Confessions of a Recovering Engineer

Transportation for a Strong Town

By: Charles L. Marohn Jr.

Narrated by: Christopher Douyard

Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's Summary

In Confessions of a Recovering Engineer, renowned speaker and author of Strong Towns Charles L. Marohn, Jr., delivers an accessible and engaging exploration of America's transportation system, laying bare the reasons why it no longer works as it once did, and how to modernize transportation to better serve local communities.

You'll discover real-world examples of poor design choices and how those choices have dramatic and tragic effects on the lives of the people who use them. You'll also find case studies and examples of design improvements that have revitalized communities and improved safety.

This important book shows you: the values of the transportation professions, how they are applied in the design process, and how those priorities differ from those of the public; how the standard approach to transportation ensures the maximum amount of traffic congestion possible is created each day, and how to fight that congestion on a budget; and bottom-up techniques for spending less and getting higher returns on transportation projects, all while improving quality of life for residents. Perfect for anyone interested in why transportation systems work - and fail to work - the way they do, Confessions of a Recovering Engineer is a fascinating insider's peek behind the scenes of America's transportation systems.

©2021 Charles L. Marohn, Jr. (P)2021 Ascent Audio

Well Worth Your Time To Read or Listen To!

Not exactly a sequel; it is a different way of approaching the same material from a more personal perspective. He doesn't just talk about the problem and give a solution (or list of possible solutions); he explains the roots or philosophy of the problems as one who was part of the problem. I am going to either listen to both books again or read the Kindle versions, want to understand them that much. Also, kudos to "Not Just Bikes" YouTube channel for pointing this author out to me!

The Engineering Profession is Changing

This is a must read for every engineer and engineering student. It's also a valuable source for city planners, managers, and political leaders.

Very eye opening.

As a county administrator, I find this kind of thoughtful honesty refreshing. I commend the author for his endeavors.

Just great!

Thank you! This book should be required reading in engineering education. Especially in civil/transportation engineering.

Fantastic book of how engineers need to change their ways of thinking

This was a fantastic book explaining on why cities should be built for people and not cars.

Good narrator, bad for this book

Unfortunately the narrator has a way of pronouncing things where the presence of an r affects some consonants that might immediately precede it. So you often got passages like "Here at Shtrong Towns, we're ekshtremely frushchrated that the state of our infrashchructure, compels one to djrive on congested shtroads for any errands instead of walking to the groshery store across the shtreet." which normally is fine but since the book happens to be full of such words, it gets... dishchracting pretty quickly.

The perfect book for the perfect time

I see potholes wherever I go. Dangerous feeling roads, sidewalks that start and end randomly, nonfunctional public transit, and street crossings that seem out right negligent.

This book provides a brilliant insight into how and why they are like this and how they can change.

Interesting and informative

This book provided insight into why some of the things that frustrate me about how current roads/streets/"stroads" are the way they are as well as a new perspective on how they could be better.

If you live in a place, listen to this book.

I am an urban planning student who has just started grad school. Had I been better at math I probably would have gone into traffic engineering rather than planning. I began school very much against public transit and thought roadway spending was far more valuable. Having lived my entire middle class life in a city with subpar transit, this was, frankly, an obvious conclusion to draw. Studying planning caused a vehement about face in my transportation beliefs that makes me embarrassed of the things I said and thought before. For people like me, it often takes a little push to realize that the current roadway expansion and „improvement” practices are not the answer to transportation problems. Let this book be your push!

A solid read/listen

This book contains a lot of valuable information. The narrator isn't terribly interesting to listen to, but delivers the information in a clear and reasonably interesting voice. Strongly recommend