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Andy Boenau

@urbanismspeakeasy.com

When I'm not engineering safe & healthy streets, I'm running my mouth about it. urbanismspeakeasy.com

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17.11.2024
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Latest posts by Andy Boenau @urbanismspeakeasy.com

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We need to rethink our love affair with big vehicles It's time for U.S. drivers to have difficult conversations about the data showing the dangers of large vehicles like pickup trucks and SUVs.

Putting already careless and reckless drivers in large vehicles without any sort of demonstrated skill is asking for trouble.

www.fastcompany.com/91496840/we-...

07.03.2026 18:31 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Begin with the [photogenic] end in mind Planners and engineers need to visualize the future human experience of their infrastructure improvements.

Lunch-break analysis should happen long before rush hour traffic analysis.

open.substack.com/pub/speakeas...

03.03.2026 00:27 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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The β€˜time is money’ mantra is a terrible starting point for planning and designing infrastructure Building a human-scale city means designing towards outcomes that enable people to flourish.

Productivity, and alleged lost productivity, has driven most of the conversation around traffic congestion and sprawl in the United States. While β€œtime is money” is true in some contexts, it’s a terrible starting point for planning transportation systems.

www.fastcompany.com/91496835/tim...

01.03.2026 23:17 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

You're on the internet. Did you take a look around to see if there's any evidence that AVs won't kill 100+ people every day in the US?

01.03.2026 23:16 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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If technology could bring traffic fatalities down to nearly zero, why not embrace it? Autonomous vehicles programmed to operate safely are part of the quest to design for human flourishing.

There are absolutely valid concerns about autonomous vehicles. But remember that humans are causing a public health crisis that kills tens of thousands every year.

www.fastcompany.com/91485413/if-...

27.02.2026 11:31 πŸ‘ 10 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 1
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Solve one problem, create another About those A-pillars you keep reading about...

open.substack.com/pub/speakeas...

23.02.2026 11:50 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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People seem to be clueless about everything they *can't* see while driving modern SUVs and pick-ups.

23.02.2026 11:50 πŸ‘ 15 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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I think it was Frank Drebin who wisely said free parking and Drano both have benefits.

22.02.2026 23:00 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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If you’re like most drivers, public transit is for other people.

But here’s the thing: investing in better buses and trains could make your commute faster and less stressful, without you ever setting foot on one.

open.substack.com/pub/speakeas...

22.02.2026 13:47 πŸ‘ 51 πŸ” 15 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Whether you use it or not, better public transit makes your commute better A surprisingly small drop in cars on the road can dramatically ease congestion, and public transit is one way to get there.

A surprisingly small drop in cars on the roadβ€”just 5-10%β€”can dramatically ease congestion, and public transit is one of the most effective ways to get that drop.
www.fastcompany.com/91493803/whe...

21.02.2026 13:10 πŸ‘ 36 πŸ” 12 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1
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Every day on social media:

20.02.2026 11:36 πŸ‘ 25 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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Psy-ops built car culture To change a built environment, it's helpful to understand the power of persuasion by looking at the rise of American car culture.

Once upon a time, did Americans flock to dealerships out of pure needβ€”or were they herded by subversive forces? Was it free will or predestination?

www.fastcompany.com/91480898/psy...

18.02.2026 11:36 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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Psy-ops built car culture To change a built environment, it's helpful to understand the power of persuasion by looking at the rise of American car culture.

The automobile’s rise was a master class in what the military would call a psychological operation, a psy-op. In a flash, the β€œhousehold automobile” became the β€œpersonal automobile,” thanks to advertising genius that turned utility into aspiration.

www.fastcompany.com/91480898/psy...

12.02.2026 02:14 πŸ‘ 13 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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State lawmakers don't realize they're making life more dangerous for school-aged kids. www.fastcompany.com/91480894/is-...

In VA, some politicians are threatening to ban safety cameras even though:

07.02.2026 13:27 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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What is Complete Streets design, and why should we all be using it? Over 1,700 American communities have adopted Complete Streets policies, and cities that implement them will see real results.

Lessons from the cockpit that was designed to fit zero pilots.

www.fastcompany.com/91481684/wha...

31.01.2026 14:49 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
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America has a looming highway budget crisis The Congressional Budget Office projects that balances in both the highway and transit accounts of the Highway Trust Fund will be exhausted in 2028.

The Highway Trust Fund is in a state of bankruptcy, but we keep chugging along as if there’s no real financial urgency.

www.fastcompany.com/91469982/ame... @fastcompany.com

23.01.2026 11:41 πŸ‘ 12 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2
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Want more people to use public transit? Make it safer If people don’t feel safe and secure on public transit, they’re going to do what they can to opt out.

When people don’t feel secure on public transit, they opt out.

Some of you will want to get defensive about real vs. perceived security, but you can't ignore human nature. Go the extra mile to improve transit conditions.

www.fastcompany.com/91469963/wan... @fastcompany.com

17.01.2026 21:08 πŸ‘ 14 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
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Opinion: Stop Asking If People Want to Ride Bikes β€” Streetsblog USA "We shouldn’t be aiming to nudge a few percentage points in public opinion. Our goal should be to make freedom of mobility so compelling that people demand it."

We shouldn’t be aiming to nudge a few percentage points in public opinion. Our goal should be to make freedom of mobility so compelling that people demand it.

usa.streetsblog.org/2026/01/13/o...

14.01.2026 02:27 πŸ‘ 14 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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The business case for stealing your house and other fairy tales about the "greater good"

I hope you feel something between discomfort and rage when you hear about people being forced to let a road widening take over their front yard, or being forced to move out of their home to make way for some corporation.

www.urbanismspeakeasy.com/p/the-busine...

05.01.2026 01:05 πŸ‘ 12 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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The purpose of zoning is what it does A system designed for order ended up shredding the economic and social fabric of American communities.

Zoning will keep killing the squirrels.

www.urbanismspeakeasy.com/p/the-purpos...

28.12.2025 19:06 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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The case against eminent domain Eminent domain, or taking property by force, is a power move that opens up all your other rights and protections for grabs.

After the Kelo case, many states reconsidered the whole "greater good" defense of eminent domain. But there are still lots of loopholes for taking property by force.

www.fastcompany.com/91463687/cas...

26.12.2025 15:46 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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The case against eminent domain Eminent domain, or taking property by force, is a power move that opens up all your other rights and protections for grabs.

In many states, you can get kicked out of your home if the local government thinks someone else will generate more tax revenue.

My latest in @fastcompany.com

www.fastcompany.com/91463687/cas...

24.12.2025 21:20 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Our built environment is exacerbating the loneliness crisis The psychological cost of zoning.

Local regulations created (and continue to create) car-oriented sprawl in cities and the suburbs. This has been going on for nearly 100 years without taking a foot off the brake.

Planners need to confront zoning as the Villain.

www.fastcompany.com/91463800/bui...

21.12.2025 13:31 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Why zoning does more harm than good In spite of all its harms, the zoning paradigm remains resilient among the experts.

"Normal science" is the activity in which most scientists spend almost all of their time, and it's predicated on the assumption that the scientific community knows what the world is like. Zoning has a "normal science" problem.

www.fastcompany.com/91460628/zon...

20.12.2025 12:43 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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I still can't believe Trump is going to Make Trucks Great Again. πŸ™Œ

19.12.2025 12:03 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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What the Berlin Wall teaches urban reformers You can't hold onto cynicism if you allow yourself to learn the history of the built environment.

When you study history, you can’t help but be overwhelmed by how often things get better in the endβ€”and how quickly the transformation can happen once it begins.

www.fastcompany.com/91450326/ber...

16.12.2025 01:32 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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Claim: Zoning helps more people than it hurts.

Evidence: Zoning hurts more people than it helps.

Planning Inc: Let’s keep trying more zoning.

13.12.2025 23:35 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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The anti-planning heretics can save planning Planning Inc. would do itself a favor by considering why its heroes aren't products of Planning Inc.

It’s disappointing that the intellectual energy to improve the built environment is still coming from outside Planning Inc. or from planners who first had to unlearn much of what they were taught.

open.substack.com/pub/speakeas...

10.12.2025 12:04 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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The safest intersection on Earth (and why half the infrastructure profession hates it) Roundabouts happen to be a very important issue where emotions cloud good judgment.

When the engineers became pro-roundabout, the planners became roundabout skeptics or flat-out anti-roundabout.

www.fastcompany.com/91448151/rou...

09.12.2025 13:56 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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The anti-planning heretics can save planning Planning Inc. would do itself a favor by considering why its heroes aren't products of Planning Inc.

Planning Inc. would do itself a favor by considering why its heroes aren't products of Planning Inc.

open.substack.com/pub/speakeas...

09.12.2025 12:24 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0