Sophie McAdara — Programs and Operations Manager for Bring It Home, and former City of Bentonville urban planner — is in good traffic this week to discuss just what the heck is going on down in Northwest Arkansas. Bentonville, and neighboring towns, have been part of a regional boom in recent years. National attention has followed, and much praise has been given.

From mountain bike lanes alongside local roads, to robust greenway projects, and urban integration with natural surroundings, the area has begun to foster a unique identity.

Walmart, the University of Arkansas, and others have invested significantly in the livability of the region.

Apologies for any subpar audio — we had to use a backup track for a portion of the episode.

Timeline:

00:00 Sophie McAdara is in good traffic.

04:10 Non-profit developers and community land trusts, explained.

13:14 Sophie's journey into urban planning.

24:15 The growth of Northwest Arkansas.

29:32 Local organizations and partnerships.

32:59 Community feedback in urban development.

35:05 Current NWA transit situation.

37:22 Bentonville bike infrastructure.

43:07 Congress for the New Urbanism and Emerging New Urbanists.

48:14 How to get involved with Emerging New Urbanists.

49:47 Wrapping up.

Further context:

Bring it Home (Sophie's organization).

Emerging New Urbanists.

Ex. of Bentonville bike infrastructure.

Follow Sophie.

Support Sophie's art.

This week, we discuss the potency of urbanism's gateway drug: summer festivals. Culturally, Americans love to frequent farmer's markets, watch fireworks, and attend live arts shows in the park. We often don't realize that these are all functions of a walkable environment (even if often temporary).

Vendor tents are proxies for small shops, food trucks could be permanent neighborhood eateries, and running into friends could be a norm rather than a novelty.

Instead of closing a parking lot or street for one night only, what if we planned our cities to facilitate and prioritize community all year long?

Also: On nostalgia, Pokémon Go, and the Oregon Shakesphere Festival.

Timeline:

00:00 Aly's back.

01:06 Summer festivities and temporary walkability.

02:05 Nostalgia and summertime memories.

02:47 Pokemon Go and gamified outdoor activities.

07:49 Urbanism and community events.

12:18 Navigating festivals and parking challenges.

22:45 Festival fatigue and urban living.

27:07 Our upcoming trip to Ashland, Oregon.

30:03 Wrapping up.

Eric Kronberg — Principal at Kronberg Urbanists + Architects — is in good traffic this week to talk about the mechanics of building better neighborhoods. Are family units have gotten smaller, while our home sizes have gotten larger. This means less supply, and less opportunity to build more. We get into what makes zoning reform such a powerful tool in evolving this housing dynamic, why parking minimums are the silent killer of affordability, and how small-scale development is the most durable path forward.

Eric translates urbanism into practical action better than anyone — not just through design, but through policy advocacy and development.

His perspective is vital to American urbanism.

We discuss:

00:00 Eric Kronberg is in good traffic.

01:34 From Ohio roots to southern urbanism.

04:25 What zoning actually does (and doesn’t do).

06:25 Parking minimums, explained.

11:27 Visual storytelling in policy change.

21:04 Household size, square footage, and the housing crisis.

28:22 Why Atlanta’s growth patterns matter nationally.

31:05 Optimistically tackling NIMBY politics.

34:35 How local advocates shape real change.

43:22 On the Incremental Development Alliance.

46:15 Revising ordinances and quick development math.

49:26 What new developers need to learn.

52:18 The promise of an e-bike commute.

Further context:

The household size slide we reference.

Kronberg Urbanists + Architects.

Incremental Development Alliance.

Inc Codes.

Follow Eric on LinkedIn.

Tahra Hoops — Policy wonk, and Director of Economic Analysis at the Chamber of Progress — joins the show this week to talk about the generation that's been simultaneously told it's going to "save the world," has "no work ethic," has "been through a lot," and yet is "soft."

Zoomers are a nuanced bunch, and that makes us a unique and challenging crew to communicate policy to/with. Add in a segment of the generation (more on this breakdown in the episode) growing up in a media environment that's primed for misinformation/disinformation and equipped with the power to skip-to-next without absorbing the full story (this applies to short-form video, presidential politics, and just about anything in between), and the results are what you might expect. It impacts how we co-mingle, vote, where we choose to live, and the level of hope we possess.

Tahra's work is all about synthesizing and breaking down both cultural and economic data and trends into more understanding information — largely pertaining to housing and cost of living.

We discuss:

00:00 Tahra Hoops is in good traffic.

02:32 Policy communication and rapid response.

05:24 Balancing data collection and real-time reactions.

10:13 The housing crisis and policy solutions.

22:34 Generational perspectives on politics.

33:42 Introduction to The Rebuild and cost of living issues.

34:28 Small policy changes with big impacts.

35:32 Examples of effective policy initiatives.

37:09 Governor Shapiro's abundance politics.

38:15 The importance of positive feedback in politics.

40:42 Challenges in housing policy comms.

47:29 Why we live where we live.

52:10 In praise of walkability.

01:00:05 Wrapping up.

For context:

⁠The Rebuild (Tahra's Substack).⁠

The Progress Chamber.

Some of Tahra's Gen Z commentary.

Tahra on X.

This week, we're workshopping ways to get car companies to prioritize pedestrian safety. Why don't all cars have speed governers that cap at, say, 85 mph? And, a call for community feedback.

For context:

On TomTom's safety tech.

@SubwayTakes on TikTok.

On 'Brick' which I may have called Block, in the episode...my mistake).

Clayton Sealey — Charlotte, North Carolina civic leader and the brain behind @cltdevelopment — is in good traffic. We hit on progress in the rapidly growing southern city, roadblocks at the state level, and housing / transit policy momentum. We also discuss the how behind getting involved with city council in your locale, utilizing North Carolina's many collegetowns as American precedents, and the ever-present predicament of strengthening civics education.

We discuss:

00:00 Charlotte's appeal.

03:03 Involvement in Charlotte's development.

03:23 City population rankings in context.

04:38 Charlotte's zoning and development stasis.

05:18 Path into urban development.

09:04 Advocacy and community involvement.

15:16 Challenges in local politics.

16:46 State vs. city dynamics.

22:41 Housing bill and development tensions.

27:36 Simplifying economic conversations.

28:26 Trust in urban development.

29:12 Traffic and urban growth.

29:46 Building a framework for development.

34:01 The weather factor.

39:52 College towns as American precedents.

44:57 Exciting North Carolina infrastructure projects.

50:46 Favorite commute.

Connect with Clayton:

On Instagram.

On X.

Writer of the weekly Bike Bulletin newsletter (subscribe right now.) — Sam Westby — is back on the show. We knock out a current events survey, with topics curated through both of our weekly research habits in the urbanism, bikes, and adjacent worlds. It's mostly positive, and hopefully always constructive.

Sam's off to Spain to bike for a while. Make sure to follow his incredible rides and work (links below).

We discuss:

00:00 Sam's recent activities.

02:42 The Bike Bulletin newsletter.

03:38 Automated cameras on buses in Massachusetts.

07:14 Seattle's quick fix for bike lane safety.

11:47 Paris' ambitious plan for a walkable city.

15:13 New York City's progress in bike infrastructure.

24:43 The benefits of protected bike lanes.

25:18 Parking vs. bike lanes: the business impact.

27:19 Context matters: urban vs. suburban solutions.

28:27 The importance of bike share systems.

36:30 Public investment in infrastructure and innovation.

40:36 The role of public and private sectors in development.

45:47 Concluding thoughts.

The following links are the conversational guideposts you'll hear about in this episode:

One: automated ticketing of cars parking in bus lanes.

Two: cities can improve cycling infrastructure overtime based on feedback, like Seattle does here.

Three: Paris is making another 500 streets car-free.

Four: New York City traffic fatality data, safety measures, and bike infrastructure improvements.

Five: Maximizing bikeshare ridership.

Six: On underpublicized public R+D and investment that underpins American innovation — from railroads, to highways, to the internet (and a caution to those chastising and cutting it).

SUBSCRIBE TO THE BIKE BULLETIN (Sam's newsletter).

+ Follow Sam on Instagram and TikTok.

Diana Lind — founder & author of The New Urban Order newsletter — joins us to discuss her extensive career writing on urban planning, zoning, and American housing policy. She talks about the evolution of urbanism and architecture media, and how it has shaped public discourse surrounding growth, housing crises, and city development. The conversation reaches into her book Brave New Home, where she tackles alternatives to single-family zoning and the social implications of various housing models.

We get into the specifics of a few recently published newsletters.

We discuss:

00:00 The journey into writing about urban planning.

03:50 On the housing crisis.

05:48 The New Urban Order and writing on Substack.

07:37 The American context in urban planning.

10:41 Montana's housing reforms.

19:39 The role of language in urban policy.

21:26 Writing for different audiences.

25:45 Challenges in writing about housing.

28:49 Federal lands and housing solutions.

30:33 Challenges of single family zoning.

34:56 Alternative housing development models.

39:41 Government property conversions.

46:54 The appeal of Philadelphia.

52:46 The New Urban Order newsletter.

54:32 Favorite commute and final thoughts.

For context:

On converting public lands to housing (the referenced newsletter).

On Montana's sweeping housing reform (via Sightline Institute).

Connect with Diana:

www.dianalind.com.

The newsletter - The New Urban Order.

On LinkedIn.