Here’s one that’s really important to understand and remember, especially if you work in a city hall — the best transportation plan is a great land-use plan. #UrbanTruth

The hottest starter pack on the market.

Some amazing people on the @urbantruth.bsky.social ‘s Starter Pack. Inspired to rub digital shoulders with @sgoodyear.bsky.social @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social @aninehartmann.bsky.social @originstorypodcast.bsky.social @michaelemann.bsky.social @katharinehayhoe.com @katjadiehl.bsky.social 📢🚲✊🏾

Have you watched and share this yet? #UrbanTruth @activetowns.bsky.social

This interview was recorded RIGHT as the conspiracy insanity was hitting about the 15-Minute City concept. It’s still (sadly) relevant to that situation, but it’s ALSO an example of how I think we must fearlessly push back on lies & disinformation in EVERY area of life. Watch from that perspective.

I'm seeing it choked to death in front of me in my city right now.

I’d have earned an extra €2000 over the past five years if we did this here.

Did you miss our 1st URBAN TRUTH STARTER PACK? These are accounts with unusually good communications or marketing/branding of issues and ideas for better city-building. Sharing the truth more persausively, and calling out disinformation & lies! Please follow & SHARE! #UrbanTruth go.bsky.app/47w5jKk

Love to see this: A new poll conducted in Hungary has shown that JD Vance's visit to Budapest caused Putin puppet Viktor Orbán's party to LOSE 3% of its support. ⬇️

“Investing in the downtown of a city is the only place-based way to benefit all of its citizens at once.” — @jeffspeck.bsky.social Remember that the next time politicians or suburban voters try to challenge the value of investing in strong downtowns and successful urban places. #UrbanTruth

“We're afraid of walkable distances now?” If you somehow missed the unhinged conspiracy about the common sense notion of 15-Minute Cities, listen to @brenttoderian.bsky.social’s National Australian Radio interview with @greenj.bsky.social. Very early on he called out the lies & tactics. #UrbanTruth

“This would lock the world into a new and hellish ‘hothouse Earth’ climate far worse than the 2-3C temperature rise the world is on track to reach. The climate would also be very different to the benign conditions of the past 11,000 years, during which the whole of human civilisation developed.”

You can tell 2 out of 3 of us (@tomflood.bsky.social and I) are Canadian by how we spell “neighbourhood.” @grantennis.bsky.social politely let us get away with it, but here’s a “neighborhood” for our US friends. #UrbanTruth

Malls/shopping centres take the idea of a walkable neighbourhood, put it in a box, replace the natural light with artificial light, and make it feel like only people who are there to spend money are welcome.

Since we talked about the importance of repetition in this interview with @activetowns.bsky.social, we’re posting this again. #UrbanTruth

"In many places, mass transit didn't just die—it was murdered." nissenbaum.tech.cornell.edu/papers/Kwint... #UrbanTruth via @grantennis.bsky.social

Knock Knock #TOPoli This summer hundreds of thousands of football loving visitors will be descending on Toronto streets. Cars don’t care about football! Create spaces for people. Bring back #OpenStreetsTO h/t @880cities.bsky.social @torontopublicspace.bsky.social @planningtoronto.bsky.social

WATCH our new @urbantruth.bsky.social interview on @activetowns.bsky.social’s Podcast, please help us SHARE it far and wide, and let us know what you THINK! #UrbanTruth

“People of course have every right to be critical about anything. People have the right to ask questions. People have the right to think that this isn’t where they want their tax dollars to go…But that’s not what happened here. This was instead misinformation and false information…” Sound familiar?

Remember, if our solution to homelessness doesn’t start with more housing, we don’t really want to solve homelessness. #UrbanTruth

“Cities across Europe saw a boom in cycling & bike-friendly infrastructure during the Covid-19 pandemic but have suffered setbacks amid a political shift to the right and the emergence of conspiracy theories that have unexpectedly taken aim at ideas such as having amenities within walking distance.”

NEW: Watch our podcast episode “Welcome To The Urban Truth Collective” with @activetowns.bsky.social! We cover a LOT of ground about the hard work and the big challenges with breaking out of echo-chambers. Featuring @brenttoderian.bsky.social @tomflood.bsky.social @grantennis.bsky.social #UrbanTruth

Repetition, repetition, repetition… #UrbanTruth

Great podcast about @urbantruth.bsky.social on @activetowns.bsky.social 😀👇👍 youtu.be/ptHuub8NViw?...

“These Machines Fight Traffic.” Our own @tomflood.bsky.social did this great ad for @thebikinglawyer.bsky.social. #UrbanTruth showing up in more and more places!

NEW: Watch our podcast episode “Welcome To The Urban Truth Collective” with @activetowns.bsky.social! We cover a LOT of ground about the hard work and the big challenges with breaking out of echo-chambers. Featuring @brenttoderian.bsky.social @tomflood.bsky.social @grantennis.bsky.social #UrbanTruth

We’re LIVE in under 10 minutes. I’ll be answering your questions about @urbantruth.bsky.social or anything else that isn’t a complete distraction! #UrbanTruth

You can expect that we’re going to repeat our messages. For the same reason they repeat their lies. #UrbanTruth #RepetitionWorks

YAY! IT’S PREMIERE DAY: Pls tune in today, Sat, April 4th, at 2 pm Eastern for an in-depth conversation with Tom Flood, Grant Ennis, and Brent Toderian about their new collaborative effort, the @urbantruth.bsky.social delivering the truth about cities in an age of disinformation youtu.be/ptHuub8NViw

This is a first for me — I’ll be LIVE ON-LINE in just under 2 hours answering questions about our new @urbantruth.bsky.social initiative during the “World Premiere” of our @activetowns.bsky.social podcast episode. Join in, check out the episode and ask a question. 11am PDT. #UrbanTruth

“Compared with non-active travelers, the cyclists had a 19% lower risk of all-cause dementia, a 22% lower risk of Alzheimer's, a 40% lower risk of young-onset dementia (before the age of 65), & a 17% lower risk of late-onset dementia.” Connecting bike-riding with reduced dementia risk. #UrbanTruth

You can expect that we’re going to repeat our messages. For the same reason they repeat their lies. #UrbanTruth #RepetitionWorks

“For 60 years, car advertising has programmed us that driving is freedom, that driving—even reckless driving—is a symbol of status & power. But what if a car marketing vet (our own @tomflood.bsky.social) used his skills to highlight the insanity of car culture?” HT @usa.streetsblog.org #UrbanTruth

“The fact that we’re not going to meet 1.5C doesn’t mean: ‘Well, let’s not bother because four degrees will be fine.’ That would be catastrophic.”Rather, it’s an argument against creeping fatalism. “People say: ‘Oh, we’ll all be dead anyway’ – well, we won’t.” #UrbanTruth #ClimateCrisis

EXPLORE & SHARE OUR POSTERS! As we get closer to releasing our first BIG campaign, we’ll keep releasing our “quick hit” posters, and we hope you’ll help us make them viral. Repost/quote-post our posts sharing them, or include them in your OWN posts and ping us! www.urbantruthcollective.com/content

In Belgium, employees receive compensation for every kilometre they ride, with some cyclists earning up to €810 per year. And why not? Biking saves public money for everyone. “All employees in Belgium who cycle to work are entitled to a bicycle allowance of €0.28 per kilometre of their commute.”

This is so true! From lack of enforcement for dangerous driving to sprawling land use patterns to emissions loopholes for trucks and road maintenance, driving is baked in to our legal system while rights for pedestrians, cyclists, and bus riders have not caught up.

the amount of money that we have poured into making the automotive industry profitable is really staggering when you look at it

PREMIERE ALERT: Please tune in this Saturday, April 4th, at 2 pm Eastern for a conversation with @tomflood.bsky.social, @grantennis.bsky.social, and @brenttoderian.bsky.social about the @urbantruth.bsky.social: Telling the truth about cities in an age of disinformation. youtu.be/ptHuub8NViw

One of the main things we have to do a better job telling the truth about is all the lying. #UrbanTruth

Never forget, when it comes to the likelihood of car crashes, or the deadly consequences of car crashes, speed is ALWAYS a factor. #UrbanTruth

EXPLORE & SHARE OUR POSTERS! As we get closer to releasing our first BIG campaign, we’ll keep releasing our “quick hit” posters, and we hope you’ll help us make them viral. Repost/quote-post our posts sharing them, or include them in your OWN posts and ping us! www.urbantruthcollective.com/content

For decades I’ve been talking about what I call “the 8 most unhelpful words in the English language — we could never do THAT in OUR city!” It’s important for us to call out the difference between energy & excuse. @urbantruth.bsky.social will be doing an ongoing series showing inspiring city action!

If we racked our brains for years, we’d probably never come up with a better ad to show the ridiculous space that cars take up in cities. And this classic Saturn commercial did it by accident. The only flaw is that most of the invisible vehicles would more likely have just one person. #UrbanTruth

If your city leaders see something AMAZING that another city is doing but claim “we could never do THAT in OUR city,” don’t believe them. Leadership doesn’t make excuses. It takes action. #UrbanTruth

In my work with cities around the world, I find that a BIG difference between cities doing remarkable things, and cities that are floundering and failing, is having a culture of energy or a culture of excuse. Either of those cultures are chosen, and built. Either can be deliberately changed.

“Driving is so hard-wired into American culture, life and institutions, that it’s hard to account for all the ways it is subsidized, preferenced or otherwise favored. But a law professor at the University of Iowa, attempted it anyway.” #UtbanTruth Via @usa.streetsblog.org @nyc.streetsblog.org

One of the biggest disinformation campaigns ever applied to cities involves the constant claims that “driving pays its way.” It’s actually MASSIVELY subsidized, while things like walking, biking, public transit & supportive housing for the unhoused actually SAVE PUBLIC MONEY. #UrbanTruth

Sometimes leadership (and excuses) can be found in just one word. #NoUrbanExcuses #UrbanTruth