Urbanism Speakeasy with Andy Boenau

Stop Making Everything a Show Pony

Paint and flex posts are a good strategy, not a consolation prize.

Jul 6 • Andy Boenau

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June 2026

Here's why the status quo keeps winning

This applies to housing policy, traffic analysis methodology, land use regulations, and any other topic that requires persuasion.

Jun 21 • Andy Boenau

42

5

Your car is lying to you

People behave differently based on how dangerous their environment feels, not how dangerous it actually is.

Jun 15 • Andy Boenau

47

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6

The costs they don't count

Transportation experts rarely factor the human and economic toll into decisions that pave over safer alternatives.

Jun 8 • Andy Boenau

26

3

2

Gridlock is a choice

One major decongestion experiment is surprising the haters.

Jun 1 • Andy Boenau

36

7

5

May 2026

Generational change now vs. Waiting generations for change

Or, why a good thing is better than no thing.

May 22 • Andy Boenau

38

10

7

April 2026

Red Bull NIMBYs

Exclusion got repackaged as neighborhood character.

Apr 15 • Andy Boenau

37

4

11

The feedback loop we keep turning off

The YIMBY coalition is broad and growing, but bad economics will undermine even the best land use reforms.

Apr 7 • Andy Boenau

29

6

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March 2026

Public input can be a death sentence

Putting a safety improvement up for a vote is dangerous when the voters have been conditioned to see traffic violence as inevitable.

Mar 22 • Andy Boenau

40

6

7

Big vehicles, blind spots, and the conversations we dodge

America's favorite vehicles are the most dangerous to pedestrians.

Mar 15 • Andy Boenau

48

4

6

Transportation economics is flawed

The “time is money” mantra is a terrible starting point for planning and designing infrastructure.

Mar 8 • Andy Boenau

42

1

10

Begin with the [photogenic] end in mind

Planners and engineers need to visualize the future human experience of their infrastructure improvements.

Mar 2 • Andy Boenau

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