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.
The Vegas Loop Is Getting Progressively More Stupid
CityNerd critiques the Las Vegas Loop, the Boring Company's tunnel transit system, arguing its design and operation are poor.
Unbelievably busy bicycle crossing in Amsterdam
Nine minutes of unedited footage of a very busy bicycle and car crossing at Korte Prinsengracht and Haarlemmerstraat in Amsterdam.
TEDxCopenhagen - Mikael Colville-Andersen - Why We Shouldn't Bike with a Helmet
Copenhagen's bicycle ambassador Mikael Colville-Andersen argues in a TEDx talk that bicycle helmets threaten bicycle culture.
Strong Towns | Charles Marohn | Talks at Google
Charles Marohn of Strong Towns presents, in a Talks at Google session, the ideas from his book on why many North American towns struggle financially despite decades of growth.
Car-free Streets are Amazing (and we need more of them)
Not Just Bikes explains the Dutch concept of autoluw, or nearly car-free, streets and how it is applied across the Netherlands, with examples from Toronto and Copenhagen.
Oldest US mall blends old/modern with 225-sq-ft micro-lofts
Kirsten Dirksen visits the Providence Arcade, the oldest US indoor mall, which was converted into 225-square-foot micro-lofts classified as a rooming house.
Suburbs that don't Suck - Streetcar Suburbs (Riverdale, Toronto)
Not Just Bikes explains that car-dependent suburbs are not the only option, using Toronto's Riverdale as an example of a pre-war streetcar suburb.
CBTC: Communications-Based Train Control
An MTA video on communications-based train control, the system meant to replace the New York City subway's century-old signaling.
America Always Gets This Wrong (when building transit)
Not Just Bikes argues that North American transit struggles to attract riders because of the land use around it, not the transit itself.
This high-speed rail project is a warning for the US
A Vox explainer on why California's high-speed rail project is years late and far over budget, with only a few concrete structures built by 2022.
Business Parks Suck (but they don't have to)
Not Just Bikes contrasts typical car-dependent North American business parks with one near the airport in the Netherlands that works for driving, cycling and transit.
Why Everywhere in the US is Starting to Look the Same
Wendover Productions explains why American towns, retail and buildings increasingly look alike, covering zoning pressures, corporate standardization and cheap construction types like 5-over-1 buildings.
Who's faster around London: a taxi driver or a GPS?
Tom Scott races a London black-cab driver who has memorized The Knowledge against a phone GPS across the city, comparing local expertise to navigation software.
Cities Without People
Jacob Geller's video essay on empty cities and what they say about our relationship to places, using games, literature and aerial imagery.
Why North America Can't Build Nice Apartments (because of one rule)
About Here explains how North American building codes requiring two staircases make small multi-story apartment buildings hard to build, and contrasts this with places that allow single-stair designs.
China's Bicycle sharing WENT INSANE!
An expat YouTuber in China shows how dockless bike-sharing, once loved, has been flooded by competing companies.
Why the Dutch Wait Less at Traffic Lights
Not Just Bikes explains how Dutch traffic lights use early detection, transit priority and conflict-free design to cut waiting.
Canada's 100-Foot Freight Railway To Nowhere
A short, sarcastic Half as Interesting video about a tiny freight railway in Canada built to exploit a shipping regulation loophole.
Strong Towns: Property Tax vs. Land Value "Tax" (LVT)
Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns explains how a land value tax differs from an ordinary property tax, why it makes economic sense, and why it is rarely used.
Taken for a Ride - The U.S. History of the Assault on Public Transport in the Last Century
A 1996 documentary on the twentieth-century American decline of public transport and the role of car companies and the highway lobby in it.
The Car-Replacement Bicycle (the bakfiets)
Not Just Bikes explains how an electric bakfiets (Dutch cargo bike) replaced the family car after a move back to Canada, saving thousands of dollars.
How Highways Almost Destroyed Amsterdam - Plan Jokinen
A short Not Just Bikes video on the 1960s plans (Plan Jokinen) to cut highways through Amsterdam to accommodate cars.
The Real Reason Jaywalking Is A Crime (Adam Ruins Everything)
An Adam Ruins Everything segment claiming that jaywalking became a crime through campaigns by the auto industry.
Well There's Your Problem | Episode 46 : Five-over-Ones
An episode of the Well There's Your Problem podcast on five-over-one buildings, wood-frame floors atop concrete bases, with engineering background and some oil industry news.