The Movement Podcast

In his final episode as host, Josh Cohen reflects and offers gratitude for his three years hosting The Movement Podcast.

In the array of changes necessary to avert climate disaster, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy's Heather Thompson believes that we will need not only electrification and density, but also experimentation and political will.

As Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's transportation manager, Julia Campbell ensures that LA's role as a transportation laboratory welcomes all modes, an approach shaped by her experience growing up and attending graduate school in LA.

In order to enable an “avalanche of opportunity” that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law could allow, former US Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx believes that we first need to proactively address the systems and processes that led to our current situation.

Few public transit agencies dedicate an employee to improve how riders experience the system each day. Danny Levy of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority tackled this unique role by mapping the customer experience and communicating the “why” behind projects.

Experience as a public transit executive influences how Ben Birnbaum of Keyframe Capital now makes investment decisions that shape what the future of mobility, electrification, and automation looks like.

Nedra Deadwyler's recognition that understanding history is required to build the future led to her creation of Civil Bikes, a provider of bike and walking tours in Atlanta that enables reflection and connection.

Joe Regier of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County uses transit as a way to introduce the university—and its diversity, intelligence, and amenities—to the communities that surround the school.

From mobility entrepreneur to city official to now non-profit executive, Stacey Matlen's transportation journey now includes helping entrepreneurs navigate complex procurements in order to solve the biggest challenges facing public transit at the Partnership for New York City.

Janet Attarian of SmithGroup believes the human side of our communities is what allows us to build trust, show empathy for each other, and integrate that sense of place into wherever we live and the mobility systems that serve us.

For Stacy Thompson of Boston's LivableStreets Alliance, a successful street is one that you can use safely and enjoyably, without even having to think about it, just like you get running water from the tap or access to reliable weather on your phone.

The Association for Commuter Transportation's David Straus explains how Covid-19 has upended how many people get to work, opening up unparalleled opportunity as well as cause for concern for proponents of Transportation Demand Management.

Mobility as a Service, though attractive in its promise to increase mobility access, has proven elusive in practice. In a special episode from Pittsburgh, key stakeholders discuss the creation and implementation of North America's first comprehensive Mobility as a Service project, Move PGH.

How you define innovation will obviously impact how you implement it. Timothy Papandreou of Emerging Transport Advisors took a different approach to innovation at LA Metro, SF Muni, and Waymo to ensure that innovation solved real problems.

What does it take for a transit agency to win major industry awards twice in three years? Joanna Pinkerton reveals how the Central Ohio Transit Authority adapted and overcame major challenges, including a global pandemic, since her appointment as President and CEO in 2018.

Philadelphia leaders learned a lot of lessons from the 21 communities that launched a community bikeshare system before they did. Andrew Stober explains what the City of Philadelphia did differently prior to launch to ensure that the system met the needs of the community.

Just what are 15-minute cities and what does it mean for planning, community engagement, housing, and mobility? Dan Reed of Toole Design Group shares their perspective on what we're missing when we distill complex planning issues into pithy concepts like 15-minute cities.

The peril of climate change inspired Meg Merritt of Movitas Mobility's entry into the public transit industry and continues to motivate her fight to change how we incentivize and penalize different transit modes.

Tomika Monterville of the San Antonio Transportation Department takes us inside her journey to helm this new department, why she's so excited about San Antonio, and what it's going to take to be successful there.

According to Mike McGinn, executive director of America Walks and former mayor of Seattle, walking is not just about sidewalk infrastructure, but how we express ourselves as a community and move about that community with dignity.

On issues of zoning, housing, and transportation, Greater Greater Washington's policy manager Alex Baca recognizes that while the decisions made are political, the outcomes she wants are simply the ability for all to exist and move with dignity.

If we want better mobility in our communities, TransitCenter's Steven Higashide, author of Better Buses, Better Cities, believes better transit policy starts with a broad multi-racial coalition and ends with buses providing more access to opportunity for all.

Both a provoker of bold ideas and an implementer of practical ones, Geraldine Gardner of the Centralina Regional Council dives into what's necessary to make regionalism work for over 2 million people across 9 counties surrounding Charlotte, NC.

L'erin reflects on her time as co-host of The Movement Podcast and highlights some things she's learned and episodes that will stick with her.

In part 2 of a special 2-episode series on mobility access for people with disabilities, Anna Zivarts of the Disability Mobility Initiative at Disability Rights Washington recognizes the limitations on data in her advocacy by complementing it with lived experiences and stories. Comment end

In part 1 of a special 2-episode series focused on the lived experiences of people with disabilities, Zack Hurtz, Micah Lusignan, Krystal Monteros, and Tanisha Sepulveda share their everyday mobility challenges and what they believe is needed for equitable access to mobility for all.

Executive Director of the Alliance for a Just Society, LeeAnn Hall reminds us that it is people's lived experiences that help define what barriers to access exist and highlights the importance of community leadership to illuminate the solutions.

We won't achieve equitable mobility without involving local government. Co-host of the GovLove podcast Ben Kittelson takes us inside City Hall to break down how funding decisions are made at the local level and what you can do to change them.

Providing mobility options in the Cincinnati metro area that has over 200 different jurisdictions requires Andy Aiello of the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky and Wade Johnston of Green Umbrella to show how all those communities benefit both from working together and connection to each other.

Ashton Simpson leads Oregon Walks, a non-profit organization that is advocating for everyone's right to roam, a right that is too often obscured by political dithering and a reluctance to listen directly to those impacted by unequal access to mobility.

In a special episode celebrating some of the guest teachers of the upcoming Unurbanist Assembly, Mouchka Heller and Jose Richard Aviles explain how equitable access to mobility comes from finally starting to bring unheard voices to the table.

The Shared-Use Mobility Center's CEO Benjie de la Peña shares how the market is constantly evolving to allow mobility to connect us to opportunity and community, from informal transportation throughout the Global South to the latest in shared micromobility in the US.

Though BikeWalkKC spearheaded the advocacy on decriminalizing walking and biking in Kansas City, they didn't go it alone. Michael Kelley breaks down the process BikeWalkKC used to change city laws that were inequitably enforced and didn't improve safety.

Reflecting on his 10 years as CEO of Rail~Volution, Dan Bartholomay highlights the importance of vision and true community engagement to create the alignment —and energy—required for truly impactful transportation projects.

Not only has Mitchell Silver prioritized equitable access to the 14% of NYC land that encompasses its parks, playgrounds, and recreational facilities in his role as commissioner of NYC Parks and Recreation, but he's endeavored to make the spaces a place for joy and healing.

Most shared mobility systems like bikeshare weren't started with equity as a foundational element. For those systems, Waffiyyah Murray and the Better Bike Share Partnership stand by to help ensure equitable access to mobility.

As founder of the Queer Advocacy and Knowledge Exchange, Guillermo Díaz-Fañas is working to ensure that the important work of designing infrastructure is done in a way that doesn't just respond to issues like climate resilience, but to the humans who will you use it.

Implementing regional policy changes doesn't happen overnight. Chrissy Mancini Nichols shares the little steps she took over a number of years to make major changes to how Chicago funds transportation.

Jameson Auten, Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, understands that innovation is a trial and error process, and that things will get messier before they get better, but keeping your eye on the outcome, not the process, is the key to success.

Oonee's Shabazz Stuart celebrates how cities are prioritizing safe, protected bike lanes in their communities, but, as he's found out several times, if bike infrastructure stops at the street, bike riders may not have a bike when they return from work, school, or an errand.

Director of Transportation for the city of Somerville, Massachusetts Brad Rawson shares what makes Somerville so unique and how they are centering equity in their work by using science and data to remedy systemic injustices in transportation.

Across hundreds of guests and topics, Jeff Wood of The Overhead Wire and the Talking Headways Podcast has learned some fundamental lessons about infrastructure, access, and the nuance necessary to have a productive conversation about a complex topic like transportation.

Move LA founder Denny Zane was instrumental in getting transit funding measures passed in Los Angeles County. He shares the importance of seeing opportunities in otherwise disappointing turnouts to make improvements and try again.

SEPTA's Leslie Richards has led organizations at the local, regional, and state levels cognizant of two things: that more women should be involved in public service and that the best way to lead is by listening.

Julia Thayne's and Lilly Shoup's careers have straddled the public and private sectors. Now, they are building Los Angeles' Urban Movement Labs in the same way to solve transportation challenges for Angelenos.

As someone who has found her home in public service, Anita Cozart of the District of Columbia's Office of Planning recognizes that while there is power in one voice, true change requires collective action and a heaping dose of courage.

In a special two-year anniversary episode, L'erin and Josh get updates from former guests, highlight some episodes that resonate with them, and celebrate the power of using one's voice to advocate for an equitable, accessible, and verdant mobility future.

For Remix's Rachel Zack and TransForm's Jamario Jackson, the combination of technology and advocacy to advance mobility justice is more than an academic exercise; it's a tool to achieve more equitable outcomes, if we're willing to do the work.

To truly solve climate and poverty issues, the Shared Use Mobility Center's Sharon Feigon believes it's not enough to increase access to shared and low-impact mobility options like transit, bikes, and scooters. It will truly require changing how we do things in areas far beyond mobility.

L'erin and Josh discuss the week's biggest news, including the Senate confirmation of Mayor Pete Buttigieg as the new Secretary of the US Department, parking minimums in Berkeley, and how we could drastically increase the usefulness of public transportation with a relatively small sum.

David Zipper shares how perverse incentives and negative externalities are part of the reason US transportation policy prioritizes decisions that benefit individuals and not those that benefit communities like public transit, sidewalks, and bike lanes.