This is a brief excerpt from my appearance on the Real Finds podcast, last week. Within, we examine why walkability, livable neighborhoods, and human-scale environments should be top of mind for commercial real estate professionals and business owners.

Find the full hour here.

Thanks to Gordon Lamphere for the audio.

Road signs seem to get read less than a seventh-grade history textbook. Even the most ubiquitous, exact signs like — STOP — are seemingly up for interpretation (everyone is an artist now, or something). Unfortunately, we're not obeying those crafty yard signs that encourage slowing down, either. Signs that give dynamic feedback — thanks to a radar function that feeds a display board — do make an impact, but not enough. Thorough, safer urban design is the way to lower speeds, and thus lower pedestrian and bike fatalities and accidents.

The bottom line: we humans aren't good at judging the proper speed at which to drive. Whatever number is listed, we add nine-ish mph. We need an environment (streets) that demand driver caution, care, and presence.

Also, data to follow up on last week’s Tara Hill Drive conversation. Hint: traffic calming measures work (see links below).

We discuss:

00:00 Slow down: duck crossing.

01:38 Becoming desensitized to pedestrian safety?

02:28 Effectiveness of road signage.

07:31 Dynamic, electronic feedback signs.

10:07 Why we need urban design and traffic calming infrastructure.

10:59 Data on speed and fatalities on U.S. roads.

16:59 Case study follow up (from last week): traffic calming in Dublin, Ohio.

23:47 The new studio, soon.

25:57 Wrapping up.

For context:

On street sign design (via Behavioral Scientist).

On the chance of being killed by a car, correlated with vehicle speed (via ProPublica).

On the efficacy of radar speed signs (via Radarsign).

NHTSA speed data (via The League of American Bicyclists).

Tara Hill Drive (Dublin, Ohio), BEFORE the traffic calming implementations.

⁠Tara Hill Drive AFTER the traffic calming implementations.⁠

Reflecting on traffic calming infrastructure seen this week in suburban Dublin, Ohio, on Tara Hill Drive.

When car-dominated suburbs build infrastructure like neighborhood traffic circles, it's an acknowledgment that we surely know how to design safer streets, and thus every street designed on the contrary is an active choice against resident livability.

The road to stronger, safer, and more livable neighborhoods is not a mysterious one.

In addition, we briefly touch on an impactful Twitter thread from the week. It's on road accident death rates, how we compare to Russia (not good), and how to operate amongst the attributable dangers here in the states. The credit belongs to Mark Abraham, and you can find the thread here. It's worth your time.

We discuss:

00:00 Live from the new home: Columbus, Ohio!

02:27 Traffic calming measures spotted in suburban Columbus.

04:00 We know the proper way to design safe streets.

10:54 Rising traffic deaths in the U.S. (we've passed Russia).

14:21 Wrapping up.

Thanks for bearing with me during our studio move. Apologies for any sub-optimal sound, this week.

Live from the move from Tempe, Arizona to Columbus, Ohio: noting constant roadway maintenance, contextualizing intercity v. intracity transportation, and looking forward to getting out of this car.

Also, just a tad bit of CNU Cincy FOMO.

Steve Nash — NBA hall-of-famer and founder of BLOCK training — is in good traffic to chat on the concept of healthspan, and how quality of life and neighborhood design interconnect. We talk baking mobility and movement into everyday life, training intentionally, and stacking habits in a scalable way. Steve shares the framework and ethos behind his current endeavors with BLOCK, and origins in mobility training during his playing days and childhood.

Culdesac founder Ryan Johnson is also back on the show this week — he shares perspective on building walkable places in the U.S. that prioritize the health and habits that Steve champions.

We discuss:

00:00 Steve Nash and Ryan Johnson are in good traffic. 00:58 Healthspan definitions and pillars. 03:18 Healthspan in daily life. 04:28 The role of walkable communities in enhancing healthspan. 05:04 Moving from hall-of-fame pro athlete to founder of BLOCK training. 07:11 On the daily eight’ health habit builder. 18:08 The community element of BLOCK training. 25:42 Reflections on movement, mental health, and longevity. 29:16 Stress and coping mechanisms in professional sports. 32:39 How Steve Nash led through physical touch in the NBA. 41:03 Political polarization and walkable neighborhoods in the U.S. 57:05 Reflecting on walkable commutes.

Further context:

BLOCK training, Steve’s current project.

Healthspan, explained.

Some Steve Nash highlights, for good measure.

The study on Steve leading the NBA in physical touches with teammates.

Connect with Steve:

On Instagram.

On LinkedIn.

On Twitter.

Connect with Ryan:

On LinkedIn.

On Twitter.

Connecting with me, Brad:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠On Instagram.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠On TikTok⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠On LinkedIn⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Aly Marchant — my transit-taking girlfriend and a good traffic regular — is back for a walkthrough of being a women on public transportation. She shares recent challenges, protocols to help avoid and navigate uncomfortable situations, our collaboration towards mitigation as a couple, the role of young men, and optimism for female riders.

For context:

⁠Gender distribution of public transit travelers in the United States (via Statista).⁠

Connecting with me, Brad:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠On Instagram.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠On TikTok⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠On LinkedIn⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Expanding highways and adding lanes doesn't solve traffic. If it did, the cities that have been doing so for decades would have fixed their traffic woes. But, they're worse than ever.

Through the continuously misguided approach to transportation, we've learned a lot about the principle of induced demand, and Jevons paradox. In short, when we increase capacity in the name of efficiency, what we actually increase is demand and use. Thus, efficiency actually goes down.

What if we were to induce the demand for other methods of transportation? With more and better bike infrastructure, would we not see a rise in those biking? Paris has done just this, and it is working. Biking has now passed driving in the city, as a means of transportation.

Your move, *insert name of American city*.

For context:

A great walkthrough on why expanding highways doesn't solve traffic (via Business Insider).

Increased roadway capacity induces additional vehicle miles traveled in the short-run, and even more in the long-run (via National Center for Sustainable Transportation).

Shots of the Salt River Shore and Rio Salado Pathway in Phoenix, Arizona (via AllTrails).

Connecting with me, Brad:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠On Instagram.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠On TikTok⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠On LinkedIn⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This week, we briefly touch base on three prevailing sentiments, from recent comment sections:

1. There is a massive difference between a personal lifestyle choice, and a scalable development pattern.
2. Folks seem to think the only kind of real estate or housing that one can buy is a detached, single-family home on a large lot. Of course, this is not true.
3. "Not everyone wants to live in a city!" Yes, correct. Just as not everyone wants to live in any specific place. Yet, more people live in cities than anywhere else (>80% of the U.S. population (via Census.gov, UMich)). We need to plan, design, and build accordingly.

We also reflect on a weekend trip spent walking Salt Lake City neighborhoods, and observing positive infrastructure improvements amidst a sprawling metro.

One note: in this episode, we referenced episode 29, in conjunction with recent comment sections. We meant episode 28. Catch up on that audio here.

For context:

On Salt Lake City bike infrastructure improvements (via The Salt Lake Tribune).

A new SLC bus stop + buffered bike lane, approaching an intersection.

A protected intersection, in downtown Salt Lake City.

A UTA train pic (underrated, and greatly enjoyed).

Connecting with me, Brad:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠On Instagram.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠On TikTok⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠On LinkedIn⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠