Talking Headways: A Streetsblog Podcast

This week on Talking Headways we’re joined by Jon Kramer, CEO of engineering and planning firm OHM Advisors. Jon chats about going from Intern to CEO over a 30 year period, competing against large engineering firms, and the state of engineering education. +++ Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site!  And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

This week on Talking Headways we’re joined by Bridget Marquis, Director of Reimagining the Civic Commons. Bridget chats with us about connecting public assets, the importance of creating metrics that matter, and better ways to think about community engagement. +++ Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site!  And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

We're Han Solo this week but have a lot to share from the end of December and the start of 2025.  As we get back into the new year we cover new ways to think about housing construction, transit expansion from Yonah Freemark, and worries about the brightness of headlights. Check out the show notes below.  Transit Openings 2025 - Transport Politic Radical construction rethink - Common Edge  Property tax rethink - Slate Intergenerational living arrangement - Maclean's Canada Forever chemicals in drinking water - New York Times Why it's hard to stop driving - Slate Headlights getting brighter - The Ringer The great abandonment - The Guardian Hidden cause of Food Deserts - The Atlantic Bonus Items Virtual power purchase agreements - Smart Cities Dive Car dependence and life satisfaction - Travel Behavior and Society Illegal to stop in Philly bike lanes - Philadelphia Inquirer Location key to walking more - Men's Health DC tackled a child care crunch - NPR Universal Pre-K - New York Magazine Miami co

This week on the Talking Headways podcast we're joined by Ben Ross and Joe Cortright to discuss their article in Dissent Magazine discussing how modeling is being used to expand highways around the country. We chat about their critiques of highway modeling, politics, and some potential solutions to the problem. +++ Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site!  And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

This week we’re joined by Professor Sara Bronin to talk about her book Key to the City: How Zoning Shapes Our World. We chat about all the ways that land is regulated. And why zoning is an opportunity for people to reshape their communities. We also chat about food policy, connecting the street to property, and the relationship between land and natural systems. +++ Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site!  And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

This week for our holiday break we’re going back in time to episode 108 which we recorded in Cambridge England with Daniele Quercia and Luca Aiello of Bell Labs. We chatted about using social media to map sensory experiences in cities including smells and soundscapes. +++ Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site!  And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

This week we’re joined by Austin Gibble, currently of Stantec but formerly of the City of Indianapolis and IndyGo. We chat about the history of planning for BRT in Indy, the Cultural Trail bike network, transit and infrastructure costs, and the interpersonal relationships that can make or break projects. +++ Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site!  And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

This week we’re going back to 2021 to chat with Professor Andres Sevtsuk of MIT about his book Street Commerce: Creating Vibrant Urban Sidewalks.  I really liked this discussion and he just had an MIT News profile out yesterday about his work so I thought it might be of interest to folks.  We chat the importance of location in urban retail, the city factors that might determine a store’s success, and why urban retail should be studied more in planning school. +++ Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site!  And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com  

This week we’re back at the Mpact conference in Philadelphia and joined by Ruth Miller of Jawnt. Ruth shares her superhero origin story and how employer transit pass programs like SEPTA’s Key Advantage Program work to support employees, agencies, and the region overall. +++ Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site!  And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

This week we’re at Mpact in Philadelphia chatting with King County Metro’s Rachel DeCordoba about her work educating the next generation of transit riders. She chats about transit education and curriculum and the importance of learning with peers. Also apologies for the audio difficulties 2/3rds of the way though. You can read the transcript of this episode at http://theoverheadwire.com +++ Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site!  And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

This week on Mondays at The Overhead Wire we're Han Solo, but that doesn't stop us from sharing upcoming episodes of Talking Headways and news from the last month or so.  We chat about greening concrete, a car free Congress Avenue, Hamburg's green space compact, and rainways in Vancouver BC. Links from the Show! Reimagining Congress Ave - KUT Greening Concrete - Yale e360 Greening Asphalt and Concrete - TOW on Substack Hamburg green contract - Guardian Roads Taken - Baker Institute Rainway vs atmospheric river - The Tyee Philly self storage - Philadelphia Inquirer Preventing street takeovers - Jalopnik Daylighing intersections in SF - SF Standard Failures of urban governance - Vital City Mexico all in on housing - Newsweek Alabama zombie highway - Inside Climate News Spokane comfort network - Range Media State DOTs hiding emissions - Streetsblog USA Toronto bike lanes - Guardian Housing instability - Decibel TfL seizes cars - Guardian Deteriorating housing - NPR Bus depot energy hubs - Press Wi

This week we’re joined by Ryan Kelley, Community development Manager for Hennepin County in Minnesota.  Ryan chats with us about the county’s transit-oriented communities program and how they support commercial preservation and aid businesses. This episode was produced in partnership with Mpact. For more information, visit http://mpactmobility.org +++ Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site!  And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com  

This week we’re joined by writer Rob Walker to talk about his book, City Tech: 20 Apps, Ideas, and Innovations Changing the Urban Landscape. We discuss data collection, misconceptions, impressive transportation technologies such as e-bikes, and how technology has progressed in the last decade. +++ Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site!  And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com    

A Flashback! That’s right we’re flashing back again to Episode 308 of the Talking Headways podcast with Sara Hendren discussing her book What a Body Can Do. Sara chats with us about how we think and talk about disability, reframing independent living, and designing a humane world for everyone. This is one of my favorites and I’m glad we’re getting to share it with folks again. +++ Follow us on Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site!  And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com    

This week we’re joined by Dani Simons, currently of Alstom but formerly Assistant to the Secretary and Director of Public Affairs at USDOT, to take a look back at how Biden Administration policies evolved from ideas to bills such as the IIJA and Inflation reduction act. We also discuss Buy America, the impacts of outside criticisms from different sides of the political spectrum, and the importance of storytelling. +++ Follow us on Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site!  And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

John Simmerman of Active Towns joins the Mondays Show post election to talk about some of the transit wins. We also look ahead and wonder if LA really could go car free for the Olympics and whether Canada is ready for high speed rail. Below are the show notes and items we chatted about on the show with John. Voters pass Denver 7A - Colorado Sun Nashville voters pass transit funding - Nashville Tennessean Columbus passes transit measure - Columbus Dispatch Washington voters save climate bill - Associated Press Cobb and Gwinett transit measures fail - Saporta Report LA County homeless funding tax passes - Los Angeles Times Will LA Olympics go car free? - Slate Canada will announce high speed rail plans - CBC News   +++ Follow us on twitter @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Follow us on Threads or Instagram @theoverheadwire Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site!  And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt

This week on Talking Headways we’re joined by Julie Huls, CEO of Waymaker Group. We chat about economic development strategies for mid-sized cities, the impacts of the pandemic on regional thinking, and what a future of Mega Regions means for cities trying to attract talent. +++ Follow us on twitter @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Follow us on Threads or Instagram @theoverheadwire Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site!  And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

This week on Talking Headways we’re listening in on a 1 to 1 conversation between Julie Eaton Ernst, Climate Resilience Practice Leader at HNTB, and Dr. Cris Liban, Chief Sustainability Officer at LA Metro.  They chat about the co-benefits of transportation, the evolution of the definition of transportation, and making change in small steps. This podcast was produced in partnership with Mpact. http://mpactmobility.org +++ Follow us on twitter @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Follow us on Threads or Instagram @theoverheadwire Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site!  And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

We’re going back in time to Episode 144 to chat with Matthew Heins about his book The Globalization of American Infrastructure: The Shipping Container and Freight Transportation. We’ve done a lot of fun shows and I had forgotten about this one until I was looking back trying to think of a good oldie to share with you all.   Matthew talks about how the American highway and rail systems created a global standard for shipping containers, the local actors shaping globalization, containerization’s effects on labor and relevance to an automated trucking future, and the massive intermodal terminals in cities like Chicago.  +++ Follow us on twitter @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Follow us on Threads or Instagram @theoverheadwire Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site!  And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com  

This week we’re joined by Leah Shahum, Executive Director of the Vision Zero Network. We chat about why it’s so hard to make change, the implicit biases around designing for automobiles and the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims coming up on November 17th. +++ Follow us on twitter @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Follow us on Threads or Instagram @theoverheadwire Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site!  And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com