The Strong Towns Podcast - How Do We Design for Drivers?

Drivers are usually treated as the obstacle when cities try to build better places for walking, biking and transit. Houssam Elokda of Happy Cities and Nick Falbo of Mobycon argue that this framing misses something important: people-centered places still have to work for the people arriving by car. Their framework starts with a counterintuitive idea borrowed from Dutch design, that going slower can be faster, because what drivers often value most is a trip that feels steady and predictable rather than one that moves quickly in short bursts. This is a different way of thinking about street design, one that moves past speed as the main measure and asks how the whole trip works for people.

Additional Show Notes

• Houssam Elokda (LinkedIn)
• Nick Falbo (LinkedIn)
• How to Design for Cars in People-Centered Places (Site)
• Chuck Marohn (Substack)

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