Ideas How an IDEAS episode on traffic changed a doctor's practice
Dec 1, 2025
Joanna Oda, a public health physician influenced by a 2005 episode on traffic, shares how it shaped her view on upstream health solutions. She cleverly compares traffic solutions to obesity fixes, arguing against quick fixes. Gord Cunningham, a community development worker, explains how John's McKnight's ideas shifted his focus to asset-based community development, changing his career path. Young activist Gwen Allen recounts how attending Sally Armstrong's lecture spurred her to advocate for gender equality and public speaking, inspiring her peers.
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Individual Choices Create Collective Gridlock
- Traffic congestion arises from individually rational choices that collectively fail.
- Joanna Oda realized small personal actions (like braking) echo and create large, delayed jams.
Don't Solve Traffic With Bigger Roads
- Avoid solving congestion by simply adding road capacity because usage adapts and fills new space.
- Design alternatives that change travel behavior instead of expanding lanes.
Drivers Adapt And Defeat Static Planning
- Traffic planning fails when it treats driver behavior as fixed and ignores adaptation.
- Joel Heath explains drivers exploit loopholes, defeating benevolent interventions.
