Episode 552: Under a Highway in Birmingham Alabama

This week on Talking Headways we’re flashing back to exactly ten years ago to Episode 78 with Dr. Kevin Gurney, now at Northern Arizona University. We chat about measuring emissions at the street, block, and neighborhood level and the data that enables it.  I wanted to flash back to this one this week because I recently saw Kevin pop up in a New York Times article discussing all the work that the administration is cutting, including three of his projects. I’ll link the article in the show notes.  But we talked about his work on the podcast ten years ago and it’s important to understand what we may be losing, which is the measurement of emissions from cars and buildings in cities. In listening back to this episode, there are lots of things that are evergreen about it, in fact I would argue we still need policy that allows us to collect data and measure emissions so we can make better decisions as advocates and operators. I hope folks can listen to this one and be inspired by the work, but also become more dedicated to saving it. We lost a lot in the dark ages, we don’t need to go back there again. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon [email protected] 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 the Talking Headways podcast we’re joined by Ben Donsky of Agora Partners to discuss City Walk BHAM in Birmingham Alabama, a public space project that connects two sides of the city separated by a highway. We chat about positive public space and what it takes to make projects like this happen. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon [email protected] 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 again but this time I'm sharing some thoughts from my trip to China in addition to the news.  We've got stories about traffic lights in Japan, the creation of a new electric company, and housing costs. And of course there's much much more. Below are the show notes: Middle class housing - National Housing Conference China builds quickly - Vox Ann Arbor reinvinting power company - Fast Company Dutch look to regulate bigger vehicles - Dutchnews.nl Mosquito borne illnesses - Vox Seattle light rail testing - Seattle Times New Mexico free childcare - NM Source Dallas heat island - KERA News CA passes SB79 TOD bill - Los Angeles Times Return to pre-covid routines brings bad air - Atlanta Journal Constitution Flint poverty reduction for babies - Guardian Japan's blue stop lights - Jalopnik Low fares underused - Smart Cities Dive Rent eats more - Joint Center for Housing Studies BONUS ITEMS Sweden's secondhand stores - The Conversation Particulate matter drives devastating dimentia - Guardian One pedal braking outlawed in China - Leravi Bonds for fusion power authorized - City of Albuquerque Who doesn't have a car? NRDC +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon [email protected] 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 Adele Houghton of the Harvard School of Public Health and Carlos Castillo-Salgado of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to discuss their new book Architectural Epidemiology: Architecture as a Mechanism for Designing a Healthier, More Sustainable, and Resilient World. We chat about how to connect the social and architectural determinants of health before projects get off the ground in order to create more healthy neighborhoods. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon [email protected] 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 on vacation, but we’re flashing back to Episode 391 and chatting with Jonathon Stalls about his wonderful book Walk: Slow Down, Wake Up, and Connect at 1-3 Miles Per Hour. He also talks about Pedestrian Dignity and his 2010 walk across the US. Hope everyone is doing well. I’m in China this month and will be back with new episodes next week, but this week I’m hanging out in Beijing and didn’t have time to produce a new episode. Check out my Instagram @theoverheadwire for pictures, mostly for fun but also including some transportation shots. In the meantime, let’s flash back to 2022 and our discussion with the amazing Jonathon Stalls of Pedestrian Dignity. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon [email protected] 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 former FHWA Deputy Administrator Andrew Rogers to discuss how congress can help reduce traffic deaths and collisions with the use of technology. We discuss the best time to influence congress on transportation and the crash first, fix later mentality.  Find out more at https://www.marscoalition.org/ +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon [email protected] 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 once again by Sam Sargent of VTA for part 2 of a conversation about transit agencies and special projects and programs. Sam chats with us about Austin’s light rail plans, Caltrain electrification and moving diesels to Peru, and gives some thoughts on visionary transit leadership such as Randy Clarke at WMATA. YouTube video of Caltrain heading out on the boat. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon [email protected] 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 Sam Sargent of VTA, formerly Caltrain and Capital Metro, for part 1 of a conversation about transit agencies and special projects and programs. This week Sam chats with us about VTA’s history, current projects and future prospects in the South Bay. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon [email protected] 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 Han Solo but have a lot of great news to share. We talk about the smartest city in the world, Toronto's TOD ambitions, electric car range and much much more! Below are items we shared on the show: Main Items Toronto's TOD - Brandon Donnelly The smartest city - Reasons to be Cheerful Less range - InsideEVs Future of cooling is past - Atmos Grocery robot - The Verge DOT repaints Pulse crosswalk - Orlando Sentinel Homes made by robots - LA Business Journal Mercator Africa - NPR Bonus Items! Tax the rich - Commonwealth Beacon Construction Bubble - Yanko Design EV charger pollution - Electrive EVs cost more - Heatmap Heatwave aging - New York Times Tampa transit - Florida Politics +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon [email protected] 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 the Talking Headways podcast we’re joined by professor Daniel Wortel-London to discuss his new book The Menace of Prosperity: New York City and the Struggle for Economic Development, 1875–1981.  We talk about urban growth and missed opportunities by reformers to allow cities to capture more of their value. We discuss Henry George and the land tax movement, what running a city like a business should really mean, and the origins of "highest and best use". There are also cameos by Lewis Mumford and Jane Jacobs. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon [email protected] 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