When Driving Is Not an Option with Anna Zivarts

When Driving Is Not an Option with Anna Zivarts

Author: The War on Cars, LLC May 7, 2024 Duration: 40:55

The United States has built a transportation system centered around automobiles. But one-third of the nation's population can't drive, whether because of disability, age, financial hardship, immigration status, or any of a host of other factors. Those tens of millions of people are often invisible to planners and elected officials, and that's why Anna Letitia Zivarts, herself a low-vision nondriver and a longtime activist for better transportation choices, has written a new book titled When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency (Island Press). We talked with Anna about how, by designing our transportation future for those who can't or don't feel comfortable driving, we could build a system that works better for everyone and that would be more equitable, safer, and more environmentally sustainable.

*** Support The War on Cars on Patreon and receive access to ad-free versions of all our episodes, exclusive bonus content and stickers. ***

This episode was sponsored by Cleverhood. Listen to the episode for the latest discount code.

LINKS:

Buy Anna Zivarts's book, When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency, at The War On Cars Bookshop store or from your local bookseller.

You can follow Anna on X.

Buy t-shirts, stickers, hats and more in The War on Cars merch store. It's Bike Month so save 10% with code BIKEMONTH.

Find us on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.

Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps people find us!

This episode was recorded by Josh Wilcox at the Brooklyn Podcasting Studio. It was edited by Ali Lemer. Our theme music is by Nathaniel Goodyear. 

TheWarOnCars.org


Imagine a world not built around traffic jams and parking lots, but shaped for people. The War on Cars is a dispatch from the front lines of that effort, a collective conversation questioning the automobile’s dominance over our cities, our environment, and our daily lives. Each episode digs into the real-world fight to reclaim public space, examining everything from the politics of a new bike lane to the history of how cars came to rule. You’ll hear from urban planners, activists, historians, and ordinary people pushing back, offering a mix of sharp analysis, on-the-ground reporting, and compelling narratives. This isn’t just about transportation; it’s about the culture and societal choices that have led us here, and the tangible, often inspiring work to create safer, quieter, and more connected communities. Tune in for a thoughtful and necessary critique of the status quo, a podcast dedicated to the idea that our streets can-and should-be for so much more.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The War on Cars
Podcast Episodes
PREVIEW: Hanging Out with Jonathan Maus of Bike Portland [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:29
***This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, presale tickets to live shows, and more, be…
Dispatches from Book Tour, Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:00
We are back home in Brooklyn but we can't stop talking about everything we saw out on the road on our Life After Cars book tour. Listen for our takes on the second leg of our trip, which took us from Providence to Austin…
Dispatches from Book Tour [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:55
The last few weeks have been a whirlwind as we hit the road (not in a car) to promote our new book, Life After Cars, in some of the greatest cities of North America including San Francisco, Washington, DC, Seattle, Vanco…
The Creation of America's Car Culture [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:46
This episode is part of a special series called "Changing American Car Culture" funded with the generous support of The Helen and William Mazer Foundation. As historian Peter Norton documents in his book, Fighting Traffi…
PREVIEW: A Talk with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:14
This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, presale tickets to live shows, and more, becom…
Welcome to Life After Cars [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:58
Today we celebrate the publication of our new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves From the Tyranny of the Automobile. In this episode, we serve up a sample of the audiobook and talk about some of the things we learn…
The War on the War on Cars with Ted Mann [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:16
In this episode, we talk about the Trump Administration's full-on financial assault on all the modes of transportation we hold dear here at The War on Cars. Biking, walking, public transit—basically, anything deemed "hos…
Cities for Children with Tim Gill [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:45
Tim Gill is a London-based independent scholar, writer and consultant on childhood, and a global advocate for children's play and mobility. He is the author of Urban Playground: How Child-Friendly Urban Planning and Desi…
PREVIEW: The Cars of TikTok [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:42
This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, presale tickets to live shows, and more, becom…
Political Courage with Brad Lander [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:51
Brad Lander has been a fixture in New York's progressive political scene for nearly two decades now, and has earned a reputation as a strong advocate for bike lanes, bike share, driver accountability, and congestion pric…