Rethinking Our Cities With Jason Slaughter of Not Just Bikes

[@wilcotenwolde]

A Dutch petrolhead here; I have two cars, motorcycle, scooter and four bicycles. How do I go to work? Bicycle! Faster, cheaper and healthier.

[@CSVhdd]

Koningcomment

[@michaelcoward1902]

British biker here...I'd like to cycle, but there's no way i'm going on British roads with a pushbike...British drivers are rage-fuelled maniacs with zero chill

[@Deveonn]

Funfact: Amsterdam doesn’t have minimum parking places but maximum. Office won’t get permits to provide parking for all employees.

[@autohmae]

the minimum parking places is just such a strange rule/law

[@cannibalbananas]

My opinion: we need more parks that include equipment for adults - I like exercise & getting out, but don't want a gym membership. We need more community spaces. We need animal friendly roads, ie overpasses or tunnels underneath so they can safely cross. And we need better repairs. I'm always seeing the same spots torn up and patched. Why don't road repairs last for more than a year?

[@spadeespada9432]

Equipment for adults? I got friends that been using what's been there to work out since before Al Gore invented the inter-webs. As a kid I was told to entertain myself, so...

[@cassieoz1702]

​@@spadeespada9432yeh, god forbid we should actually encourage people to exercise or show folks what they get for their tax gollars

[@PyrusFlameborn]

You should look up the Dutch ecoducts! Actual overpasses that allow wildlife of all sizes to safely cross highways

[@cannibalbananas]

@@PyrusFlameborn That would great in my region. We have a lot of rural areas mixed in with urban development.

[@cassieoz1702]

@@PyrusFlameborn we have rope ladders across highways for possums and such to cross.

[@neutral_narr]

Huge fan of both of your channels and always great to be enlightened with the knowledge you both provide.

[@ncard00]

Please up the video quality to 4K60fps :)

[@Turdfergusen382]

Great conversation. Thanks for introducing us to Jason and his awesome channel.

[@AB-wf8ek]

Yea Philly! I've been living here 20 years car free. This past weekend I road all across town with a friend to a food fest and then an art market in the park. Passed by 2 other street festivals on the way. Would have been sitting in traffic and struggling with parking if we had to drive. Admittedly the crime can be intimidating, but still, most people don't have a clue what a luxury it is to be able to live in the US without a car. I feel like I've found the secret level to living in America, and the best part is, with the money I've saved from not owning a car, I was able to buy my own house.

[@mischake]

Fact that these two channels meet is brilliant

[@droid16beta97]

You're the first of the podcasters I watch to get this guy on. Wish this guy got more attention. Thank you Joe, I hope your podcast channel gets more attention soon.

[@aanchaallllllll]

0:00: 🌍 Jason Slaughter, creator of the Not Just Bikes KZbin channel, discusses the need for better urban planning and transportation systems in cities. 8:23: 🌍 The KZbinr discusses how his channel has opened people's eyes to the benefits of walkable cities and the differences between Canada and the US. 16:35: 🚶 The United States was built on walkable cities, but many were destroyed by urban freeways. 25:09: 🚗 The car-centric development in American cities was a result of various factors including the dismantling of public transit systems and the promotion of cars as the future of transportation. 33:57: 🚗 The Netherlands implemented measures to reduce car usage and make roads safer, leading to an increase in cycling and walking. 42:30: 🎥 The speaker discusses their experience as a KZbinr, their video schedule, and the challenge of balancing quality content with algorithmic demands. 50:23: 🌍 The speaker wants to promote other urban planning channels and encourages creators to share their own experiences and perspectives. 1:04:07: 🚌 The perception that taking public transit is only for poor people is prevalent in car-dependent places in the US, but this is not the case in other countries like London. 1:07:03: 🚌 The perception that only poor people take public transit is not true and is influenced by car-centric policies in the United States. 1:15:40: 💡 The lack of investment in public transportation and the high cost of car infrastructure are major issues in the US. 1:23:48: 🏢 Transit is often applied as an overlay to car-centric planning, resulting in ineffective transportation solutions. 1:31:55: 📺 The interview discusses the fascination with niche KZbin channels and the impact of the pandemic on urban living. 1:40:11: 🎙 Joe Scott thanks Jason for coming on the show and promotes his merchandise. Recap by Tammy AI

[@lilytea3]

Wow, 2 hours of my time saved! Thanks Tammy AI!

[@cassieoz1702]

I like that he makes a distinction between being (geographically) isolated and being (culturally) insular. Australia is very geographically isolated but I've found most Australians know more about the wider world than most Americans I know.

[@anrmlumlwundlistr7620]

Does...that mean you don't know enough Americans? Just a thought...

[@cassieoz1702]

@@anrmlumlwundlistr7620 define 'enough'

[@TheDigitalZero]

​@@anrmlumlwundlistr7620 If you know a million Americans and only a few hundred Aussies, then of course the Americans will collectively have more cultural knowledge. What's your point here?

[@JohnFromAccounting]

@@anrmlumlwundlistr7620 I know lots of Americans and the younger generations are becoming more aware and educated about the world outside of their borders. But Australians are significantly more educated. This has a lot to do with the international nature of Australia. Everyone's family were immigrants (or convicts) at some point, and so cultures from around the world receive more attention as a result.

[@cassieoz1702]

@Hitjuich I was thinking more of whether folks know anything about world events, geography, history, other cultures. Whether people have the resources to travel overseas isn't the point. Learning a 'foreign' language is a bit of a red herring also. The Americans I met are only bilingual (in Spanish) because it's so widely spoken WITHIN the USA.

[@marvwatkins7029]

As they say it the auto shows: "Only in a car can you go where you want, when you want, with WHOM you want."

[@ssiddarth]

Love both your channels and there was a huge smile on my face as soon as I saw this video in my Sub feed, the conversation was great and definitely worth the time. Thanks Joe & Jason ❤️

[@joshsimpson1283]

I started taking transit because my car broke down at one point. I honestly really enjoyed taking transit, and kept doing it after my car was fixed. Unfortunately, I changed jobs and there's no good transit route to the new office. I miss it so much. I hate that I'm back to sitting in traffic

[@blindbrick]

1:14:11 'Wielrenners' we have those in the Netherlands to. Many of them don't use the cycle paths on crossings, because is holds them back. They swerve onto car lanes, go the wrong way around a roundabout just to knock a few seconds of their time.

[@marvwatkins7029]

Joe you are describing Slaughter (NOT and awesome name!) with text right out of this own description.

[@joearnold6881]

NJB ! Awesome. I loved when they were on ‘Well There’s Your Problem’! (Huge recommend, that channel is very nearly my favorite, engineering disaster podcast with smart, funny, leftie hosts)

[@joyl7842]

Awesome! Two of my favorite KZbinrs. The possibility of this ever happening never even crossed my mind! 😀 I love watching Not Just Bikes videos cause I was born in Amsterdam and worked in Utrecht, the places in The Netherlands where most of his videos take place.

[@Kocan7]

One of my favourite videos, I love both channels.

[@autohmae]

Thank you Joe, he's always a great guest with a great channel. And yes, I might be bias, I'm Dutch

[@iamanomas]

So am I. 🇨🇦🇨🇦❤️❤️🇾🇪🇾🇪

[@davidbeal6925]

I went to high-school in Indonesia for one year. It was an extremely valuable experience!

[@prrathamesshloke2742]

Wow how did I miss this 😢. Definitely looking forward for next episode with Jason 🥹.

[@TheJAMF]

Automatic big thumbs up for having "not just bikes" on... Wait, did I already listen to this on the podcast? 🤔

[@MC---]

The way to change peoples behavior is to make the thing you don't want them to do inconvenient. Like instead of adding another lane to a freeway or road. Remove a lane and add a light rail. Make it less painful to take a train versus driving. People will either suffer, change their habit, or move.

[@cassieoz1702]

Unfortunately we get the inconvenience (bad road maintenance and traffic jams) without the alternatives being any more useful

[@cooledcannon]

You don't necessarily have to make cars that inconvenient. Just make everything else better. And make cars as inconvenient to people in them as they make for others around them. A simple protected bike network citywide is sufficient imo.

[@lidu6363]

I really love to see the acknowledgement of USA being very isolated and Canada not being a very pleasant place to live compared to many other countries... AND how Canadians like to think they are different from USians, but really they're not...

[@deepakshetty8031]

It would be great if joe could also dive into the concept of degrowth

[@joyl7842]

31:13 That's why Rotterdam is so vastly different from every other city in The Netherlands. It was bombed so heavily during WW2 not a single building was left standing, like Hiroshima but without the nuclear fallout. There have been attempts at making it more walkable, friendly for bicycles and public transportation but it is obvious that it was designed for cars when reconstruction began post-WW2.

[@mischake]

About the fact that it costs more to replace infrastructure; in the netherlands they say (with a sigh) "they're always doing maintenance somewhere" but that's actually awesome

[@webchimp]

Another one to add to my NJB interviews list

[@foxrings]

Hoof GP?! 1:31:00 I got hooked on hoof trimming (starting with his channel) a couple months ago.

[@simonbor77]

Fantastic interview. I think you should add links to all the youtubers mentioned in this podcast ;)

[@pacamanca]

YES!!!

[@marvwatkins7029]

(Joe somehow remands me of Phil of the Wings of Pegasus channel.)

[@stephanweinberger]

@1:04:17 in many cities here in Austria I can say "I get chauffeured in a Mercedes" when I take the bus (the Citaro line is very popular over here).

[@philipm3173]

Stoked for this

[@PaperAirplaneFactory]

Nebraska is more bike friendly than many American cities, Lincoln in particular. I used to travel copious amounts through America, like Jason used to, and resonated with his Houston video when I first found his channel.

[@RVAIndex]

I realized how much of a petrolhead I am through NJB videos. I used to think I have to use car for half of my trips in Helsinki, but then realized a few couples of MDs and Ms.Eng. just don't own a car, despite easily affording several.

[@richardpayne]

While you're right that most UK city space by area is not that old, it's also not been planned for with transit in mind. A great example was when we went into Oxford a few week back. We decided to try the park and ride since they stopped charging extortionate prices for it. As soon as the bus got inside the ring road, we came to a grinding halt as there were no bus lanes. The trouble is, there's no space for bus lanes for a good couple of miles between the ring road and the centre. You'd either have to ban cars entirely, or start demolishing housing. I can't see either being workable.

[@kylehart6893]

Not Just Bikes is great

[@MongoosePreservationSociety]

Love NJB!!!

[@joyl7842]

Changing culture is the hardest thing humans can do, but also very impactful. It's one of the first lessons they teach you in business school.

[@marvwatkins7029]

Captain Obvious says these two are rediscovering the wheel.

[@arlandi]

watched this video while driving to office and stuck in Jakarta's traffic was not a good combination.... hahaha. But I enjoyed the talk anyway. you guys are my favorite KZbin channels.

[@marvwatkins7029]

Joe should just do audio.

[@philipm3173]

If you want a good essay that describes the design philosophy that has gotten us into this mess, read "Designing the fabulous nightmare" by Dr. J.C.T. Voorthuis

[@philipm3173]

Some notable quotes: "[Functionalism] formed part of the wild and Dionysian exploration of the enormous energy latent in a new language of form, a new attitude to modern materials...the social role of architecture...a number of traditional functions of architecture were consciously suppressed...for a small and select number of the total number of possible functions of architecture. From that perspective the famous slogan should have sounded more like _form follows only those functions that I find important right now and only in the way I want them to._ ...Form and function cannot in fact be seen as separate entities. Literature discovered this a long time ago. The form _is_ the function and the other way around; the medium is the message...In this sense we have to claim our existential responsibility for our own prioritization and the selection of functions that we find important. We must be aware and try to be explicit about the fact that we are always politically active when determining our priorities and making our selections, and we must try to become aware what we are excluding from our attention."

[@marvwatkins7029]

He's so flippant too.

[@LukeRanieri]

8:10 lol but Joe! You already have a pill! The wonderful Cankerboy supplement. I take it every day and it has been life-changing. Thanks again for all you do.

[@marvwatkins7029]

(Joe Scott clearly is a transplant. He certainly doesn't sound like a native Texans.)

[@LuckyDogProductions]

I just do not understand how CITY and TOWN officials do not get how great TROLLEYS would be for locals getting around and basic tourism..... Too much money going into pockets who are skimming of the current system, like the guys ( private companies ) who have the road paving contract.

[@norlockv]

Joe may suggest an interview with Stewart Hicks? Insightful architecture prof with a nice approach.

[@pepealexandre8815]

Great talk. 👍

[@gtbkts]

I always forget about this channel. I gotta subscribe.

[@LizzieJaneBennet]

Great conversation, guys.👍 I wonder what you think about the ideal city design of the Edenicity channel ? 🤔

[@user-gu9yq5sj7c]

1:00:47 I like calm people. Doesn't mean they're on drugs. You can speed up people's videos on yt. You're kind of calm yourself. 1:02:03 Those people with cars or big cars calling cyclists a wimp, that's all in their head that a car means they're tough or always means progress. Cars are just a status or wealth symbol for many of those people. 1:15:14 That's classist prejudice against poor people; and induced demand. 1:15:47 Yes, there's double standards of car centric people being ok of getting very expensive tax funding to what they want too, forcing their way on everyone when not everyone wants it, and when their singular way restricts freedom of other choices. 1:33:11 Yes, I like that yt and the internet shows niche things, especially in comparison to mainstream media and entertainment. Niche right now includes pushing for noncar infrastructure. Check out Yet Another Urbanist, About Here, Propel, Shifter, Peter Davies,Tim Traveller, and NHK Japan on trains.

[@brendoncummins2762]

I did a double take when 30 year lifespan was mentioned for asphalt, I40 through the area gets redone every 5 years minimum... or, depending on the contractor, as soon as the old crew get done.

[@AdamMansbridge]

30 years is the rebuild time. Resurfacing is much more often, bad maintenance reduces the 30 year timeline

[@Johsebthur]

It's orange pill because orange is the color of the Netherlands. Not because of the flag, but because of the name of the Royal family: Van Oranje-Nassau. The name comes from the German-born prince Wilhelm of Orange (in France) and Nassau (in Germany). That's why you'll find Orange Street and Nassau Street in New York (once New Amsterdam).

[@michelstoel2921]

Cars are actually outplaying ships with being bad for environment, by ligjtning them on fire. Absolutely phenominal

[@joyl7842]

Thank you guys! A joy to watch and listen to.

[@cassieoz1702]

I love The Hoof GP too

[@user-gu9yq5sj7c]

46:35 Jason's cup: "If you can't walk to a taco shop, it's time to move."

[@astrogatorjones]

Ya know the difference between Kansas and Texas? No... we're both flat......... Our wind turbines work.

[@AW-uv3cb]

Completely off topic, but I've just noticed how much Jason's eyes and lips resemble Liam Neeson's and now I can't unsee it haha. Love that channel!

[@MongoosePreservationSociety]

Citynerd has the best deadpan delivery

[@katiegreen3148]

No you are correct. Nebraska does not in fact have everything about Nebraska. (In fact we get really excited when we are noticed at all). I think the rest of the U.S. finds Texas a little odd and self absorbed.

[@fcassmann]

Great intervieuw. Greetz from Amsrerdam,the Netherlands.

[@marvwatkins7029]

Definitely not a whole new way.

[@eckligt]

From Jason's description of youtube channels he enjoys, I think he'd also love Huygens Optics, which posts longish videos quite infrequently.

[@marvwatkins7029]

How can Joe get a You Tube plaque with well under 100,000 subscribers? Is it a fake?

[@vysakhak191]

Can you please do a video about The Kozyrev Mirror.

[@safe-keeper1042]

Hang on, do those blogs still exist?

[@citizenwolf8720]

If you do go to the Netherlands, make sure that you visit one of the other cities, especially Utrecht, and rent a bike and go exploring (or have a local show you the good routes). Utrecht is even better for cycling than Amsterdam. Or.... heck..... and I know this is a crazy suggestion.... rent a bike in Amsterdam and take it on the train to Utrecht! :D

[@nathanielbyrne1132]

I think this is happening now in north America, 2023 2024, because the cost of living is astronomically higher now than it was back then in the 60s 70s 80s.

[@nathanielbyrne1132]

Like most young people can barely afford housing, let alone maintaining a car.

[@joyl7842]

18:00 I was having a sip of juice there and it went down my windpipe cause of the great joke 😂

[@spadeespada9432]

Funny I look at NYC now and think how clean and safe it is. But hey I was a teenager when the 90s started.

[@cherylfox6765]

What New York city are you talking about? Have you been to New York city lately? Homeless have taken up residence on every sidewalk, with drugs & needles strewn everywhere! People everywhere looking like drugged out zombies. Rampant Crime. People just walk into stores & take what they want, & walk out the door. There are zero consequences for theft, murder, car-jacking, assault on innocent people. You cannot ride the subway, if you value your life. Some thug will push you down on the tracks in front of the subway car, for no damn reason! Check out New York with a Google search. New York is not like the 90's . The opposite! It's the saddest place, now.

[@spadeespada9432]

@@cherylfox6765 I remember Times Sq in 1984/ 85. I first started going into the City in 1991. 1984 Murders >1400 (cf B. Goetz 12/22/84) 1991 Murders 2154 (1990 2245 Record) Murders 2022

[@rmyikzelf5604]

34:08 No. First of all, Dutch society and Dutch politics are primarily focused on cooperation and compromise to get things done. Dutch governments are, and always have been, coalitions between parties forging a parliamentary majority to implement some of what each party aims to achieve, often in close agreement with labor unions, employers and other organised civil stakeholders. No party can hold another hostage, because others will form a majority coalition government if they tried. There are over 20 political parties.

[@timojissink4715]

I live in the Netherlands aswell, and 2 weeks ago I would have taken the train if it were not 2,5 times more expensive. And that's with a diesel car, not electric. If public transport is well utilized it should be much more efficient and thus cheaper to operate, and price should be an incentive to take it instead of the other way around

[@EmyrDerfel]

Subsidising public transport is an easy way for governments to buy emissions reductions, reduce the need for road maintenance, and generally make places nicer to be. Tourists don't go to carparks.

[@joyl7842]

1:11:05 probably the same rule applies to smaller more efficient vehicles which don't run on diesel or gasoline. See Norway. They spent a lot of the money from their oil-drilling profits fund on making EV's affordable, and now there's no combustion engine anywhere.

[@george46light]

Orange pilled. Nice, because also orange is the Dutch national color (because of the royal family "Van Oranje" (Of Orange).

[@rmyikzelf5604]

26:14 ineffective, but true!😂

[@marvwatkins7029]

But what is Slaughter's real cred besides just observing and commenting with his outspoken, often outlandish, obnoxious opinions?

[@lyledal]

Joe, you know you and your wife could still live abroad if you want. I know she's a teacher, so she could probably get work almost anywhere. And your job is 100 percent portable. Just sayin'!

[@joyl7842]

37:00 I believe it was Eindhoven which was the first city to fully implement bicycle-safety all over the city.

[@damianl3]

Jason needs to go NYC again. There is no graffiti in or on the trains. Some stations have graffiti and are grimy but some are genuine works of art. I rode a brand new R211 subway train today with it swanking new digital goodness. MTA just opened a brand new LIRR station at Grand Central for billions. Everyone takes transit in NYC, all the buses and trains go to all the rich surrounding suburbs

[@autohmae]

That's great to see

[@ponderin]

I don't live in the city. I would be car dependent and do not mind. I enjoy the freedom of driving anything. But my two cents, should be out lying parking lots, with shuttles into the city then on the point, on foot or certain personal scooters or small golf carts.... like vacation spots....

[@sidharthcs2110]

My guy has the most epic name

[@ChaosPootato]

Jason is a cool cat. You're a cool cat too, Joe

[@deacom8528]

@1:04:00 the comment gets made again about the view in the USA the people who ride public transport are poor, for a dutch person this is sounds so insane, if you go by train in the Netherlands you see people with suits worth multiple 1000 dollars working on their laptop on their way to the office.

[@sammymarrco2]

you can see this on commuter trains esp in NYC and Washington DC, the bus is what people call poor. plus many parts of the us have a once an hour, 5 bus line for a town of 60,000 so ofc only poor people use it.

[@ZTanMURReneRs]

No, it's called orange pilled because orange is seen as a symbol of the Netherlands. Mostly due to the historical figure of William of Orange.

[@joyl7842]

26:55 Now his living in Taiwan makes sense to me! The semi-conductor capital of Asia. Surprised he doesn't live in Eindhoven! The semi-conductor capital of Europe 😉(but for a different reason).

[@autohmae]

You sound like someone who would enjoy the Asianometry KZbin channel

[@rogerk6180]

Orange pill refers to the dutch national color being orange.. hence why his channel is orange also.

[@BrianAlt]

Most of what he said about the NYC subways was correct, except they don't have any graffiti. That's been mostly solved since the 90s.

[@KurtMueller-g2l]

Nice video. Americans have their present transit problems due to lack of accountability and indolent graft. Remember the system when it was more compact and had more real car alternatives. Father too k me out ride on the first 🥇 interstate. limited access. in 1960. We were supposed to get the yank equivalent on the Autobahn. Urban planning does not work in th UU. People have to become involved. One good thing he about a car dependent society is that apartments without parking spaces are cheaper.

[@autohmae]

18:50 I'm certain that's just normal in the South LOL 🙂

[@realfoggy]

Jason and I have the same watch history. Hahaha.

[@hypernewlapse]

his name is Jason SLAUGHTER??

[@joyl7842]

If you listen carefully you can detect the Canadian accent. When he says "about", "Las Vegas" and a few other words - it's very noticeable.

[@sitrilko]

Hey, Joe, is it fine to post future guest suggestions?

[@marvwatkins7029]

Yeah Joe, but all you do is interview people that's not really creating content unlike Jason.

[@encompassthyeclipse7278]

Do a talk with Mythbuster Tori Belachi. He has a pretty recent youtube channel that has basically no following called The Truth About Tech

[@EmyrDerfel]

48:00 rather that Hbomberguy, my anti-Wendover example would be CGPGrey.

[@EmyrDerfel]

There's also Perun, who pivoted from small-time Australian gaming channel to every-Sunday 1 hour PowerPoint presentation on military economics and war supply chains. It's good stuff. (Helps that his PhD and dayjob are in that area, but he specifically avoids talking about the stuff directly relevant to his job).

[@FeelItRising]

listen to citynerd at 1.5x...

[@subbt1]

Timestamps?