We Built It That Way

Is urban density good or bad??? This is the type of question we'd prefer not to answer. But if you're okay with a little nuance, hop on in while we take a stroll through what density means, what it does and doesn't do, and why the topic riles so many people up.We talk about:What density measuresArguments people make against densityArguments people make in favor of densityA theory on why density tends to be a fixation in North AmericaDifferent ways to reach the same densityHow cars factor in (and cars always factor in!)What is overcrowding? And how that relates to "density"How talking about urban intensity allows for greater specificityAnd a lot more!Links:Want to learn more on this episode’s topic? There has been no shortage of words written on the virus and our cities. Here's just a tiny sample:June 1972 article from Psychological Review, titled "On the distinction between density and crowding: Some implications for future research" by Daniel StokolsJune 22, 2021 article in Policy Options Politiques, "We need to focus on the problem of crowding, not density, in our cities" by Valerie Preston and Brian RayJune 1, 2020 TVO Today article, "Density is a planning problem. Crowding is a money problem" by John Michael McGrath January 2019 Governing, "Why ‘Density’ Is a Bad Word: It’s often used to describe how people live in urban spaces. But it shouldn't be." by Alex Marshall---Check us out on Twitter and Instagram @webuiltitpod.Hosted by AJ Fawver and Jordan Clark. Edited by Jordan Clark.Music in this episode includes: Sounds of the Supermarket, Blue Dot Sessions, bummies. (on YouTube), a 1986 recording from The Weather Channel, lukrembo (on YouTube), C. Scott, Isaac Horwedel, and Dead Moon ("Too Many People")

In this Extra Credit episode, we have a chat about a frankly glum topic: when cars kill people. We discuss a fantastic piece in the New Yorker about a growing movement to end pedestrian and cycling fatalities in NYC and beyond.Lots to cover in this show, and we talk about:ingrained attitudes about transportation (and whose experience counts the most)policy choices that inevitably lead to avoidable deathindividuals and families bearing the burden of collective failureslearning from other countries: whether safe streets are a "cultural" thing or a policy resultVision Zero as a response to traffic deathsneighborhood politicsthe concept of "windshield bias"a few simple design approaches that make streets safer for all people... and moreLet's dive in!---Check us out on Twitter and Instagram @webuiltitpod.Hosted by AJ Fawver and Jordan Clark. Edited by Jordan Clark.Music in this episode: Sounds of the Supermarket, a 1985 Weather Channel broadcast, Isaac Horwedel, and Cullah ("GroOvy" and "Western Firefight 2").

In this episode, we talk about noise pollution—a much bigger problem than you might realize!Some of the things we discuss include:the most common (and annoying) sources of outdoor noiseadverse mental, physical, and social health effects from too much noise exposurewhat safe noise levels even areways to reduce noise in cities (hint: it has a lot to do with cars, like basically everything we talk about)and a whole lot moreLinks:Want to learn more on this episode’s topic? There has been no shortage of words written on the virus and our cities. Here's just a tiny sample:Book: ‘Curbing Traffic’ by Melissa & Chris BruntlettWhy City Noise Is a Serious Health HazardEnvironmental Noise Pollution in the United States: Developing an Effective Public Health ResponseHow Animals Perceive the World The sounds of our lives suck! How to make cities better by ending the blight of noiseCities Aren't Loud: Cars Are Loud (Video)Why sounds and smells are as vital to cities as the sightsParis caps speed limit to 30km/h in further boost to 'soft' transportThe Sensory Assault of 18th Century CitiesRoad Traffic Noise Pollution Is Linked With a Heightened Risk of Central ObesityThe Science of Quieter CitiesTraffic Noise Might GiveYou a Heart AttackThe Science of Quieter CitiesHow Silence Became the Ultimate Luxury Good The (Basically) Complete Health Case for Urban Parks, Trees, and NatureNOISY CITIES...

Time for another installment in our 'Extra Credit' series, where we take a reading and discuss our takeaways, for your listening pleasure. In this episode, we discuss a piece in Shelterforce titled 'Are Urban Planners Staying Silent on Climate Gentrification?' – written by Colleen O'Connor-Grant. The built environment is the embodiment of countless decisions, each of which is a vote for what matters to us (or, to be honest, what matters to those with power and influence). In the case of climate gentrification, zoning rules, economic development practices, affordable housing policies, and other "boring" things create an unequal, ecologically degraded world. Which shapes each of us who live in it.Let's dive in!---Check us out on Twitter and Instagram @webuiltitpod.Hosted by AJ Fawver and Jordan Clark. Edited by Jordan Clark.Music in this episode: Sounds of the Supermarket, a 1985 Weather Channel broadcast, Isaac Horwedel, Scott Joplin ("Reflection Rag"), and Lead Belly ("Bourgeois Blues").

In this episode we look back on just a few ways this current pandemic had an impact on how we see and use our built environment. (ARE CITIES DEAD?!?!?!)Links:Want to learn more on this episode’s topic? There has been no shortage of words written on the virus and our cities. Here's just a tiny sample:What the Pandemic's 'Open Streets' Really RevealedCoronavirus is not fuel for urbanist fantasiesHow the Coronavirus Will Reshape ArchitectureDriving Went Down. Fatalities Went Up. Here's Why.Oakland's Open Streets Programs Are Still a Work in Progress. That's a Good Thing.Past pandemics changed the design of cities. Six ways COVID-19 could do the same---Check us out on Twitter and Instagram @webuiltitpod.Hosted by AJ Fawver and Jordan Clark. Edited by Jordan Clark.Music in this episode: Sounds of the Supermarket, ERLAX (YouTube), Stockwave (YouTube), and Scott Joplin ("Reflection Rag").

We're trying something new! This is the first in our 'Extra Credit' series, where we take a reading and discuss our takeaways, for your listening pleasure.In this episode, we discuss an article that ran in Texas Observer in 2021: What If the State Department of Transportation Tore Down Texas Highways? by Megan Kimble.We talk about:what impact urban highways have on cities (and how they are different from rural highways)the "interesting" ways Texas's Department of Transportation publicly talks about transportationwhy people want to tear down some highways (are they just maniacs??)pros and cons of urban highwaysand a lot more!We also mention an article in The Guardian that came out the week we recorded: ‘It’s just more and more lanes’: the Texan revolt against giant new highways---Check us out on Twitter and Instagram @webuiltitpod.Hosted by AJ Fawver and Jordan Clark. Edited by Jordan Clark.Music in this episode: Sounds of the Supermarket, Isaac Horwedel, a 1985 Weather Channel broadcast, and Wire ("Lowdown")

We're back, and we're talking about signs. Urban advertisements. Billboards, pole signs, and much more. We sure do put up with a lot of signs telling us what to do. Why are we so permissive with our eyeballs? Well, in recent decades, there have been movements across the globe to rid cities of public advertising. We discuss this trend and much more. Plus, what implicit values and priorities are built in to the way advertisement is allowed in cities?Links:Want to learn more on this episode’s topic? Here’s just a short list of interesting resources:The Stealthy Politics of Urban AdvertisingCan cities kick ads? Inside the global movement to ban urban billboardsAdvertising: Why billboards and outdoor ads are booming in a smartphone ageThe Ad Screens on Ride-Hail Cars Collect Data, TooCities Lose Supreme Court Case on Sign RegulationHere Are the Tools to Hack into Your City's Public AdvertisingShedding Light on Digital Signs (PDF)---Check us out on Twitter and Instagram @webuiltitpod.Hosted by AJ Fawver and Jordan Clark. Edited by Jordan Clark.Music in this episode: Sounds of the Supermarket, Blue Dot Sessions ("Sandy Shuffle"), Homer & Jethro ("The Billboard Song"), Isaac Horwedel, and Gary Nintendo ("Riding a giant eagle over the mountains")

It’s Part II of our two-part series on traffic congestion! This time: why adding more lanes doesn’t make congestion go away.Framing traffic congestion as primarily a “street capacity” problem has led practitioners to seek solutions by adding more lanes and miles of streets and roads. This has the unintended (but predictable) consequence of generating more traffic. This phenomenon is exceedingly well known but continually ignored among the professionals who can do anything about it. Let’s talk about it.Links:Want to learn more on this episode’s topic? Here’s just a short list of interesting resources:Traffic Jam? Blame 'Induced Demand.' - BloombergTransportation For America More highways, more driving, more emissions: Explaining "induced demand" - Transportation For AmericaThe Fundamental, Global Law of Road Congestion (from City Observatory)Reducing Traffic or Inducing It?What's Up With That: Building Bigger Roads Actually Makes Traffic Worse | WIREDInduced Demand: An Axiom of Biology — Human TransitQuestioning Congestion Costs | City ObservatoryInduced demand - WikipediaReducing congestion: Katy didn't | City ObservatoryReduced demand is just as important as induced demand | CNUThe Problem with HOV LanesOpinion: Filth, Automobiles, and Our Misguided Obsession With TrafficCalculating induced demand at the Rose Quarter | City ObservatoryGenerated Traffic and Induced Travel – VPTI (PDF)Your Navigation App Is Making Traffic Unmanageable | Institute of Transportation StudiesSHIFT CalculatorBook: Walkable City by Jeff Speck (public library)---Check us out on Twitter and a...

After an unexpected hiatus, your best friends AJ and Jordan are back in business. This time around we go where few shows of any stature have ever dared: the subject of traffic congestion. What's up with it? What causes it? When did we first start to see it as a problem? How did competing narratives from the early days come to shape how we see and deal with it? Is traffic congestion definitely bad, or is it akshually good?And as always, we will be talking about how this all affects us as humans, individually and collectively. This is a longer episode than usual, but it's more packed than the Katy Freeway at rush hour. Stay tuned for a follow-up episode about some common ways we've tried to address traffic but ended up making it worse!Links:Want to learn more on this episode’s topic? Here’s just a short list of interesting resources:Fighting Traffic by Peter Norton (buy or find in library)Questioning Congestion CostsIt's back, and it's even dumber than ever: The Urban Mobility ReportPDF: Congestion Costing Critique: Critical Evaluation of the “Urban Mobility Report”Traffic Congestion - an overview | ScienceDirect TopicsThe Causes of Traffic and CongestionThat Influential Texas "Urban Mobility Report"Self-Driving Cars: A Coming Congestion Disaster?Is Ride-Hailing to Blame for Rising Congestion?Traffic congestion - WikipediaVideo: Why Traffic Congestion Grows Exponentially, Why It Matters, and What To Do About It // An Explainer (CityNerd)Video: The Simple Solution to Traffic (CGP Grey) — mentioned in the showVideo: Why do Traffic Jams Occur out of Nowhere? (The Good Stuff)---Check us out on Twitter and Instagram @webuiltitpod.Hosted by AJ Fawver and Jordan Clark. Edited by Jordan Clark.Music in this episode: Sounds of the Supermarket, Scott Joplin ("Reflection Rag" & "Sugar Cane"), a 1986 Weather Channel broadcast, Gary Nintendo, Jerry Reed ("Lord Mr....

This month we ask whether our built environment serves older adults well as they age—and how that has an impact on all of us, regardless of age.Links:Want to read more on this episode’s topic? Here’s just a short list of interesting resources:Improving with age? How city design is adapting to older populationsDesigning Better Urban Spaces for the AgingDesigning cities for the aged | E&T MagazineTo build an inclusive smart city, look through an age-friendly lensCities Alive: Designing for ageing communitiesCo-designing Urban Living Solutions to Improve Older People's Mobility and Well-BeingImproving housing and neighborhoods for the vulnerable: older people, small households, urban design, and planningHow Cities Can Design for Aging Baby BoomersCreative Ageing Cities: Place Design with Older People in Asian Cities: ForewardPlanning and an Aging PopulationHow can cities become more inclusive for elderly people? | World Economic ForumThe cities designing playgrounds for the elderlyAge-Friendly Built Environments: Opportunities for Local GovernmentWhat Do Seniors Need in Parks?Planning for Aging-Friendly CommunitiesFive Innovative Ways Cities Are Improving Life for SeniorsTen questions concerning age-friendly cities and communities and the built environmenta...

In this episode we're talking shade in cities. The good kind! Why don't we have enough of it? Links:Want to read more on this episode’s topic? Here’s just a short list of interesting resources:Shade (Places Journal)Impact of shade on outdoor thermal comfort—a seasonal field study in Tempe, Arizona22 Benefits of Urban Street Trees by Dan BurdenUrban Trees and Human Health: A Scoping ReviewSome city trees may discourage 'shady' behavior; Study explores relationship between urban trees and crimeQuantifying the shade provision of street trees in urban landscape: A case study in Boston, USA, using Google Street ViewHomeowner Interactions with Residential Trees in Urban AreasThe benefits of trees for livable and sustainable communitiesHow glass buildings are making fighting climate change harderShade in the CityThe High Cost of Urban MonoculturesParks and Recreation Learn About Phoenix's Urban ForestTree & Shade Plan Development ResourcesKiller Heat in the United States: The Future of Dangerously Hot Days (Map)On Fences, Plazas, and Latino Urbanism: A Conversation with James RojasWeather Related Fatality and Injury StatisticsTalking Headways Podcast: The Heat is On (featuring Dr. V. Kelly Turner)Tree Thinking---Check us out on Twitter and

In our first episode, we take a look at crossing the street. Why is it so frequently a dangerous and uncomfortable activity? What does street design reveal about our priorities as a society? And what does this all mean for us as humans? Join us as we barely scratch the surface on these questions! Links:Want to read more on this episode’s topic? Here’s just a short list of interesting resources:Quoted in the show: Should Law Subsidize Driving? by Gregory H. ShillFighting Traffic (book) by Peter NortonRight of Way (book) by Angie SchmittStreet crossing behavior in younger and older pedestrians: an eye- and head-tracking studyCollective behavior in road crossing pedestrians: the role of social informationHuman Factors Assessment of Pedestrian Roadway Crossing BehaviorRoad Safety Fundamentals Unit 2: Human Behavior and Road SafetyExploring the Pedestrian's Behaviors in Crossing the Street Based on GenderOn the Psychology of Crossing The StreetWhy Did the Human Cross the Road? To Confuse the Self-Driving CarThe forgotten history of how automakers invented the crime of "jaywalking"Jaywalking: How the car industry outlawed crossing the roadThe secret history of jaywalking: The disturbing reason it was outlawed — and why we should lift the banThe (Classist, Racist) History of Jaywalking“Adam Ruins Everything” Explains the Origins of “Jaywalking”Three Turning Restrictions Cities Need To Put On DriversSTUDY: How Race and Income Impact Road Safety in Oregon---Check us out on a...

Two and a half minutes of us trying to convince you to subscribe to our new show! And by us, we mean AJ Fawver and Jordan Clark, your friends who work in urban planning and apparently don't have anything better to do than to nerd out off the clock. But we nerd out in a charming and approachable way. (When you tell your friends and coworkers about this new show, make sure to sell it with exactly those words: "charming and approachable.)This is a show for curious people, where we'll question why the built environment is built the way it is, and what it says about who we are.Here is your homework between now and next week:Subscribe now to make sure you don't miss out on Episode 1, coming Friday, October 8. Follow us on Twitter (for now). Send us instructions about how to create a TikTok and also what is Tiktok? ;)Tell literally every single person in your life that their life is about to change forever, and when they ask why, text them the link to our show page and slink off mysteriously. (That last part helps to build the buzz, probably.)Music is from: Sounds of the Supermarket