Urbanism In America's Least Populous State?

[@hunterkeiser4808]

The problem with growth is that the prevailing sentiment throughout the US is that current residents by and large do not want anything to change. They want economic growth and increases in quality of life and amenities, but they also want to keep the parking lot they used to hang out in as kids and to keep run down houses and buildings they have been accustomed to seeing. This is a huge reason why cities that obviously have so much potential almost never actually get a major boon because current residents vehemently oppose any actual improvements that change the "character" of the town.

[@spelcheak]

That’s inherently a good thing

[@bootmii98]

Run-down buildings can be pretty urbanist as they're typically denser than big-box stores and fast food.

[@aramondehasashi3324]

no they're worried a bunch of people (Californians) are going to move in and change the culture of the city and make it like they place their moving (fleeing) from.

[@jeromefym9548]

@@aramondehasashi3324no state is like California the 5th highest gdp if it was a country the other states wish they had that much money

[@aimxdy8680]

@@jeromefym9548California is poor besides the Bay area, LA is one of the poorest major cities in the US by purchasing power per citizen, only metro areas that beat LA in being poor is Miami and Mcallen Texas and Central valley california. Bay area hard carries California. Richest state by purchasing power per citizen would be North dakota (don’t really count it since most of is oil money and can’t be sustainable) but really Washington and Massachusetts.

[@BernHaggerty]

Thanks for this. Laramie wants its passenger trains back!

[@stickynorth]

I am honestly surprised it doesn't have at least a battery-electric streetcar linking downtown and campus... YET!

[@Saglik-u9x]

I have been to both of these towns and enjoyed my visits.

[@n_v9386]

me too! Great for train watchers

[@HenryKobul2-pv5td]

Thanks for doing a video on Wyoming! I really appreciate this as a Wyoming resident.

[@Legally_Bomb]

Such an amazing state. I had an opportunity to spend a month in Dubois. It was life changing. You are blessed to call Wyoming home.

[@linuxman7777]

Size really doesn't matter for quality of Urbanism. I live in a town of 3000 people in Pennsylvania and don't need to own a car, I visited Tono Japan this year, and it is a city of 23000 and you don't need a car there either.

[@fourth_place]

very true

[@azzarys]

Hi ! Sorry to ask that (you can refuse to answer) but what is the town you live in ? Because I'm European and a city with 3000 people whitout a car is really not common even in Europe. So you live probably in the suburb of a major town no ?

[@linuxman7777]

@@azzarys you can live without a car where I live, but 90% of people still have cars. It isn't car dependent but people still like to have cars for long distance travel. It is a small town in Western Pennsylvania that is all I will tell you.

[@justink1985]

@@azzarys It's probably not.. at least not in a true urbanism sense, there's no buss, probably no bike lanes & yes with 3,000 people they probably *can* walk to most places (depending on where they live in said town), but not on dedicated infrastructure for it. The only other option (well mentioned in the video) would be a small college town.

[@KenanTurkiye]

don't you all enjoy railroad trams, trains etc are just so cool take a ride in my ''transportation'' folder, (folder 2 in my playlists) :)

[@kamilkasperek6506]

Great video! You deserve more attention, keep it up!

[@DanHominem]

I was born and raised in Wyoming. There is definitely an attitude if keeping the small towns small, and I can appreciate that. I lived in Casper and Gillette. Gillette is has basically no density at all, but Casper has pretty nice little downtown area. Casper has an old rail line (now bike trail) that I think would be perfect to use as a transitway of some sort, even a streetcar line. But, Casper has a terrible bus system that runs once every 2 hours and isnt on any of the apps. Gillette weirdly has a sizable *private* bus system, as many of the coal jobs are travelled to by bus. The town could benefit from a circulator route to the bus terminals for the mines, but Gillette has no public busses at all.

[@ryanslings6234]

Public transportation would definitely be a boost for the local economy in the off season. I can't imagine riding a bike with sub zero temperature and 60+ mph winds in the winter.

[@FGH9G]

It's such a shame that Cheyenne does not take advantage of their rail depot. It's not only architecturally beautiful, but perfectly strategically located too. Someday, maybe someday, Wyoming will bring back Amtrak service. I wish that Passenger Rail Advocacy Group (United Railriders Laramie) at 9:18 all the luck and nothing but the best!

[@athaliator3835]

It is really unfortunate that Laramie doesn't have good public transportation, I grew up in Cheyenne and most of my friends from high school are graduating from college there this coming spring. I have spent a lot of time in Laramie, going downtown, and just walking around. One thing I can say for certain is that the winter weather (which wasn't really mentioned) is AWFUL for driving conditions. It can get down to -50F with wind chill no problem, and there is a stretch of I-80 dubbed the "Snow Chi Chin Trail" due to the insane winter driving conditions (I recall in 2023 the interstate was closed to all traffic for over a month). So not ideal for biking, and there is hardly a public transportation system in the town, which unfortunately leads to a TON of students drinking and driving. Definitely an uphill battle here, but I wish nothing but positive urbanism vibes for all the tiny towns in WY!

[@verde7595]

I split time in Cheyenne for a summer and it was shockingly adequate. I was expecting a bedroom community of Fort Collins and nothing more but it's more than that. I had a great time. I'd go back if a career opportunity ever popped up.

[@michigandersea3485]

"Shockingly adequate" is not exactly a sales pitch lol. What I read about Cheyenne online makes the locals sound... generally unpleasant, too

[@Aleen166]

The "We Want Trains" sign made me sad. High speed rail to little historic towns like these would be great I feel.

[@stickynorth]

Looks like Laramie and Cheyenne could BOTH really use a battery-electric streetcar networks... These small college towns and cities seem like the perfect place to reintroduce these types of services in a very affordable yet meaningful way that buses just can't. I.e. the physical laying of rail is basically like marking your territory that you're top dog and everyone is just sharing your space, the way it was and the way it should be again... Car diets work and not just in large cities.

[@dddaddy]

A good video and a much more interesting-looking place than I would've expected.

[@ZadieBear]

I love these videos. As a guy in his upper 50's, when I retire, I want to move to an area that is more urban than where I live now. While I doubt I would choose Cheyanne due to the cold weather, nor Tempe due to the hot weather, seeing other places in these videos allows me to do more research. Thank you for these!

[@roadrsh7056]

Did a Google map search for bars. There are student-centric bars closer than the town, some with game rooms. There is also an on campus pub. Not a bad campus bubble.

[@roadrsh7056]

Googled bars in downtown. Looks fun too! Saw streets between campus and bars downtown. Easy biking distance. Looks like lots of fun for tourists and local 30's crowd.

[@Travel_Rest_Travel]

Wyoming. I have worked in this state too many times for insurance related hail damages to homes, farms, and ranches. Your video is great, but you have to capture the people and their attitudes. Having worked in this state as an arrival from Texas, then later I relocated to Georgia, I initially would spend my weeks long assignments in Cheyenne (note I have been all over the state and worked in other places in Wyoming as well). Bear in mind, you have to fly in to Denver International and drive approximately 2 hours or more up the interstate to get to Cheyenne. That is problem #1. Problem #2, you pass through FoCo (Fort Collins, CO) which is all the things that Cheyenne is not and I think a very valuable point you miss in your video since Fort Collins is a college town like Athens, GA. Problem #3, local attitudes which was pointed out well in the video. The Wyomingites I met typically sneered or had condescending sentiments toward Greenies (a slang way of referring to residents of Colorado). The thing I would typically tell them is why do they seem to have such disdain for a state that is clearly run better than theirs? My point was easily made by pointing to the lack of an actual airport in Cheyenne their capital city, the fact both states have abundant natural beauty, but one state capitalizes on it far better (Colorado), and the locals of Wyoming are typically small government types as opposed to the majority of locals in Colorado, however their state literally survives on the military base in Cheyenne and the federally created Yellowstone National Park in Jackson, WY from big government. Wyomingites have allowed their elected leaders to make their state passthrough/flyover territory; what a shame, the state and the people are wonderful. As a black person, never felt any racism there and I have been to 48 of the 50 states extensively and will say this is probably the least racist state based on dealings with people and businesses directly there. Georgia offers a good growth model for Wyoming because Georgia takes care of its small towns letting them stay small, but updates their internet speeds, infrastructure, and promotes agri-tourism with state dollars to provide small towns additional tourism and revenue. Lastly, to the poster, Cheyenne does not have a "beautiful" downtown, I understand this is your opinion, however Fort Collins has a beautiful downtown, even the locals in Cheyenne go there for a good time despite the driving distance. My coworkers and I all started gradually making a 45 minute commute into Cheyenne from FoCo rather than stay in Cheyenne because FoCo had more to offer and a better downtown that is actually beautiful. Cheyenne could have got our out of state dollars in their hotels, restaurants, and sites/festivals, but as you correctly point out, they are losing the battle for tomorrow because of the decisions they make today and their youth oftentimes leave the state which is a known problem.

[@jeanninefourtwenty]

This university in Wyoming is similar to Sonoma State University as far as it's positioning in it's town. SSU is not merged with any sort of downtown area either, it's more off to the side, about 10 minutes drive past residential areas, and bordering fields full of grapes, and or fields with various livestock. It's not near the Highway 101, instead it's positioned along the back roads of Rohnert Park / Cotati.

[@KuntaKillmonger]

Bro really out here trying to make Grand Ave. in Laramie, Wyoming seem like a major highway. lol. that street is dead ass empty compared to just about anywhere else in the US. While it may be "The old Lincoln Highway", it's not a highway at that point. It's a podunk main street in a small ass town. The majority of the traffic goes 30 miles an hour, not 40-50. In fact, locals cruise this "strip" for fun and tend to go excruciatingly slow because the only thing to do once you reach the end... is turn around and do it again.

[@jamesorlando8178]

love this!!! love urbanist topics that are off the beaten path. would be interested in NH VT ME WV as well !! or AK

[@PolkCountyWIProgressive]

Laramie’s downtown is like 4 blocks away from the edge of the University and the city has an old grid setup.

[@reubendensmore4648]

U of Wyoming and Laramie kind of reminds me of UIS and Springfield Illinois, since both have their universities separate from downtown, though Springfield has the unique case of it being cut off by soybean fields and an interstate junction. I think converting some of the lanes on the road between the university and the city into bus lanes and developing mixed use development in the soybean fields could go a long way.

[@FaithfulFarmer-p7e]

Hey man you don't live in the LA area right? If you do I hope you are doing okay with these awful fires and praying you are doing alright. I appreciate you and what you do for the Urbanist movement/community (bring a voice of reason)

[@fourth_place]

Hey! Yeah, I live in the LA area but have been unaffected (other than smoke) from the fires. Sad situation overall. Thankfully I had the chance to escape to Portland, OR for a majority of the worst of it. Sooooo a lot of Portland content coming soon lol. Thanks for checking in tho!

[@Earthhasnolove]

ive been to cheyenne, and also live in california, i think cheyenne is a lovely fantastic town

[@tbott1061]

When you said „Romanesque Revival“ you could have synced that up with actual RR buildings, which do exist in campus and in the downtown. Otherwise nice video

[@garysimonson1135]

Which did you name Portland but not Seattle?

[@asylumdead]

Uniquely small for a university town, maybe. Certainly not uniquely small for a college town, particularly for a plains state.

[@joebehrdenver]

Great content. When I was growing up in the '70s Cheyenne and my hometown of Rapid City were about the same size (50K). Now Cheyenne is 65K and Rapid is almost 90K. They both have air force bases and historic downtowns. Cheyenne is on a mainline RR and in other ways less isolated. Rapid has put huge efforts into restoring and upgrading its downtown, and marketing itself as a retiree and remote work option (being next to the Black Hills helps). I like Cheyenne a lot and hope it grows and thrives.

[@verde7595]

Rapid metro is a lot bigger, too. Cheyenne is overshadowed just to its south. ... plus Rapid has professional hockey.

[@thomasmcroy1756]

Urban southern Wyoming is still Denver adjacent. You should visit Bismarck, ND to see middle of nowhere urbanity.

[@macewilliams-l7k]

Other states also have small cities. Maines largest city Portland is not much larger and its second largest Lewiston's population is on 30 some thousand.

[@marcelmoulin3335]

Thank you for the superb video. You provide excellent analysis. Clearly, both Cheyenne and Laramie have the potential to reinvent themselves in a creative, dynamic, and sustainable way. I am delighted that you are drawing attention to the colossal possibilities that the New Urbanism can bring. Well done.

[@RandyWells24]

what surprises me... the LACK of SNOW!! assuming you recently there in the last 30 days or so???

[@fourth_place]

Mid November!

[@geisaune793]

Implement the land value tax and dramatically reduce (or eliminate if possible) all other taxes. Dense walkable/bikable cities, good public transit, zoning reform, and efficient land use will all necessarily follow (along with the elimination of poverty and wealth inequality, higher wages, lower cost of living, lower housing costs, etc. etc. etc.) All hail Henry George

[@r.mariano8118]

What about rural areas? You shouldn’t tax all that land.

[@mindstalk]

@@r.mariano8118 rural land has little value and would pay little tax

[@kadecooper6967]

You should go to Casper I heard there’s a gothic bad boy wizard who plays guitar and makes metal music you may get to meet him on his daily wand collecting route TWU TOOBZ

[@elliottprehn6342]

0:13 it’s really funny the biker is using the wrong lane when you showed this example

[@ttopero]

From a Denverite perspective, Cheyenne seems like a mini version of Austin, TX. There’s a local population that would love to improve access to what the Front Range further south has without having to drive, but the state seems to treat what we do in Colorado in the same vane as Coloradans (not Denverites) do to what Californians do-gotta have a nemesis regardless of the reality😉

[@anonymousinternetlady]

Please let Wyoming’s population stay small.

[@soupdrinker]

Well it will, it can't grow fast even if it wanted to. New residential development is slow, limited, and it takes a long time to get approval for. And limited resources basically unintentionally put an unintentional population capacity. It basically has a population limit/max-capacity by nature and by availability of units and construction and zoning.

[@N_g_er]

I'm gay day 6

[@robgrey6183]

Interesting video. A more representative treatment of our State would have included our third largest city, Casper (58,000), which is a working town. Your choice of Cheyenne and Laramie are anomalies in this State. Government and University are not representative. Folks in Wyoming are not interested in your "urbanism". We realize that this will flood the State with a dependent class that will serve as a voting bloc to change our way of life. People in Wyoming value work and self reliance, concepts antithetical to your "urbanism".

[@benelle8244]

Then why include them in a video that focuses on urbanism when they aren’t attempting any kind of urbanism besides saying they’re self reliant while living within a major population center

[@onanov]

Dang, well those of us "takers" who make money in education and government--most of the economy of the nation--time to throw in the towel. I've been to Casper--i see tendencies of urbanism. Not all of your parking is free.

[@ShowLSWH]

As a resident of Park County, this is nonsense. Urbanism at its core is perfectly consistent with our state’s belief in entrepreneurialism and private property. It means freeing up property owners to build different kinds of housing with their own land. It allows property owners to build housing without arbitrary dictates from bureaucrats about how big their lot size has to be or what minimum square footage their house or building has to be. It allows business owners to develop without being forced by the government to provide X number of parking stalls or obey dictates by the state or city to be X number of arbitrary feet away from a curb. I understand not wanting our state to become California or New York. I don’t want that either. But respecting private property rights, having safe places to walk and bike, and getting rid of burdensome regulations is about as Wyoming as it gets, and urbanism is a useful tool for advancing those ideas.

[@jphjphjph]

Hilarious that you think urbanists are "takers" when blue states contribute more to federal taxes while red states take more.

[@robgrey6183]

@@ShowLSWH "Urbanism" is directly contrary to property rights. Portland is a good example. We've been given a good dose of "Urbanism" up here in Teton County. They are doing everything they can to make it tough to drive. Senseless extensions of bike paths that can't be used for five months a year. Increasing regulations and delays to build on your own property.