The Missing Ingredients In America's 'Minimobility' Revolution (Benjie De La Peña and Karina Ricks)

The Missing Ingredients In America's 'Minimobility' Revolution (Benjie De La Peña and Karina Ricks)

Author: StreetsblogUSA February 11, 2025 Duration: 30:28

What's a little bigger than a bike, a lot smaller than a car, and might be the tool you didn't know you needed to get a big haul home from the grocery store two miles away in the pouring rain? The answer is actually an entire category of vehicles that aren't common on U.S. roads — but with the right mix of policy, code, and infrastructure reform, we could see a lot more of them.

Today on the Brake, we sit down with Karina Ricks of CityFi and Benjie De La Peña of the Shared Use Mobility Center to talk about all things mini-mobility, also known as light urban vehicles (LUVs), personal light moblity (PLMs), Neighboorhood Electric vehicles, (NEVs), and about a million other acronyms. Whatever you call them, Ricks and De La Peña recently won a $750,000 federal grant to help American communities encourage their use – only to find out, days later, that the grant might be in jeopardy thanks to President Trump's executive orders. 

Listen in to learn more about their project and how you can help keep it alive. 

 

 

 


You hear a lot about electric cars and futuristic transit, but what about the fundamental shift required to build cities where driving isn't a daily necessity? That's the terrain explored on The Brake: A Streetsblog Podcast. Hosted by the team at StreetsblogUSA, this series moves beyond the headlines to engage with the activists, planners, writers, and community members who are actively reimagining American streets. Each conversation digs into the real-world work of dismantling car dependency, examining the policy choices, cultural norms, and historical decisions that got us here. The discussions are grounded in the intersecting categories of society, commentary, culture, and news, offering a nuanced lens on everything from bike lane debates and public transit equity to the subtle ways our built environment shapes daily life. This isn't just a technical talk about infrastructure; it's about the human stories and the political movement fighting for safer, more connected, and less congested communities. Tune in for a podcast that acts as a vital pit stop for understanding the complex, often frustrating, but ultimately hopeful push to take our foot off the gas and build a different future.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 89

The Brake: A Streetsblog Podcast
Podcast Episodes
How 'Community Mobility Rituals' Can Transform Your Neighborhood [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:47
Neighborhood walking tours, group bike rides, and organized strolls in the park aren't typically thought of as front-line strategies to break a city's dependence on automobiles. Some advocates argue that without events l…
Why Sustainable Transportation Advocates Need to Talk About Zoning [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:55
The humble zoning code may be the single most important tool that sustainable transportation advocates can wield in the fight to end car dependence ... if they can make heads or tails of their communities' hundreds of pa…
Episode 5: Where Do Great Bus Stops Come From? (Mary Buchanan) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:43
Streetsblog's America's Best Bus Stops Contest is down to its final two contenders. Nationwide, though, the United States have a lot more sorry stops than good ones — and to understand how our top two wonderful waiting a…