PickVidsBest Transit, cities & urban planning Videos
The 174 Transit, cities & urban planning videos here were recommended by different people across different months. Choose by who it is for: 5 introductory, 1 intermediate, 168 for a general viewer, and 0 for someone who wants the harder derivation. Most of them are an explainer. What they share is that one picture or analogy is used to supply a missing concept. Channels you will keep seeing include Not Just Bikes, BicycleDutch, Wendover Productions.
How Self-Driving Cars will Destroy Cities (and what to do about it)
Not Just Bikes argues that self-driving cars will worsen sprawl and car dependence and harm cities.
Stroads are Ugly, Expensive, and Dangerous (and they're everywhere) [ST05]
Not Just Bikes introduces the "stroad", a street-road hybrid common in the US and Canada that fails at both jobs.
Why This Channel Exists (and why I hate Houston)
Not Just Bikes explains why the channel exists, through the creator's walk in suburban Houston.
Why American Cities Are Broke - The Growth Ponzi Scheme [ST03]
Not Just Bikes explains the Strong Towns argument that car-dependent American suburbs cost more to maintain than they generate in taxes.
The Wrong Way to Set Speed Limits [ST06]
Not Just Bikes explains how North American speed limits are set and why posted limits matter far less than street design.
Cities Aren't Loud: Cars Are Loud
Not Just Bikes argues that urban noise comes mostly from motor vehicles, drawing on the book Curbing Traffic and a visit to Delft, a city that takes noise seriously.
Why Canadians Can't Bike in the Winter (but Finnish people can)
Not Just Bikes argues that winter is not what stops Canadians cycling, using Oulu, Finland as proof that safe, well-maintained cycling infrastructure enables year-round biking despite harsh weather.
How the Dutch got their cycle paths
A short BicycleDutch video on how the Netherlands got its cycling infrastructure, including the 1970s protests and the shift away from car-centric planning.
Why Japan Looks the Way it Does: Zoning
A video explaining why Japanese cities look the way they do, through Japan's national tiered zoning system that permits mixed use and flexible development.
The Best Country in the World for Drivers
Not Just Bikes argues that the Netherlands, famed for cycling, is also the best country for drivers.
Why Grocery Shopping is Better in Amsterdam
A four-minute Not Just Bikes comparison of grocery shopping in Amsterdam versus car-centric North America, arguing that frequent small fresh-food trips beat bulk shopping.
What can Seattle learn from Dutch street design?
Seattle landscape architect Fred Young gives an hour-long visual tour of Dutch cycling infrastructure, covering design details, continuous networks and how cycling fits daily life in the Netherlands.
The Truth about American Cities - Part 1 - Strong Towns [ST01]
The first video in Not Just Bikes' Strong Towns series explains the financial instability of North American cities, based on Strong Towns research.
The LED Traffic Light and the Danger of "But Sometimes!"
Technology Connections explains how LED traffic lights, which do not melt snow, drew complaints and were blamed for accidents.
What People Get Wrong About Dense Urban Living
Oh The Urbanity!
The Hyperloop: BUSTED!
Thunderf00t, a physicist, critically assesses the Hyperloop concept, covering the vacuum, pressure, safety, and cost problems of high-speed tube travel.
Why We Won't Raise Our Kids in Suburbia
Not Just Bikes argues that car-dependent suburbs rob children of independence, contrasting North American suburbia with Dutch cities where kids walk and bike on their own.
These Stupid Trucks are Literally Killing Us
Not Just Bikes explains how SUVs and light trucks have grown in size and share of US sales, and why that is dangerous for pedestrians, cyclists and city life.
How Bankrupt American Cities Stay Alive - Debt [ST04]
Not Just Bikes explains how many American suburbs, built all at once rather than incrementally, cannot cover their infrastructure costs and survive on growing debt.
Traffic Has a Perfect Solution. Humans Are the Problem.
CGP Grey explains how traffic jams come from human driving behavior such as tailgating and reaction delays, and how leaving gaps and smoothing speed would reduce congestion.
Why Trains Suck in America
Wendover Productions explains why US passenger rail lags behind other countries.
Why Electric Bikes are More Dangerous than Motorcycles
FortNine argues that e-bikes have injury rates and speeds closer to motorcycles than to pedal bikes.
Parking Laws Are Strangling America | Climate Town
Climate Town traces the history of American parking minimums, how they came from shaky research and ITE guides, and how they shape zoning, cities and housing costs.
Traffic Waves
A short video from the trafficwaves.org site showing how traffic jams and standing waves form, including the fight between cheaters and blockers at an exit-lane backup.