Last year, New York City launched one of the most ambitious and dramatic transportation-related plans America has seen in a quarter-century: congestion pricing. The plan charges most vehicles $9 to enter Manhattan south of 61st Street; those funds are being used to overhaul the region’s transit system, and the reduction in traffic has led to both healthier air and smoother travel.

While the plan ran into some very public friction with the federal government, the drama surrounding congestion pricing actually goes back 20 years. In this episode, we hear from one of the architects of the plan, Kathy Wylde, the former CEO of the influential business organization Partnership for NYC. Kathy walks us through the long road to congestion pricing, pushes back on the criticism it has faced, and highlights its remarkable accomplishments.

Listen to ModeShift on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

When people talk about economic opportunity, they usually focus on jobs, education, or housing.

But there’s another factor that shapes all of those things: how people move.

In season two of ModeShift, host Andrei Greenawalt explores how cities across the U.S. are rethinking transportation — not just as a way to get around, but as a driver of economic growth, safety, and access.

From congestion pricing and integrated transit systems to new technologies like AI, this season looks at the ideas reshaping how cities move — and what that means for opportunity.

Episodes are dropping soon. Subscribe to Modeshift anywhere you get your podcasts.

The average LA commuter spends five days a year stuck in traffic; pedestrian deaths are the highest they’ve been in 40 years in the U.S.; and the transportation sector is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in America. They’re all products of a system that has prioritized automobiles over people for decades. 

But ‘car free’ or ‘car light’ approaches to urban planning are taking hold in cities and neighborhoods around the world. From Amsterdam to Barcelona to Masdar City in the United Arab Emirates, officials are getting serious about redesigning their communities for car-free living. 

The concept sounds a bit radical. But it doesn’t mean getting rid of cars altogether. It’s about reimagining communities to shift the balance in favor of new transit options. 

In this episode, Andrei and Tiffany explore what transportation in the U.S. would look like if most of us didn't have to reach for our car keys every day.

Guests:

• Ellen Dunham-Jones, director of the urban design program at Georgia Tech
• Cornelia Dinca, founder of Sustainable Amsterdam
• Peter Norton, associate professor of history at the University of Virginia
• Shyam Kannan, Mid-Atlantic transit lead at HDR
• Transit expert Jerome Horne