PREVIEW: What Snow Reveals About Cities (Plus More From Our Book Tour)
About this episode
The discussion explores how snow reveals hidden urban issues, particularly the vast public space devoted to storing private cars on city streets. Snowstorms highlight the challenges drivers face, from navigating plows to shoveling out cars and sidewalks. The episode also touches on the noise cars generate, mostly from tires, and the social problems exacerbated by winter, like dog waste left uncollected. The hosts argue that limiting parking supply can reduce driving, as snow naturally restricts parking availability and forces people to reconsider car use. They also debate parking policies and the impact on urban life.
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In our latest Patreon bonus episode, we get into what we saw in the wildly different cities we hit on our last round of book tour (Miami! Pittsburgh! Toronto! Phoenix!). Then, we discuss how all the snow we have gotten this year has revealed some truths about what cars do to our cities and what we can learn from it. It's a lot! (And it's not just sneckdowns.)
Order our new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile. And catch us on tour in 2026: Tickets for live shows are on sale now!
rolling noise
"a lot of the noise that comes from cars is not the engine. It's the rolling noise and rain and bad weather can accentuate that."
Rolling noise is the sound your car's tires make when they move on the road. It can get louder when you drive faster or when it's rainy or wet outside.
Rolling noise refers to the sound generated by the interaction between a vehicle's tires and the road surface, which becomes more noticeable at higher speeds and in certain weather conditions.
urbanist community
"And that is what we hear at the war on cars and elsewhere in the quote-unquote urbanist community."
Urbanists are people who want cities to be easier to walk around and use buses or trains instead of cars. They think about how to make cities better for people, not just cars.
The urbanist community consists of people who advocate for urban planning and design that prioritizes walkability, public transit, and reduced car dependency in cities.
car storage
"don't call it parking, call it car storage. Oh yes. Snow really highlights how much real estate we give for free and not really for free"
Car storage means the space where cars sit when they're parked and not being driven. Some people think this takes up too much space in cities that could be used for other things.
Car storage refers to the space that parked cars occupy when not in use. Some urbanists argue that this space is often inefficiently used and takes away valuable real estate in cities.
public right of way
"You are responsible for the public right of way. The sidewalk is a public right of way and it's just the way through a quirk of our laws that individual homeowners and property owners are responsible for."
A public right of way is a place like a sidewalk or road that everyone can use. Sometimes, people who own nearby houses have to take care of parts of it, like clearing snow.
A public right of way is an area such as a sidewalk or street that the public has the legal right to use. Property owners may have responsibilities for maintenance, like shoveling sidewalks, even though the area is public.
alternate side parking
"they normally have to move their cars so that the city can clean the garbage off of the street. That's alternate side parking. Well, alternate side parking has been suspended since- I think it's only been in effect for like two weeks this year so far."
Alternate side parking means you have to move your car to the other side of the street on certain days so the city can clean the street properly.
Alternate side parking is a city regulation requiring vehicles to be moved to allow street cleaning or other maintenance on specific days. It helps keep streets clean but can be inconvenient for drivers.
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