Romanian drivers are INCREDIBLY attentive to certain traffic safety rules. The reason is because they are enforced. “Culture eats policy for breakfast” my ass. The culture of impunity in America is driven by a policy of non-enforcement.

Are we really proud of this? I've lived here for 23 years and I've never seen this as some cultural value. It's just what we do because there aren't other options, and the teams monetize the parking. Welcome world! Our land use sucks!

Gotta love a brazen push poll. I wonder who these hypothetical people could be? 😂

Doubling down on the shocking AI slop map to add a couple of layers of disparaging ignorance about Kansas City. I'll give a pass to internationals who are confused about the whole Kansas/Missouri thing, but not ones with "geographer" in their bio. But hey, I live in a barn, what do I know?

Most annoying thing about living in KC is our breathless obsession with parking. Every event invite has parking info. Validation is a human right. Every gathering has a chat about where people parked. It just reinforces driving. People can figure out where to store their large private property.

Which is worse? A poisonous political environment and exploitative pricing mean that the World Cup is a bust, or we're overwhelmed by the influx and are exposed as a city that doesn't understand density and transportation? All signs are pointing to option 1 being what we're going to get.

How car dependency metastasizes: streets close for parking, secure car storage, or to eliminate cut through traffic, disconnecting the grid and forcing pedestrians to go blocks out of their way. This is Union Hill in KC, a block from @kcstreetcar.org but an enforced three block walk.

Come ride and help welcome Argentina fans who cycled their way to KC! 1. Start from John Anderson Park (Grandview) at 8:30 AM 2. Stop and meet up at the Nelson-Atkins Museum - Reflecting Pool at 10 AM 3. Stop and meet more folks at the Grand Street Bridge at 10:30 AM

The Chinese are making electric cars that are way more affordable and capable than anything you can buy in the U.S. Americans can't buy the best because we're protecting a domestic industry that will only make giant trucks. We're no longer competing, nor building alternatives.

Passed it thousands of times, but never toured the Frank Lloyd Wright designed church right on @kcstreetcar.org This June 13 event fixes that, ft. tours and speakers outlining the architectural significance and preservation efforts of the building. www.eventbrite.com/e/experience...

I'm curious: in cities where delivery drivers break bulk outside the core and use smaller vehicles instead of driving oversized trucks into neighborhoods, did it come about because of regulatory influence or just practical reality?

Just got sent a video of some guy testifying at his City Council that all data centers should be built on golf courses, which will result in a net reduction in water waste and better density/land use. Honestly, I love it.

I already thought the fact that we routinely have two people beating the shit out of each other on the TV in the background while having dinner at a restaurant was an apt symbol of civilizational decline. That fact that they're hosting it at the White House....

With the opening of @kcstreetcar.org to the Riverfront, I'm reminded of my first ever public engagement as a Kansas Citian: visioning for the riverfront. A rather notable civic legend was advocating to dedicate a huge death of the park to a giant parking lot so everyone could drive in for festivals.

Fun fact: the Empire Builder train I'm on (28) gets coupled with the one from Seattle for the rest of the trip to Chicago. We get the observation car and they get the dining car, so no seated dinner tonight. And their delay is our delay! 🍻

Right here in black and white: parking costs killed housing. If we don't ween off of our car dependence, we can't achieve affordability.

Anyone know someone in Denver who wants a free ticket to see Bright Eyes at Red Rocks tonight? Show was postponed and I've since hopped three trains and skipped town.

Four hours to burn in Sacramento before catching an actual midnight train to Portland. 10 years ago I'd probably go to a brewery, but I've had a beer and want to sleep tonight. What to do?

Have you seen this? STILL one of the hardest truths for some to accept, but one of the most IMPORTANT — car-dependent suburbia is HEAVILY SUBSIDIZED by downtowns & urban areas! Watch this excellent video by #NotJustBikes with #Urban3 & @strongtowns.bsky.social. PLEASE SHARE it as much as possible.

Not yucking anyone's yum, but modern masculinity is weird. In a CA mountain town and dudes roll up in their gender-affirming F250s, order seltzers at the brewery, and talk about guns. Modern men are having a time of it. Maybe we should lift heavy stuff for a living, for purpose?

Comparing my journal handwriting between entries on trains in Europe and those in the US tells a story about infrastructure.

So far, my train trip out west is delivering the kinds of zen peace and acceptance challenges I... signed up for? Itinerary so far: ❌Red Rocks concert cancelled ❌Meow Wolf Denver closed ❌CA Zephyr into mountains operating bus reroute on I-70 Next: Truckee/Lake Tahoe. We'll see if luck improves.

Walked from my hotel in RiNO through LODO and over to LoHi, and my main takeaway is that Denver needs to calm down on the neighborhood abbreviations.

Hot take: considering how deadly cars are, we should be zero tolerance and aggressively enforce traffic laws. Yes, yes, I know design is the real solution, but you can't fix all of this infrastructure. And yes, I know there are issues with traffic stops, so automation should be used.

The fact that the driver of the truck here probably doesn't even see the car when behind it in an intersection is insane. The fact that most Americans would call the size of the car unreasonable first is tragic.

If we really do add 600k people to our core in KC for World Cup, along with fast and frequent regional transit, we'll have the city with the density and service it should always have.

Joked but wasn't joking that I should get an annual check for all of the parking validations I refuse in a year. Yet another subsidy to driving that orgs absorb.

Long shot, but anyone interested in a trip to Glenwood Springs, CO on May 6? It's an epic 6 hour train ride from Denver. I'm considering changing up my train adventure itinerary to see a show at Red Rocks and I'll have to skip Glenwood, but I've already booked a non-refundable hotel.

Infill every vacant land back lot in my town with missing middle housing, and out bodegas with fresh food on the corners.

the number of people i see speeding through school zones and residential streets with their phones directly in their faces…

Of all of the matchups in the Premier League denoted by their 3 letter team abbreviations, today's LIV vs CRY fixture is the most poetic.

Putting this morning's bike ride shameful moment (bumping a car) on main as a accountability and as a reminder... I am helping my friend start a bike bus, so I rode out to her house to join up riding her kid to school.

Crown Center has been crying out for redevelopment for decades. Generally hate any kind of demolition, but this was from the worst era of (sub)urban design. It destroyed the grid, built a car-centric fortress that turns it back to the rest of the city, and kept adjacent sites undeveloped for decades

Not to nitpick, but today's KC riverfront is not "where it all started." That's the north edge of the River Market. The Town of Kansas pedestrian bridge goes to where it all started.

The latest episode of our (extremely) long form urbanism exploration show discussing master planned neighborhoods seems to be gaining some interest! Check it out if you'd like: youtu.be/yooI8O1_Ra8?...

We're spending >$50K per household on another oil war (and ending up worse off than we started?) while our infrastructure crumbles and China has the majority of the world's market in EVs, solar panels and windmills. End of an empire. We've said it before, but this feels more real.

All the boomers in my home town talk about "voting for the constitution" but they only know one amendment, which defines their personality.

I'd say that this applies to anyone traveling in a car in any city. Being in a car versus walking, riding, or taking transit fundamentally changes how you view a place and your relationship to it. I wish more leaders set this kind of example. www.npr.org/2026/04/16/n...

Meanwhile, in Kansas City... This is going to be interesting.

Somehow hadn't been to San Francisco in over a decade. Experienced Waymos for the first time, which are a popular target of derision among urbanists here. Sure, they're just perpetuating car-centrism, adding congestion, but the roads sure feel better with "drivers" who consistently follow the rules.

Looking forward to this one!

Although, if the main commodities impacted are oil and LNG, maybe we'll get serious about alternative energy?

One of the great things about Europe is that they don't have these deadly ego accessories.

@arseblog.com is Mikel having a hair out of place for the first time in his a career a sign of declining standards or a loss of plot?

we'll see how it shakes out over the course of years, but as of right now, mamdani is definitely showing how the future of good progressive governance means "use government to do good things and then post about it" both parts are important!

Anyone debating if they should be woken up when "it" happens clearly doesn't live in the dense part of a city. I am entirely sure things will go off and nobody will be sleeping.

Everyone wants sexy cars like @kcstreetcar.org

Article discusses giving up the ideal weather of the sunbelt, but I remain a KC weather defender. Routinely ranks well on number of sunny days, winters are almost entirely mild now, spring/fall are glorious, and two months of summer have the same awful A/C dependency as AZ, TX and FL.

April Fools' Day was only fun when we used to have truth.

It is still absolutely bonkers to me that we pay to maintain these parts of the city where one must travel through other municipalities or go for a swim to reach them. Letting Lee's Summit or Raytown take them would be better for all parties.