Talking Headways: A Streetsblog Podcast

This week we're back at NACTO 2017 in Chicago with a series of speakers that did quick presentations on how the work we do as advocates to change minds. Skye Duncan hosts and starts off with a discussion of the NACTO Global Designing Cities Initiative. Chris Bruntlett talks about the work he and his family do at Modacity "marketing the lifestyle of cycling". Ed Solis of The City of San Jose describes Viva Calle, San Jose's Cyclovia. Kris Carter of the City of Boston talks about the safety competition app "Boston's Safest Driver". Ankita Chachra discusses the language of design and tools to make change in small ways that empower citizens to demand change. And finally Ronnie Matthew Harris talks about showing people in his neighborhood alternative ways to plan journeys without the car.

This week we're back at the NACTO Designing Cities conference for the closing plenary. Paris' Deputy Mayor for Transportation and Public Space Christophe Najdovski discusses all the improvements that are being made to the city's transportation network. He chats about expanding the subway and tram networks, improving cycling infrastructure, creating more space for people in public squares and pedestrianizing the left bank of the River Seine.

This week we're chatting again with Jonn Ellege of CityMetric. This time it's my turn to interview and we cover a lot of ground. We talk about housing in London and out including the basics of council housing. We chat about major transportation projects including Crossrail and high speed rail while also discuss what's happening to the buses on Oxford street and how Transport for London is regulating Uber.

This week we're joined by Breen Masciotra, TOD Manager for the Port Authorty of Allegheny County and Karina Ricks, Director of the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure at The City of Pittsburgh. We discuss transportation in Pittsburgh and the challenges they face including topography, new technologies, and hostile streets. We also talk about awesome improvements to the system including new bus rapid transit, transit oriented development, eco innovation districts, and connecting multiple mobility types.

This week we're at the NACTO Designing Cities Conference in Chicago and hear keynotes from Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Illinois Department of Transportation's Director of Planning and Programming Erin Aleman. The Mayor discusses Chicago's distinct advantages compared to other cities as well as improvements that have been made to the cities transportation system. He also talks about new funding sources including a ride hailing fee for transit capital and why those things are related. In her discussion after the Mayor, Erin Aleman discusses how IDOT is working to use NACTO's street design guides, how improvements are being made to reduce fatalities on streets, and how transportation affects everyone.

This week we're joined by James Corless, CEO of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, the Sacramento area's MPO and COG. We chat with James about the Sacramento region and its connections to both urban and rural economies, his past working on federal transportation policy in Washington DC, why it's kind of ridiculous to do 30 year regional long range transportation plans, and why mid-sized cities are part of a whole new space race for providing jobs and housing around the United States.

This week we chat with Benjamin De La Pena, Deputy Director for Policy, Planning, Mobility, and Right of Way at Seattle DOT. We talk about SDOT's New Mobility Playbook which offers strategies for future transportation that focuses on people first. Benjamin also discusses his affinity for international transportation, how we help the unbanked with transportation solutions, and how organizations can get ahead on policy during this whirlwind time for new mobility.

This week we're sharing the last plenary session of the Rail~volution conference which was a panel discussion of three current mayors of major United States cities hosted by Maurice Jones of LISC. Mayor Libby Schaaf of Oakland, Mayor Bill Peduto of Pittsburgh, and Mayor Michael Hancock of Denver discuss transportation and innovation in their cities including civic focused non-profits, public-private partnerships, neighborhoods pressures and resilience.

This week we're back again at Rail~Volution and joined by Diana Mendes, Transit/Rail Practice Leader and Vice President at HNTB. We talk about how Diana met the author of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and what needs to change about environmental planning. She talks about the environmental planning process for the Lower Manhattan Recovery after 9-11 in addition to early use of GIS.

This week we're back at the Rail~Volution conference in Denver talking with Congressman Earl Blumenauer who represents Oregon's 3rd District which includes parts of Portland. Congressman Blumenauer discusses how Rail~Volution got its start, how we can use congestion pricing and road user charges to pay for transportation, Vision Zero, and why urbanists should be thinking about the Farm Bill