Streets.mn Podcast

What does it mean to permanently decommodify housing, and how does that help long-term affordability? Find out in this conversation with David Ackos!

Episode chapters

00:00 | Intro 01:26 | Housing Co-op vs Cohousing 04:07 | David's Journey 13:33 | Decommodification and Affordability 24:54 | Hypocrisy of wanting both wealth building and affordable housing 31:53 | The Parklet Streets.mn Winter Fundraiser Join the Streets.mn board! 32:41 | Land trust vs Public Housing vs Co-ops 51:10 | David's Current Work 56:03 | Outro

Links & images

• David's previous articles on Streets.mn

• Observations from a Minnesota Urbanist in Belgium, the Netherlands and Greece
• All We Need Is Enteignen for Socio-Technical Breakthroughs

• David's recent talk about cohousing and co-ops
• East Side Community Investment Cooperative
• CoNorth
• Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia
• West Side Community Organization
• Twin Cities Family Cooperative

Types of housing tenure and provision - decommodification and self-organization from Balmer & Bernet (2015)

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website.

This episode was hosted, edited, and transcribed by Ian R Buck. Many thanks to David Ackos for bringing this topic to us! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at podcast@streets.mn.

Transcript

Find the full transcipt on our website.

Today we're sitting down with Ray Delahanty to talk about his process and what gives him passion making videos as CityNerd!

Links

• CityNerd YouTube channel
• CityNerd blog
• Video: Is Minneapolis Too Nice for Its Own Good?
• Oh The Urbanity! guesting on Streets.mn Podcast
• Alan Fisher YouTube channel

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website.

This episode was produced by Parker Seaman aka Strongthany, was edited by Stina Neel, and was hosted and transcribed by Ian R Buck. Many thanks to Ray Delahanty for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at podcast@streets.mn.

Transcript

Find the full transcript on our website.

If you missed our live event about electing transit champions, fear not! We recorded the panel discussion and are presenting it on the podcast this week.

Chapters

00:00 | Intro 04:39 | How can land use and transportation support each other? 09:59 | Finding common ground 21:18 | What strategies does electing champions unlock? 31:54 | Making the legislature more accessible 36:44 | Preventing burnout 41:47 | Audience question: constitutional amendment 43:25 | Audience question: heavy rail 45:32 | Audience question: not getting stalled by moderates 54:30 | Outro

Links

• BikeMN
• Neighbors for More Neighbors
• Sustain St Paul
• Our Streets
• Sierra Club
• All Aboard Minnesota

Images

Peter's map of per capita climate emissions.

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website.

This episode was produced by Stina Neel and was hosted, edited, and transcribed by Ian R Buck. Many thanks to our guests for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at podcast@streets.mn.

Transcript

Find the full transcript on our website.

We're joined in the studio by Mallory Baches, President of the Congress for the New Urbanism, who was in town to plan their 2027 conference in Minneapolis. Come listen in on our conversation!

Links

• Further listening: our conversation with CNU board member Spencer Miller-Johnson about zoning mixed-use corridors
• The Year Without Sunshine by Naomi Kritzer (text and audio versions available)
• CNU's RFP for 2027 Legacy Projects

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website.

This episode was produced, edited, and transcribed by Ian R Buck. Many thanks to Mallory Baches for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at podcast@streets.mn.

Transcript

Find the full transcript on our website.

Join us for a conversation with Henry Grabar, author of Paved Paradise, which gives a surprisingly entertaining history of parking policy in America!

Links

• Henry's newsletter
• Electing transportation champions panel event
• Mel's first article

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website.

This episode was produced and edited by Parker Seaman, transcribed by Stina Neel, and hosted by Ian R Buck. Many thanks to Henry Grabar for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at podcast@streets.mn.

What goes into running a non-profit like Streets.mn? Let's take a moment to hear from the board members who make it all possible!

Episode chapters

00:00 | Intro 00:31 | Stina Neel & Ian R Buck 09:11 | angela olson 13:48 | Ben Zvan 18:23 | Brian Mitchell 22:10 | Erik Noonan 27:11 | Ian Gaida 31:51 | Jeb Rach 36:23 | Jeremy Winter 40:36 | Morgan Radick 45:00 | Parker Seaman 49:52 | NJ Hanson 54:38 | Regina Burstein 58:31 | Outro

Links

• Ian's first podcast (video game news) and the podcast where he got into journalism/education
• Stina and Ian's bike camping trip
• angela's Aunties of Active Mobility
• Brian's first article
• Pine Salica's series about moving unusual items by bike
• Nick Magrino's transportation emoji analysis
• Brian's history of the Greenway trench
• History of Streets.mn
• Ian G's On the Motorized Tourist
• Skiing at Buck Hill and Winter Park
• Ian G's The Urbanist's Case for Nuclear Power
• Donate to Streets.mn!
• Hey! Where Does This Bus Go?
• Jeremy's first article
• Morgan's first article
• Parker's For Fun and For Profit

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website.

This episode was hosted and edited by Ian R Buck with editing assistance from Jeremy Winter, and was transcribed by Stina Neel. Many thanks to all the board members for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at podcast@streets.mn.

Transcript

Find the full transcript on our website.

Hear from some of our favorite advocacy organizations what happened at the 2026 Minnesota legislative session, and what we're carrying forward into next year!

Links

• The 2026 Urbanist Legislative Agenda
• Streets.mn summer picnic
• Our Streets legislative summary
• Move Minnesota legislative summary
• BikeMN
• Sustain Saint Paul
• Other orgs that weren't available for the episode

• All Aboard Minnesota legislative summary
• Sierra Club legislative summary

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website.

This episode was hosted, edited, and transcribed by Ian R Buck with editing assistance from Stina Neel. Many thanks to Joe Harrington, Nas Nourkadi, CJ Lindor, and Jacob Hooper for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at podcast@streets.mn.

Transcript

Find the full transcript on our website.

Let's sit down with Miles in Transit to talk about his motivation and process for making videos of arbitrary transit riding challenges!

Links

• Miles in Transit
• Other creators Miles mentioned

• Tanner
• DJ Petesake
• Simon Anderson riding Europe's longest bus route
• Alwaus

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website.

This episode was produced by Parker Seaman aka Strongthany, was edited and transcribed by Stina Neel, and was hosted by Ian R Buck. Many thanks to Miles Taylor for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at podcast@streets.mn.

Transcript

Find the full transcript on our website.

Now known as the Minnesota Cargo Bike Library, let's check in with Laura Mitchell about what's new this year!

Links

• Minnesota Cargo Bike Library
• Merchandise (including the opossum shirt!)
• Cyclehoop
• Perennial Cycle
• Opossum in pannier
• Opossum setting off the music
• Katie Jones and Peter Schmitt transporting their newborn in a cargo bike

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website.

This episode was produced by Stina Neel, edited by Parker Seaman aka Strongthany, and hosted and transcribed by Ian R Buck. Many thanks to Laura Mitchell for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at podcast@streets.mn.

Transcript

Find the full transcript on our website.

Lyndale Ave is up for reconstruction, and a group of activists have been working for the last few years to make sure it has the best design it can. Let's listen in on their interview on the Wedge LIVE! podcast.

Wedge LIVE! Shownotes

After years of engagement and political wrangling, Hennepin County and the City of Minneapolis are ready to approve a new design for Lyndale Avenue South between Franklin and Lake. Because the street was last reconstructed in 1934, the road surface and infrastructure underground are long overdue for a replacement. But reconstruction also gives us an opportunity for pedestrian, bike, and transit improvements on a corridor that includes the most dangerous intersection in the state of Minnesota. Julie Johnson, a senior community organizer with Move Minnesota, and Jeremy Winter, a Wedge-based volunteer agitator for "Livable Lyndale," join me for a conversation about what's at stake.

Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive

Join the conversation: https://bsky.app/profile/wedge.live

Support the show: https://patreon.com/wedgelive

Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFontsee

Attributions

This episode comes to us courtesy of the Wedge LIVE! podcast.

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, used by permission of its creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website.

This episode was transcribed by Stina Neel.

We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at podcast@streets.mn.

Transcript

Find the full transcript on our website.

Fans of The War On Cars podcast won't want to miss this episode! We're covering their book Life After Cars, and one of the authors Doug Gordon joins us on the episode.

Links

• Life After Cars
• Book Club: The Lost Cause with Cory Doctorow

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website.

This episode was produced by Parker Seaman aka Strongthany, hosted by Ian R Buck, and was edited and transcribed by Stina Neel. Many thanks to Doug Gordon for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at podcast@streets.mn.

Transcript

Find the full transcript on our website.

In this episode from the Talking Headways Podcast, Anna Zivarts leads a roundtable about the Week Without Driving event.

tk embed

Talking Headways Shownotes

This week Talking Headways is being hosted by our friend Anna Zivarts who guides a panel of elected officials and advocates to talk about the impacts of the Week Without Driving. They look back at 2025's activities and look forward to this year's version.

Featured guests include:

Arizona State Senator Analise Ortiz (Referenced Videos on TikTok and Instagram)

Rochester MN City Council Member Nick Miller

Alice Hilton and Quinn Mulholland Living Streets Lexington

Kai Hall of Greater Greater Washington

Ruth Rosas of Nondrivers Alliance

Listen to Anna speak previously on Episodes 366 & 488

+++

Get the show ad free on Patreon!

Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube!

Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire

Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social

Support the show on Patreon

http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire

Buy books on our https://Bookshop.org Affiliate site!

And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public!

And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

Attributions

This episode comes to us courtesy of the Talking Headways Podcast.

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, used by permission of its creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website.

This episode was transcribed by Ian R Buck.

We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at podcast@streets.mn.

Transcript

Find the full transcript on our website.

In this new series, we will be chatting with urbanist content creators from across the globe about their craft. First, we have Patrick from the video channel Oh The Urbanity!

Chapters 00:00 | Intro 01:00 | How did you get into this? 02:49 | Snow clearance 04:33 | How has your approach to the videos changed? 15:14 | Topics that don't work on video 17:05 | Time budget for filming 20:22 | Balancing topics that are personally interesting with channel growth 27:16 | Dealing with negative comments 30:10 | The Parklet 31:00 | Covering general topics vs specific projects 36:54 | Should we all move away from North America? 44:19 | Advice for new video creators 48:56 | Peertube 51:07 | Shoutouts to other video creators 51:53 | Outro Links

• Oh The Urbanity! On YouTube and PeerTube
• Kyno
• Yet Another Urbanist
• RMTransit
• Paige Saunders on YouTube and PeerTube
• Shifter on YouTube and PeerTube
• Alex Davis
• Nimesh in Los Angeles

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website.

This episode was produced by Parker Seaman aka Strongthany, and was edited and transcribed by Ian R Buck. Many thanks to Patrick Murphy for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at podcast@streets.mn.

Transcript

Find the full transcript on our website.

Right here in the Twin Cities, we have one of the premiere rehabilitation clinics for birds of prey! Join us for a conversation with Gail Buhl from the Raptor Center to talk all about how these feathered friends interact with the human-built environment.

Links

• https://raptor.umn.edu/
• https://midwestperegrine.umn.edu/
• Other episodes about urban wildlife

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website.

This episode was produced by Stina Neel, edited, by Jeremy Winter, and transcribed by Ian R Buck. We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at podcast@streets.mn.

Sound effect sources:

• https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/479610/

Transcript

Find the full transcript on our website.

We got some strange interference this week, you may hear parallel universe versions of the Streets.mn Podcast!

Episode chapters

00:00 | Intro 00:57 | Midtown Freeway Coalition 07:35 | Carless Whisper 08:08 | Skip Traffic 09:43 | Bike Maintenance ASMR 12:47 | Sponsored by Hondle 13:19 | Muni Squad 29:45 | Streets.nm 33:03 | Outro Links

• Spanish transit mascot Bussi
• BikeABQ opposition to gas station

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website.

This episode was hosted, edited, and transcribed by Ian R Buck. Segments on the show were written by Jeremy Winter, Parker Seaman, and Stina Neel. Voice talents include Erik Brandt, Brian Mitchell, NJ Hanson, and Jason Nesler. We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at podcast@streets.mn.

Sound effect sources:

• https://freesound.org/people/giddster/sounds/805685/
• https://freesound.org/people/9voltplasma/sounds/724699/
• https://freesound.org/people/eddy15/sounds/91998/
• https://freesound.org/people/kwahmah_02/sounds/316809/
• https://freesound.org/people/lartti/sounds/510068/
• https://freesound.org/people/AlienXXX/sounds/259966/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0RDptdOeTg
• https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/film-special-effects-announcement-sound-effect-254037/
• https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/film-special-effects-airbus-cabin-pa-beep-tone-passenger-announcement-chime-358248/
• https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/film-special-effects-indian-railway-train-arriving-announcement-333043/
• https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/film-special-effects-announcement-sound-104411/
• https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/film-special-effects-indian-bus-inside-public-talks-soundque-field-recording-443321/
• https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/city-bus-ride-brooklyn-bus-annoucements-stops-passengers-52373/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX6tFXq9gOU

Transcript

Find the full transcript on our website.

Follow along with a group of friends taking a car-free from the Twin Cities to ski and snowboard in Whitefish, Montana!

Links

• Whitefish Ski Resort
• S.N.O.W. Bus (Shuttle Network of Whitefish)
• Previous episodes referenced

• Skiing in Winter Park, Colorado
• Camping and skiing at Afton Alps
• Biking to ski at Afton Alps
• Ian's parents vacationing at his home

Episode chapters

00:00 | Intro 00:53 | Origins of the trip 08:15 | The train trip 21:49 | The S.N.O.W. Bus 29:47 | The town of Whitefish 34:42 | Ian's OpenStreetMap addiction 38:29 | The skiing 51:05 | Future trips 56:41 | When does a snowboarder take a nap? 58:03 | Outro

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website.

This episode was hosted by Ian R Buck, edited by Parker Seaman aka Strongthany, and transcribed by Stina Neel. Many thanks to Josh Benner for coming on the show. We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at podcast@streets.mn.

Transcript

Find the full transcript on our website.

New York Times best selling author Cory Doctorow joins us to discuss his 2023 solarpunk novel The Lost Cause!

Links

• The Lost Cause
• Books mentioned in the episode:

• The Age of Extraction
• The Neddiad
• The Yggyssey

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website.

This episode was produced and transcribed by Parker Seaman, and was hosted and edited by Ian R Buck. Many thanks to Cory Doctorow for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at podcast@streets.mn.

Transcript

Find the full transcript on our website.

Let's check in with some of our favorite urbanist advocacy organizations about their goals for this year's legislative session!

Links

• Land Value Tax Episode
• All Aboard Minnesota
• Our Streets
• Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota
• Sustain Saint Paul
• Neighbors for More Neighbors, Yes to Homes

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website.

This episode was hosted, edited, and transcribed by Ian R Buck. Many thanks to Brian Nelson, Joe Harrington, CJ Lindor, Cody Fischer, and Jacob Hooper for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at podcast@streets.mn.

Transcript

Find the full transcript on our website.

It's often a tricky balance for public agencies to strike when deciding whether to build a service in-house or to contract with a private company. So when Metro Transit paid for everyone in Minnesota to get premium access in the Transit App, we got curious about the terms of that arrangement. Turns out, there's a lot of interesting data work going on in this partnership under-the-hood! Listen in on this chat with representatives from Metro Transit, MnDOT, and Transit App to learn more.

Links

• Transit App
• MnDOT Transit Trip Planner

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website.

This episode was hosted and edited by Ian R Buck and was produced and transcribed by Parker Seaman aka Strongthany. Many thanks to Laura Matson, Kathy Schultz, and Stephen Miller for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at podcast@streets.mn.

Transcript

Find the full transcript on our website.

The young transportation activists of today are the legislators of tomorrow. Let's meet some of the students who are getting involved in advocacy at an early age!

Links

• Our Streets' Bring Back 6th.
• Harding's transportation page still has a bike map that Ian added in 2020.
• The Purple People Coalition (note: the Purple Line project has since been renamed the Bronze Line).

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band, The Urban Hillbilly Quartet, on their website.

This episode was hosted and edited by Ian R Buck and was transcribed by Parker Seaman aka Strongthany. Many thanks to Asanti, Michael, and Thomas for coming on the show! We're always looking to feature new voices on the show, so if you have ideas for future episodes, drop us a line at podcast@streets.mn.

Transcript

Find the full transcript on our website.