STOP Saying US Urban Planning 'Sucks'

Ever wondered why some countries are celebrated for their urban design while others face criticism? Curious about the secrets behind creating people-centric spaces? In this episode we explore the evolution of urban planning in the US, and how it compares to Europe's urban design superstars. Today we dive deep into the historical challenges and triumphs that shaped beloved urban spaces, and join the conversation on reshaping communities for a brighter future.
#urbanplanning #placemaking #citydesign
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Video Chapters
0:00 The US’ failing infrastructure
1:49 Urban Planning Super Stars
2:22 Cars Take Over
3:37 Industry Regrowth
5:36 Stop Der Kindermoord
7:18 Booming Economics!
9:05 Strategic Infrastructural Investments
10:24 The Housing Crisis
11:59 Embracing Frustration
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Find Me On:
📸 Instagram | / rachel.le0nard0
📱Tik Tok | / rachel.leonardo
🟦 Facebook | profile.php?...
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📑 Sources Used for this Video:
Dutch Historical City Design: www.theguardian.com/cities/20...
Urban Reconstruction Post WWII:
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1...
US Subsidized Housing: usafacts.org/articles/which-s...
Netherland Cycling Rates:
www.sciencedirect.com/science...
Der Pijp, Amsterdam 1972
• De Pijp, Amsterdam 197...
The New Age of Architecture:
• The New Age of Archite...
ETA "Stop Killing Our Children" Doc:
vimeo.com/361286029
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#urbandevelopment #urbandesign #urbanplanning #americancity

[@tyleralberico9340]

It’s a good day when this channel has a new video my goodness

[@studio.leonardo]

Hope you have been well Tyler! Happy belated New Year :)

[@Cainjaa17]

Impressed by the video quality! This looks completely professional and have to absolutely agree with the comment from strong towns -- this channel is criminally underrated. Great work!

[@studio.leonardo]

You're too kind, thanks for watching!

[@knarf_on_a_bike]

Here in Toronto we just set a record for unsold new condo units. 22,000 of them sit vacant. Meanwhile, thousands sleep in "tent cities" in parks throughout the city, in mid-winter. This is what happens when private developers are given free reign.

[@studio.leonardo]

It is a sad reality :( but with time I hope all our voices and collective action start to make a difference

[@jameslongstaff2762]

Why aren't the landlords decreasing rents for these empty units? The landlords are losing money by not getting tenants in the condos for cheaper? If these condos are for sale, why aren't the prices decreasing? I heard most housing in Toronto is unaffordable

[@GordonSlamsay]

​@@jameslongstaff2762 bruh at this point I'm inclined to believe Alfred Pennyworth in that "some men just wanna watch the world burn"

[@starventure]

@@jameslongstaff2762 if you rent cheap, you end up with a cheap tenant, i.e. an unreliable and potentially dangerous tenant that you can't get rid of. At which point it is more financially sensible to leave a toaster oven on overnight in one of the apartments and collect the insurance rather than call the cops or hire local thugs to get rid of the problem.

[@cmmartti]

​@@jameslongstaff2762Condos are for sale, not rent. And they haven't lowered the prices yet because lowering the price would lower the book value of the property which could cause them to lose access to their funding-they're holding out that someone will buy at that price. In time prices will go down, suddenly, this is just a bit of static friction holding it in place for the short term.

[@StLouis-yu9iz]

Great video, this is why I like Strong Towns so much. I think they do a great job trying to reach across the aisle and open more people's minds to the problem of car-centric built environments.

[@studio.leonardo]

Completely! The organization and movement that strong towns has created is truly wonderful. Their team is the best AND they are helping to accomplish such incredible things

[@ggggggggyt]

Great video. There is some irony in the thumbnail if you know where that picture was taken. While it looks urban its in Blacksburg VA and is a 10 min walk from a very walkable downtown as well as the entire university. Many students live there because its so walkable (and because its where the tailgates are)

[@ainhoaalbistur2650]

Thanks for speading out this positive message. It is important to look back how other countries developed their cities to be able to change ours!!!!

[@UntitledPlanning]

Touched on a lot of great points and I am happy to see you touched on the point of community action needed for change!

[@studio.leonardo]

Always appreciate it and as an aside, I’ve been loving your content lately! Keep it up ❤

[@UntitledPlanning]

@@studio.leonardo 🙌

[@KatieMcCaskey]

keep up the good work on these videos - especially like the emphasis on taking action, not wallowing in despair

[@studio.leonardo]

Appreciate the love and support! Would love to know if there is anything I can do to help push taking action more!

[@KellerGlass]

I’m doing this advocacy work on the ground. I’m also active in online organist spaces. These spheres certainly influence each other, but they are distinct. I don’t scream “one more lane bro!” at planning meetings. Having said that, there are times when I’ve had lengthy conversations with policy makers who are “concerned” about pedestrianization projects, and slowly come to the realization that they are utterly opposed to the project for political or aesthetic reasons regardless of the economic or safety impact. In these situations, we need to be able to say exactly what we want, defend our stances with evidence, and state the stakes clearly. Sometimes, this means calling bullshit. I literally said to a council member a month ago, “what in hearing is my daughter has to risk her life crossing this street because you’re concerned about the national debt. You’re choosing to make our street less safe for children to make a political point.” This person was obviously not gettable, but perhaps parents who overheard the conversation are. Yes, local policy making requires hard work and compromise, but no one ever made any progress by sharing the feelings of people in power who are negotiating in bad faith. Dutch the concern trolling hand-wringing about tone, go to local meetings, do your research, be respectful but direct, and get some shit done.

[@kailahmann1823]

Saying that Germany has fixed these issues sounds a bit to optimistic - but as Germans tend to see everything more negative and seeing the hard numbers, it's clearly way way less extreme. What's also interesting (and I think a giant difference to the Netherlands) is how road safety is seen here: Despite having less fatal crashes than the Dutch (and some of the lowest traffic fatality rates in the world), many people see the roads as absolute death traps and the government doing little to nothing against either crappy designs or idiots on the road.

[@studio.leonardo]

Thanks for adding that point. I think Germany and many countries outside of the three mentioned here still need improvements but the progress that can and has happened within a 50 year time frame is quite remarkable. That is what makes me optimistic for the future :)

[@jackiepie7423]

the difference between the U.S. of A. and Europe post American peak oil is that the independent oil men were flush with cash until the 85 drop in oil crisis, This sudden in flux of cash and it's withdraw resulted in the savings and loan bail out brought on by, amongst other things, real estate values collapsed in the energy states - Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma - particularly due to falling oil prices

[@TheJamieRamone]

Woohoo, a nü StudioLeonardo video drop! Hey, saw u on Flerf's most recent video. Loved the dual collab. Planning any more, maybe with other urbantubers? 🙏

[@studio.leonardo]

There is another on the way! We are working on it now but shhh its a secret ;)

[@TheJamieRamone]

@@studio.leonardo My lips r sealed! 🤐😁

[@kobeans6686]

Another great video!

[@studio.leonardo]

Thank you for taking time out of your day to watch!

[@SincerelyFromStephen]

Cities in the U.S. should be improving themselves in ways that directly improve the lives of the people who live IN the cities, not the suburbs. A highway that segregates a neighborhood will not improve the quality of life for the people in that neighborhood.

[@starventure]

The problem with that mode of thinking is money. Who has it, who is giving it, and who is taking it. City dwellers all too often are money takers, not makers, and have built the reputation up for it over many decades. Suburban dwellers are the opposite; most of the civilian tax take comes from them and corporations. If a city has been abandoned already by its tax base, the only persons left at the end are the ones benefiting from the ones who left, which is a bad place to be - NYC in 1975 is a good example of this.

[@SincerelyFromStephen]

@@starventure the idea that suburbs are money makers is fundamentally untrue. Suburbs and suburban style infrastructure is consistently being propped up by city tax bases. The suburbs can only exist because of the city

[@starventure]

@@SincerelyFromStephen Suburban infrastructure is dirt cheap compared to cities. Please name an aspect of suburban infrastructure that is excessive in cost.

[@SincerelyFromStephen]

@@starventure the infrastructure that keeps them functioning. Roadways, utilities etc. many modern suburbs are only possible due to subsidies.

[@starventure]

@@SincerelyFromStephen Cities have more roads, streets, utilities, etc. and more closely together which means more complex and difficult to perform maintenance on…i. e. more expensive. Utilities out in the suburbs are on poles…are you going to say that it is more expensive than utilities that are underground? Cities also tend to have hard infrastructure mass transit which has insane operation costs that end up being subsidized. NYC is the poster child for this; the 2nd avenue subway was at one point the most expensive project in the us and only serves about a 3 mile distance.

[@beastbike4570]

Good content!

[@studio.leonardo]

Thanks for your support!

[@gorge6180]

excellent ♥

[@lephtovermeet]

Urban = !🚗. If 🚗 then suburban.

[@kmata53]

8:35 "Instead of bla bla bla, we instead bla bla bla" 8:50 no one ever asked for cars with lower mileage. Small cars usually have HIGHER mileage. I don't understand why youtube started pushing this kind of high-school grade presentations on front page.

[@studio.leonardo]

Everyone is a work in progress and I see that delivering criticism with kindness is not your strong suit. That's okay. I promise I will work on improving my presentation video by video. I hope you can find kindness and happiness in your heart ❤️