Inside the Politics of ‘Safer Streets’

Inside the Politics of ‘Safer Streets’

Author: Strong Towns May 6, 2026 Duration: 49:01
What if the street itself did most of the work of slowing cars, instead of another sign or speed trap? Drawing on a new Bloomberg CityLab piece, Carlee Alm‑LaBar is joined by Edward Erfurt and Ann Arbor’s transportation manager, Malisa McCreedy, to talk about what these deaths say about speed, design, and the values baked into our networks. They explore why Vision Zero efforts struggle, how Ann Arbor is embedding safety into every project, and why planners and engineers often hesitate to talk openly about crashes, using Ann Arbor’s crash analysis studio, university partnerships, and quick‑build projects to show how a city can respond more directly to serious crashes. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES "Searching for the ‘Smoking Gun’ in US Pedestrian Deaths" by David Zipper, Bloomberg.com (April 2026) Downzone: City of Ann Arbor Hosting Crash Analysis Studio (Site) 2026 APA National Planning Conference (Site) "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens (Site) Strong Towns National Gathering (Site) Carlee Alm-LaBar (LinkedIn) Edward Erfurt (LinkedIn) Malisa McCreedy (LinkedIn) Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Join fellow members discussing this episode in The Commons.

Each week, Upzoned takes a single, pressing story from the world of urban development, municipal policy, and community economics and holds it up to the light. Hosts Abby Kinney and Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns, sometimes joined by a guest, don't just skim the headlines. They dig into the nuances of a specific zoning decision, a new infrastructure project, or a shifting demographic trend, asking what it reveals about how we actually build our cities, towns, and neighborhoods. The conversation is grounded in the practical, bottom-up philosophy of the Strong Towns movement, making complex topics accessible and immediately relevant. This isn't a broad news recap; it's a focused, thoughtful dissection for anyone curious about why their community looks and functions the way it does. You'll hear informed debate, critical analysis, and a persistent questioning of conventional wisdom, all aimed at understanding how we can create places that are financially resilient and genuinely enriching for the people who live in them. Tune in for a deeper, more substantive take on the stories that shape our shared spaces.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Upzoned
Podcast Episodes
When a Town's Biggest Taxpayer Becomes Its Biggest Problem [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Duration: 1:00:44
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LA Just Avoided 1600 Layoffs. Is That a Good Thing? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:14
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Duration: 29:49
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Duration: 46:30
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Duration: 40:26
For years, investors and speculators shaped Canada's housing market. But now, people who actually live in those homes are beginning to have more influence. Today, Abby is joined by Norm Van Eeden Petersman, Strong Towns'…
How Mortgage Fraud Makes the Housing Market More Expensive [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:00
Several high-profile members of the government have been accused of committing mortgage fraud recently, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Today, Chuck and Abby explore ho…
Are Sponge Cities the Flood Control Fix We Need? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:12
Join Abby and guest John Pattison as they dive into the benefits and drawbacks of "sponge cities," cities that incorporate natural features like wetlands into their stormwater management infrastructure. Is this method mo…
Why Data Center Electricity Use "Scares Me to the Bone" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:33
Data centers power everything from cloud computing to artificial intelligence, and they use a massive amount of electricity, sometimes even rivaling major cities. Watchdogs claim that tech companies aren’t absorbing the…