just become the latest topic to get caught up in the culture war.
Relevant articles & links:
Directly support the production of this podcast, and listen to every episode ad-free and sponsor-free, by subscribing to Nebula: https://nebula.tv/agenda
Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes
Adam Something: https://youtube.com/@adamsomething
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
