Episode 573: Civil Rights Enforcement in Transportation Projects

Episode 573: Civil Rights Enforcement in Transportation Projects

Author: The Overhead Wire April 2, 2026 Duration: 52:30

This week on the Talking Headways podcast we're joined once again by Laurel Paget-Seekins of Public Advocates. Laurel discusses transit agency power dynamics, loss of public sector capacity, and how the administration is looking to gut civil rights enforcement mechanisms for transportation projects.

Links to Laurel's website Laurel in Transit and the Transit Data Primer

+++

Get the show ad free on Patreon!

Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube!

Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire

Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social

Support the show on Patreon

http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire

Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site! 

And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public!

And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com


Each week, Talking Headways: A Streetsblog Podcast digs into the conversations shaping our cities and streets. Host Jeff Wood, from The Overhead Wire, guides these discussions, which sit at a unique crossroads where the practical realities of urban planning meet the urgent goals of sustainable transportation and thoughtful economic development. Rather than offering abstract theory, the episodes connect policy to the pavement, exploring how decisions made in government offices and community meetings directly affect how people live, move, and work. You’ll hear from a range of voices-planners, advocates, officials, and journalists-who are actively working on these fronts. The dialogue in this podcast is grounded in current events and news, providing context and depth to the week’s most pressing topics in urbanism. It’s for anyone curious about why their city looks and functions the way it does, and for those invested in building more equitable and accessible communities. The tone is engaged and informative, turning complex, interconnected subjects into clear, compelling conversation. Tune in for a regular dose of insight on the forces designing our public realm.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 101

Talking Headways: A Streetsblog Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Episode 554: Getting California High Speed Rail Done [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:23
This week we're back live for another show from Manny's in the Mission featuring Streetsblog SF editor Roger Rudick interviewing California High Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri. They chat about reducing costs, syste…
Episode 553: Life After Cars [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:35
This week Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon of the War on Cars podcast join the show to talk about their new book: Life After Cars – Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile. We discuss opposing views, Turtle Je…
Replay: Episode 78 - Measuring Carbon Emissions at Street Level [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:10
This week on Talking Headways we're flashing back to exactly ten years ago to Episode 78 with Dr. Kevin Gurney, now at Northern Arizona University. We chat about measuring emissions at the street, block, and neighborhood…
Episode 552: Under a Highway in Birmingham Alabama [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:01
This week on the Talking Headways podcast we're joined by Ben Donsky of Agora Partners to discuss City Walk BHAM in Birmingham Alabama, a public space project that connects two sides of the city separated by a highway. W…
Episode 179: Mondays at The Overhead Wire - Another Trip to China [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:33
We're Han Solo again but this time I'm sharing some thoughts from my trip to China in addition to the news. We've got stories about traffic lights in Japan, the creation of a new electric company, and housing costs. And…
Episode 551: Architectural Epidemiology [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:39
This week we're joined by Adele Houghton of the Harvard School of Public Health and Carlos Castillo-Salgado of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to discuss their new book Architectural Epidemiology: Arc…
Replay: Walking with Pedestrian Dignity [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:46
This week we're on vacation, but we're flashing back to Episode 391 and chatting with Jonathon Stalls about his wonderful book Walk: Slow Down, Wake Up, and Connect at 1-3 Miles Per Hour. He also talks about Pedestrian D…
Episode 550: Crash First, Fix Later Mentality [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:10
This week we're joined by former FHWA Deputy Administrator Andrew Rogers to discuss how congress can help reduce traffic deaths and collisions with the use of technology. We discuss the best time to influence congress on…
Episode 549: Reminiscing About the Future [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:23
This week we're joined once again by Sam Sargent of VTA for part 2 of a conversation about transit agencies and special projects and programs. Sam chats with us about Austin's light rail plans, Caltrain electrification a…
Episode 548: Wonders of the South Bay [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:25
This week on Talking Headways we're joined by Sam Sargent of VTA, formerly Caltrain and Capital Metro, for part 1 of a conversation about transit agencies and special projects and programs. This week Sam chats with us ab…