The 2026 Legislative Wrap-up

What does it mean to permanently decommodify housing, and how does that help long-term affordability? Find out in this conversation with David Ackos! Episode chapters 00:00 | Intro 01:26 | Housing Co-op vs Cohousing 04:07 | David's Journey 13:33 | Decommodification and Affordability 24:54 | Hypocrisy of wanting both wealth building and affordable housing 31:53 | The Parklet Streets.mn Winter Fundraiser Join the Streets.mn board! 32:41 | Land trust vs Public Housing vs Co-ops 51:10 | David's Current Work 56:03 | Outro Links & images David's previous articles on Streets.mn Observations from a Minnesota Urbanist in Belgium, the Netherlands and Greece All We Need Is Enteignen for Socio-Technical Breakthroughs David's recent talk about cohousing and co-ops East Side Community Investment Cooperative CoNorth Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia West Side Community Organization Twin Cities Family Cooperative Types of housing tenure and provision - decommodification and self-organization from Balmer & Bernet (2015) Attributions Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website. This episode was hosted, edited, and transcribed by Ian R Buck. Many thanks to David Ackos for bringing this topic to us! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at [email protected]. Transcript Find the full transcipt on our website.

Today we're sitting down with Ray Delahanty to talk about his process and what gives him passion making videos as CityNerd! Links CityNerd YouTube channel CityNerd blog Video: Is Minneapolis Too Nice for Its Own Good? Oh The Urbanity! guesting on Streets.mn Podcast Alan Fisher YouTube channel Attributions Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website. This episode was produced by Parker Seaman aka Strongthany, was edited by Stina Neel, and was hosted and transcribed by Ian R Buck. Many thanks to Ray Delahanty for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at [email protected]. Transcript Find the full transcript on our website.

If you missed our live event about electing transit champions, fear not! We recorded the panel discussion and are presenting it on the podcast this week. Chapters 00:00 | Intro 04:39 | How can land use and transportation support each other? 09:59 | Finding common ground 21:18 | What strategies does electing champions unlock? 31:54 | Making the legislature more accessible 36:44 | Preventing burnout 41:47 | Audience question: constitutional amendment 43:25 | Audience question: heavy rail 45:32 | Audience question: not getting stalled by moderates 54:30 | Outro Links BikeMN Neighbors for More Neighbors Sustain St Paul Our Streets Sierra Club All Aboard Minnesota Images Peter's map of per capita climate emissions. Attributions Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website. This episode was produced by Stina Neel and was hosted, edited, and transcribed by Ian R Buck. Many thanks to our guests for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at [email protected]. Transcript Find the full transcript on our website.

We're joined in the studio by Mallory Baches, President of the Congress for the New Urbanism, who was in town to plan their 2027 conference in Minneapolis. Come listen in on our conversation! Links Further listening: our conversation with CNU board member Spencer Miller-Johnson about zoning mixed-use corridors The Year Without Sunshine by Naomi Kritzer (text and audio versions available) CNU's RFP for 2027 Legacy Projects Attributions Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website. This episode was produced, edited, and transcribed by Ian R Buck. Many thanks to Mallory Baches for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at [email protected]. Transcript Find the full transcript on our website.

Join us for a conversation with Henry Grabar, author of Paved Paradise, which gives a surprisingly entertaining history of parking policy in America! Links Henry's newsletter Electing transportation champions panel event Mel's first article Attributions Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website. This episode was produced and edited by Parker Seaman, transcribed by Stina Neel, and hosted by Ian R Buck. Many thanks to Henry Grabar for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at [email protected].

What goes into running a non-profit like Streets.mn? Let's take a moment to hear from the board members who make it all possible! Episode chapters 00:00 | Intro 00:31 | Stina Neel & Ian R Buck 09:11 | angela olson 13:48 | Ben Zvan 18:23 | Brian Mitchell 22:10 | Erik Noonan 27:11 | Ian Gaida 31:51 | Jeb Rach 36:23 | Jeremy Winter 40:36 | Morgan Radick 45:00 | Parker Seaman 49:52 | NJ Hanson 54:38 | Regina Burstein 58:31 | Outro Links Ian's first podcast (video game news) and the podcast where he got into journalism/education Stina and Ian's bike camping trip angela's Aunties of Active Mobility Brian's first article Pine Salica's series about moving unusual items by bike Nick Magrino's transportation emoji analysis Brian's history of the Greenway trench History of Streets.mn Ian G's On the Motorized Tourist Skiing at Buck Hill and Winter Park Ian G's The Urbanist's Case for Nuclear Power Donate to Streets.mn! Hey! Where Does This Bus Go? Jeremy's first article Morgan's first article Parker's For Fun and For Profit Attributions Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website. This episode was hosted and edited by Ian R Buck with editing assistance from Jeremy Winter, and was transcribed by Stina Neel. Many thanks to all the board members for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at [email protected]. Transcript Find the full transcript on our website.  

Hear from some of our favorite advocacy organizations what happened at the 2026 Minnesota legislative session, and what we're carrying forward into next year! Links The 2026 Urbanist Legislative Agenda Streets.mn summer picnic Our Streets legislative summary Move Minnesota legislative summary BikeMN Sustain Saint Paul Other orgs that weren't available for the episode All Aboard Minnesota legislative summary Sierra Club legislative summary Attributions Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website. This episode was hosted, edited, and transcribed by Ian R Buck with editing assistance from Stina Neel. Many thanks to Joe Harrington, Nas Nourkadi, CJ Lindor, and Jacob Hooper for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at [email protected]. Transcript Find the full transcript on our website.

Let's sit down with Miles in Transit to talk about his motivation and process for making videos of arbitrary transit riding challenges! Links Miles in Transit Other creators Miles mentioned Tanner DJ Petesake Simon Anderson riding Europe's longest bus route Alwaus Attributions Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website. This episode was produced by Parker Seaman aka Strongthany, was edited and transcribed by Stina Neel, and was hosted by Ian R Buck. Many thanks to Miles Taylor for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at [email protected]. Transcript Find the full transcript on our website.

Now known as the Minnesota Cargo Bike Library, let's check in with Laura Mitchell about what's new this year! Links Minnesota Cargo Bike Library Merchandise (including the opossum shirt!) Cyclehoop Perennial Cycle Opossum in pannier Opossum setting off the music Katie Jones and Peter Schmitt transporting their newborn in a cargo bike Attributions Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website. This episode was produced by Stina Neel, edited by Parker Seaman aka Strongthany, and hosted and transcribed by Ian R Buck. Many thanks to Laura Mitchell for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at [email protected]. Transcript Find the full transcript on our website.

Lyndale Ave is up for reconstruction, and a group of activists have been working for the last few years to make sure it has the best design it can. Let's listen in on their interview on the Wedge LIVE! podcast. Wedge LIVE! Shownotes After years of engagement and political wrangling, Hennepin County and the City of Minneapolis are ready to approve a new design for Lyndale Avenue South between Franklin and Lake. Because the street was last reconstructed in 1934, the road surface and infrastructure underground are long overdue for a replacement. But reconstruction also gives us an opportunity for pedestrian, bike, and transit improvements on a corridor that includes the most dangerous intersection in the state of Minnesota. Julie Johnson, a senior community organizer with Move Minnesota, and Jeremy Winter, a Wedge-based volunteer agitator for "Livable Lyndale," join me for a conversation about what's at stake. Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive Join the conversation: https://bsky.app/profile/wedge.live Support the show: https://patreon.com/wedgelive Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFontsee Attributions This episode comes to us courtesy of the Wedge LIVE! podcast. Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, used by permission of its creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website. This episode was transcribed by Stina Neel. We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at [email protected]. Transcript Find the full transcript on our website.