Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Talking Headways Podcast

Talking Headways Podcast: Pattern Cities and the Bellbottoms of Urbanism

podcast icon logo
false

This week we talk to Mike Lydon of The Street Plans Collaborative and co-author of the recent book Tactical Urbanism. Based on his experience with tactical urbanism, Mike says you know an idea has "made it" when it gets co-opted for things that don’t fit the actual definition. We also discuss how to take a small planning idea and make it bigger, and whether urbanism goes through cycles like fashion, with ideas from the past coming back into style.

Tune in and get the scoop on tactical urbanism stories from Boston; Ponderay, Idaho; and Hamilton, Ontario. Hear what Mike has to say about the importance of having people interact with real places during the public planning process, and about pattern cities -- places that have spawned a good idea that other places have copied.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

The Streetsblog Angle: The 70th Street Bike Lane Is In the Epstein Files!

Somewhere, maybe, Woody Allen finally regrets opposing that bike lane.

January 30, 2026

The Mamdani Effect: Three Delivery Apps Must Pay $5M In Minimum Pay Settlement

A new era: Mayor Mamdani's worker protection department announces new enforcement against UberEats, HungryPanda, and Fantuan for not complying with the minimum pay law.

January 30, 2026

Friday Video: Should We Stop Calling Them ‘Low-Traffic Neighborhoods’?

Is it time for London's game-changing urban design concept to get a rebrand?

January 30, 2026

Ten Years of Placard Abuse: The Criminal Practice that Mamdani Must End

Placard corruption has drowned New York City in illegally parked cars for more than a decade. Mayor Mamdani must end it for good.

January 30, 2026

Data Analysis: Super Speeders and Red Light Violators Are Less Likely to Get NYPD Tickets

Drivers caught most often by speed and red light cameras are at the receiving end of comparatively little NYPD enforcement.

January 30, 2026
See all posts