Ep 20 | Fighting for Livable Streets in NYC with Sara Lind of Open Plans

Ep 20 | Fighting for Livable Streets in NYC with Sara Lind of Open Plans

Sara Lind, co-executive director of Open Plans, joins the show to talk about what it actually takes to redesign New York City's streets around people instead of cars. From the near-miss with a car while pushing her son in a stroller that sparked her advocacy, to running for city council, to leading one of NYC's most active livable streets organizations, Sara brings both personal urgency and policy depth to the conversation. We dig into the state of NYC's bike infrastructure — why a connected network of protected lanes matters more than any single lane — and what congestion pricing has meant for traffic, emissions, and everyday life in Manhattan. Sara also shares Open Plans' work on bike busses and school streets, the ongoing battle over sidewalk trash containerization, and why she thinks more urbanists should consider running for office.

Ep 19 | Can San Antonio Build Rail? SART Makes the Case

NOTE: I apologize for the audio, I had some new LAV mics and the sensitivity was too high. San Antonio is one of the largest cities in the U.S. without a rail transit system — but a growing coalition wants to change that. San Antonians for Rail Transit (SART) joins Cities in Motion to talk about what a rail future could look like for the Alamo City, why the political and demographic conditions may finally be aligning, and how grassroots advocacy is building the pressure needed to make it happen. SART Instagram https://www.instagram.com/railforsanantonio/ SART Website [https://www.railforsanantonio.com/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPOTM2NjE5NzQzMzkyNDU5AAGn1ER3_P60tQLAXy-wPu-Bo5i9__QpFkPrhg9UBW0KGYK5jxQt3GkI_de3AY8_aem_R9rBA8FUro28RbkLPR03OQ]

Ep 18 | Planning San Antonio's Future with Prof. Sarah Serpas, UTSA Department of Planning

What does it take to plan a city that actually works for people? I go on a tour with Prof. Sarah Serpas of the UTSA Department of Planning to explore how the next generation of planners is being trained — and what that means for the future of San Antonio and beyond. UTSA Urband and Regional Planning Department https://www.instagram.com/utsa_urbanplanning/

Ep 17 | Car-Free Community Trusts: Building Intentional Urban Living

What if your neighborhood was designed around people and not cars? Brett "Hans" McMurdy joins the show to unpack the Car-Free Community Trust model: a bold approach to urban living that combines cohousing, coworking, and car-free design into intentional communities built on renovated urban properties. We explore how CFCTs tackle affordability, sustainability, and community wealth-building—and why ditching the car might be the key to reimagining how we live together. Substack https://carfreecommunities.substack.com/p/what-is-a-cfct-how-a-car-free-community?utm_medium=web Instagram https://www.instagram.com/car_free_community_trust/

Ep 16 | Fixing the Alamo City: Joey Pawlik from Activate SA

San Antonio is one of the fastest-growing cities in America but is it growing in the right direction? Joey Pawlik, founder of ActivateSA, joins the show to talk about what it takes to build an urban advocacy movement from the ground up, why San Antonio's car-dependent development pattern is costing residents more than they realize, and what a more walkable, connected Alamo City could actually look like. Follow Activate SA on instagram and find their website https://activatesa.org/ Follow Cities in Motion on instagram, youtube and join our discord!