Podcasts on urban mobility and urban issues: a LONG list

Here is my list of podcasts on urban mobility and urban issues. 

Please use the comments to send tips or corrections.

If you are not yet a regular podcast listener, you need to download a podcast-listening app to your phone, tablet or desktop and subscribe to the podcasts that interest you (it's free).

UPDATE 1: This list has many podcasts but obviously I hope you will try mine! They are Reinventing Transport and Reinventing Parking.

UPDATE 2: I have added FOURTY THREE more since this was first published.

Urban Transport Podcasts with a Broad Scope

Autonocast: "A weekly show discussing the future of  transportation technology" with hosts Alex Roy, Kirsten Korosec and E.W. Niedermeyer.

CoMotion Podcast: "Your regular glimpse into the future of urban mobility". Associated with LA CoMotion, an annual Expo and Festival that brings together the brave new world of the urban mobility revolution. Usually hosted by Greg Lindsay. An initiative of NewCities. USA.

ITE Talks: Collaboration between the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and Bernie Wagenblast (see also Transportation Radio). Monthly interviews with thought leaders in transportation. USA.

The Mobility Podcast: "A wonky podcast about transportation, technology, and policy" by Greg Rogers, Gregory Rodriguez and Pete Gould. Started in 2017. Mostly USA-focused.

The Movement Podcast: Aims to talk to 'industry leaders, elected officials, private sector influencers, and relentless advocates who are doing the hard work to make our future green, accessible, and equitable.' From TransLoc and hosted by National Policy Director, Josh Cohen. USA.

Reinventing Transport: by me! Urban transport change-making help and encouragement.  Produced by an Australian living in Singapore but aimed at an International audience. [Why not sign up for email updates now?]

StreetTalks Podcast: Brand new show from the UK non-profit (charity), Sustrans, which is devoted to making it easier for people to walk and cycle. Just one episode so far: an interview with Jon Orcutt on Transforming New York's Streets. Content will likely be mostly UK but the first episode is on NYC!

Talking Headways: I always listen to this excellent long-running weekly show about "sustainable transportation and urban design" hosted by Jeff Wood. Despite the name, it's mostly about mobility issues and urban design issues that are closely connected with mobility. Mostly USA but with some international content too now and then. The same feed now also includes a second show, Talking Headways on Mondays.

Transportation Radio: by Bernie Wagenblast with interviews on a variety of transportation topics.  Mostly USA.

University of Oxford Transport Studies Unit podcast: Recordings of selected guest lectures and special lectures at the Transport Studies Unit since 2009. Various eminent transport researchers are represented here. Mostly UK and Europe.

The War on Cars: Entertaining and hard-hitting new podcast about cities and transport from Sarah Goodyear (writer), Doug Gordon (Brooklyn Spoke), and Aaron Naparstek (founder of Streetsblog). Has a USA focus, especially New York City, but will be of wider interest.

Urban Planning, Design or Policy Podcasts with a Broad Scope

Most of these sometimes also tackle urban transport issues and the various urban issues that are very closely linked with urban transport.

American Planning Association (APA) podcast:   This show has a recent series on 'Planning the Autonomous Future' and also featured Jarrett Walker (Human Transit) in a recent episode. USA.

99% Invisible: a highly popular and professional podcast focused on design. Three of the eight categories are "cities", "architecture" and "infrastructure" so many episodes have an urban focus. "99% Invisible about all the thought that goes into the things we don’t think about — the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world."

Cityscapes: podcasts with guest speakers at events organized by the Committee for Sydney. Featured Todd Litman of VTPI in September 2017 for example.

Infinite Earth Radio:  Interviews with people "working to build smarter, more equitable, sustainable, and prosperous communities through social and economic inclusion that values the contribution of all citizens and seeks meaningful lives for everyone." Especially noteworthy is their series of episodes on urban resilience in collaboration with Island Press. 

Invisible City: excellent while it lasted! [This excellent podcast is back with a new series, so I have promoted it back here from the dormant list below.] A podcast about city design with Jennifer Keesmaat (Toronto's former chief planner). North America.

It's the Litttle Things: a new podcast from Strong Towns that aims to give you the wisdom and encouragement you need to take the small yet powerful actions that can make your city or town stronger. It’s the Little Things will feature Strong Towns Community Builder Jacob Moses in conversation with various guests who have taken action in their own places and in their own ways. USA.

The Life-Sized City: By Mikael  Colville-Andersen (formerly of Copenhagenize). A spin-off from his urbanism TV series of the same name. The podcast features interviews with people met while making those shows. International.

A new Market Urbanism podcast: From the people behind the Market Urbanism Report. [The original Market Urbanism podcast has been dormant for more than a year. This new one will start in Sept. 2018. It is from a different team and will have a new rss feed.]  

Planners Under the Influence Podcast: A podcast about becoming urban planners. Jan Gehl said it best: “A good city is like a good party”. Out of Melbourne, Australia.

Planning Ideas that Matter: the podcast of dusp@MIT (Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass., United States).

The Skylines Podcast: from CityMetric. "Every two weeks, Jonn Elledge, colleagues and guests talk about the politics and workings of cities, and test the contention that maps are a great topic for radio." UK based but often with international content.

The Smart Community Podcast: About 'Smart Communities and Smart Regions ... that use technology as an enabler to make the places we live more accessible liveable and sustainable for all.' From Australia but with an international scope.

The Strong Towns Podcast: A strong show ... from the Strong Towns movement which is "challenging every American to fundamentally rethink how our cities are built." Usually hosted by Rachel Quednau or Chuck Marohn. USA.

Talking About Cities podcast: Kresge's Carol Coletta unearths innovative ideas for making cities successful and interviews the people behind them. USA.

360 degree city: 360° City is a podcast that explores the city from every angle. By the folks at Intelligent Futures, a team of planners, designers and urbanists in Calgary, Canada.

Upzoned: another new podcast from Strong Towns (see above).  In Upzoned, Kea Wilson, Chuck Marohn, and occasional surprise guests, talk in depth about just one big story from the week in the Strong Towns conversation. USA.

Urban Broadcast Collective: a a curated network of podcast and radio shows on everything urban (currently all the member podcasts are by academics in Australia). Includes for example the City Road Podcast, the (Sub)Urbanista Podcast and This Must Be the Place (by Dr Elizabeth Taylor and often featuring parking policy content). Australia.

Urban Squeeze: Podcast of the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) radio show from Griffith University planning experts Jason Byrne and Tony Matthews. Tackles diverse land-use, strategic, environmental, energy and transport planning issues. Australia.

The Urbanist: from UK media and magazine company Monacle. "Monocle’s guide to making better cities, be it new technology, state-of-the-art subways or compact apartments."  A UK source but the content is thoroughly international.

The WRI podcast:  Conversations with World Resources Institute experts and other guests on 'the world’s most pressing problems at the nexus of environment, economic growth and human well-being.' Often focuses on cities and the work of the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.

Other Transport Podcasts

Falling under this heading is no judgement on quality or value. It just means these shows are not as broad in focus or geography. By the way, I have omitted a long list of cycling podcasts that seem to focus mostly on sport or recreational cycling and various motor-vehicle fan podcasts (there are at least two podcasts devoted to Teslas alone).

AITPM podcast: from the Australian Institute of Traffic Planning and Management (AITPM), the organization for practitioners in traffic and transport planning and management in Australia.

Asymcar: by 5by5. Horace Dediu and Jim Zellmer discuss the politics, processes and possibilities of cars in light of a long list of recent trends, including the rise of the "App Economy".

The Bike Nerds podcast: "Conversations with community leaders and how bicycling is making cities better."  USA.

The Bike Show:  A weekly radio show about cycling, which has been broadcast in central London on radio art station Resonance 104.4fm since 2004. Often features ‘rolling interviews’ (a bike ride combined with a live interview)! UK.

CIHT Podcast: from the Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT). Mostly UK.

Family Pedals: an interview based podcast featuring families living car-free or car-lite. USA.

The Flying Car Show: Radio show on the San Francisco Bay Area's KGO 810. Transportation futures, innovation and developments with a focus on the Bay Area.

Fully Charged: vodcast featuring electric vehicle reviews (and some renewable energy discussion) with Robert Llewellyn. UK.

Here to There podcast: "Stories about what commuting in the Twin Cities is and what it could be."
Series one, with ten episodes, is now complete. Each episode had a distinct theme (accessibility, affordability, sustainability, equity, etc.) and an interesting format. Twin Cities, Minnesota. USA

The Infrastructure Show: A monthly podcast about USA infrastructure but often includes urban transport issues. For example, the March 2018 edition focused on Bus Rapid Transit. Topics include: roads, bridges, rail, dams, transit, energy, inland waterways, wastes, and more. USA.

Micromobility podcast: Explores the disruption to urban transport that comes from new electric, lightweight utility vehicles. Using the history of computing as a framework, we unpack how e-bikes, scooters and more will change how people get around cities.

On Our Line podcast: by London Reconnections and mostly on London public transport but also sometimes other cities, such as New York City in a recent series. Intermittent. UK.

Parker-X: A Parking Industry Podcast. USA mainly.

The Parking Podcast: A podcast about the $100 billion parking industry and the people that make it go. By Isaiah Mouw. Mainly USA.

Reinventing Parking: another podcast by me, Paul Barter. Sister podcast to the Reinventing Transport podcasts. The two will go out in alternating weeks. Reinventing Parking is about parking policy but for anyone who wants a better city and better urban transport.

Researching Transit: Join Professor Graham Currie and Laura Aston as they speak to world leading public transport researchers. Produced by the Public Transport Research Group at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.

Seattle Transit Blog podcast: an occasional podcast from the Seattle Transit Blog, Seattle region, Washington, USA.

The Spokesmen Cycling podcast: Podcasting on cycling since 2006, featuring cycling media personalities, manufacturers, journalists observers, and others. Urban bicycle policy is a frequent topic.

Streets.MN podcast. Streets.mn is dedicated to expanding the conversation about land use and transportation issues in the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota. USA.

TransitInsight: A discussion of all things mass transit by three transit industry professionals, Paul Ballard, Edward Johnson and Jim McAteer. USA.

Transit Unplugged:  Interviews with senior public transport (transit) leaders from across the USA.

TransitMatters: this podcast is now just a once-per-month segment diving into transit issues on CommonWealth Magazine's weekly podcast series on Massachusetts politics and policy (Codcast). Boston, Mass., USA.

Transport Evolved: Vodcast focusing on Electric Vehicles. UK.

Walkcast: Tim Querengesser "talks walkability in cities by walking it". Each episode takes experts and people passionate about cities out on a walk to talk about what's working as they do so, what isn't, and what needs to change. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

YarraBUG show: Explores all the best things about being on a bike! An initiative of the YarraBUG (Bicycle User Group) in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Other Urban Planning, Design or Policy Podcasts

Black Kids in Outer Space: A show about "urban planning, walking, bicycling, public transit, afrofuturism, in our space." USA.

The Black Urbanist Radio Show: Kristen Jeffers on "design, urban planning, transportation, architecture and life as black woman in the modern world, plus people, places and spaces from throughout the African Diaspora." USA.

CityCast: the smart cities podcast from CityVerve Manchester’s smart city demonstrator.  Manchester, UK.

City of the Future: an (ahem) future podcast from Sidewalk Labs that will explore the innovations, ideas, and technologies that are set to transform our cities. "Coming soon" in 2018. North America mainly.

DnA: Design and Architecture: "reports on the design and urbanism trends that shape our lives, in Los Angeles and beyond. Hosted by Frances Anderton and produced by Avishay Artsy, the show is global in outlook, but local in focus: Los Angeles, a laboratory for intense creativity as well as friction over what direction the region should take. Los Angeles, USA.

Electric Cities: Urban Land Institute (ULI) Toronto presents Electric Cities, a podcast about land development and planning across the Toronto region.

Gimme Shelter: CALmatters’ data reporter Matt Levin and Los Angeles Times housing reporter Liam Dillon chat about the latest developments in California housing policy and interview a key housing newsmaker each episode. California, USA.

Indigenous Urbanism: Indigenous Urbanism is a place-based storytelling podcast about the spaces we inhabit, and the community drivers and practitioners who are shaping those environments and decolonising through design. Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Infill: by the Yimby Party in San Francisco (or is it now from Yimby Action?). Pro-Housing-Construction activism. YIMBY=Yes In My Back Yard. Mostly San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA.

The Intersection: "Series of audio documentaries explores the contours of change in the Bay Area and in cities in general. One corner, one person and one story at a time." San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA.

Isn't That Spatial: "A podcast dedicated to casual geography and the spatial component of whatever." Many episodes focus on urban spatial issues. USA.

Moving Block: Interview show about urban planning, transportation, politics, and more. New York City, USA.

Open During Construction:  Conversations about City-building at the intersection of planning and engineering. Michelle Berquist, Rob Muir and Muneef Ahmad reflect on stories behind-the-scenes of "Plangineering" projects. Looks like it is mostly focused on the Toronto region, Ontario, Canada.

PlanningXChange:  An interview podcast promoting a better understanding of urban affairs and city design. Produced in Victoria, Australia with mainly but not only Melbourne and Victoria-focused content.

Price Talks: Podcast from Vancouver, BC's Price Tags blog featuring Gordon Price (and other Price Tags editors and contributors) talking to leaders in urbanism, politics and transportation from the Metro Vancouver region, and beyond.

Project Happicities: Just one episode so far. Aimed at achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the New Urban Agenda, with a focus on urban India.

The Promise: a limited-run series from Nashville Public Radio about life in public housing, smack in the middle of a city on the rise.

Reinventing Parking: see above. Parking straddles urban planning and transport.

Seoul Urbanism on TBS eFM’s Koreascape: Each month Colin Marshall (a Seoul-based essayist, broadcaster, and public speaker on cities, language, and culture) joins Kurt Achin, host of Koreascape on Seoul’s English-language radio station TBS eFM, for an exploration of one of Seoul’s urban spaces.

Small Scale City podcast: The podcast, formerly known as Built Blocks, about cities, architecture, nature, and the built environment. Includes developer interviews, project profiles, preservation news, urban farming, and stories about how to make neighborhoods and our Main Streets a better place. USA.

Smart Cities Week podcast: Each episode of the Smart Cities Week Podcast features smart city experts talking about the latest trends and what to expect at this year’s Smart Cities Weeks which take place in several cities around the world.

Sound Waves: by Patrick McDonnell.  Stories about Urbanism, Design, Government, and Tech. Daily happenings, things I looking into, deconstructions, and life in Anchorage. Alaska, USA.

Spacing Radio: the podcast of Canadian urban issues magazine, Spacing.

Sprawlcast: A collaboration between the Sprawl (online journalism site) and CJSW. Goes deep on local stories and conversations. Frequent urbanism focus. Hosted by Jeremy Klaszus. Calgary, Canada.

There Goes the Neighborhood: An in-depth look at gentrification in L.A. (Season 2) and Brooklyn (Season 1) from WNYC Studios. USA.

Urban.com.au podcast: Insights on property development issues in Australian cities.

Urban Talk: Focused discussion with urbanists from diverse backgrounds as research, academia, media and governance, mostly focusing on Pakistan. Hosted by Dr. Adeel Muhammad, LSE Cities. Based in the UK but focused on Pakistan.

Why Isn't Anyone Talking About This?: A podcast/exploration of justice and the built environment. USA - especially but not only Oregon.

Dormant or 'Podfaded' Transport and Urbanist Shows

It is not easy to keep a regular podcast going. Life intervenes. The podcasts below seem to have faded for now.  But you can still check out their old episodes.

BikePortland Podcast: (currently in hiatus). BikePortland.org is an independent daily news source that covers the Portland bike scene. Portland, Oregon, USA.

Clean Transportation Podcast:  Occasional interviews, presentations, and general discussion on clean transportation policy issues worldwide. From the International Council on Clean Transportation. International.

CNU Podcast:  from the Congress for the New Urbanism. USA.

Critical Transit: for critical analysis of transportation topics and interviews with planners and advocates working for high quality transit all over the USA. Was replaced by the TransitMatters Podcast. USA.

Knight Cities Podcast: Carol Coletta of Knight Foundation unearthed innovative ideas for making cities successful and interviewed the people behind them.

The KunstlerCast: Strictly speaking, this is not really a podfaded show since James Howard Kunstler still podcasts under this title. But, with occasional exceptions, it now only rarely focuses on urbanism or urban planning issues. The older, more urban-focused series of this show is archived here.

Market Urbanism podcast: [Note: this Market Urbanism podcast has been dormant for more than a year but ANOTHER Market Urbanism podcast is about to appear from September 2018 with a different rss feed and team.] From the writers at the website of the same name, which refers to the synthesis of classical liberal economics and ethics (market), with an appreciation of the urban way of life and its benefits to society (urbanism). USA and beyond sometimes.

Metropolis podcast:  A podcast about life in Canadian cities. Produced by Metro News and co-hosted by Matt Elliott and Luke Simcoe. Canada.

Parksify podcast: "The Parksify Podcast interviews planners, urbanists, and authors about our cities' public spaces and their impacts on the communities we live in."  USA.

Placemakers podcast: a season of shows from Slate magazine. USA.

Planning and Zoning News Podcast: News related to Urban Planning and Zoning. USA.

Smart City Radio:  Smart City was a weekly, hour-long public radio talk show that took an in-depth look at urban life, the people, places, ideas and trends shaping cities. Host Carol Coletta talked with national and international public policy experts, elected officials, economists, business leaders, artists, developers, planners and others for a penetrating discussion of urban issues.

Third Wave Urbanism: A podcast highlighting the new normal of urbanism in our globalized cities, as told by two female urbanists Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman and Kristen Jeffers (see the Black Urbanist Radio Show above). USA.

Transit Trends (vodcast): by Moovel US moovel's online show that covers all topics trending in the world of transportation. USA mostly.

Urban Edge from the Rice University Kinder Institute for Urban Research in Houston, Texas, USA.

Urbanism Speakeasy: by Andy Boenau about human-scale planning + design. USA.


Phew! Have I got anything wrong here or missed any urban transport or urbanism podcasts? If so, tell me in a comment. 

UPDATE: I have just noticed that LVBLCITY has an older list of urbanism podcasts that also points to various specific episodes that have an urban focus within podcasts that have a wider scope.

Finally, another reminder: please consider the Reinventing Transport show. Coming Soon.