Beyond Streets Podcast

As the school year winds down, Beyond Streets leans into the everyday intersections between education, transportation, and equity. This week, we sit down with Namita Brown, managing partner at Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost and a powerhouse in California education law.

From collective bargaining to broadband, school transportation to walkability, Namita offers a wide-angle view on the unseen scaffolding that keeps our schools—and students—functioning. 

We dig into how COVID reshaped schools as sites of cultural and political conflict, why transportation access is still a quiet crisis, and what parents, educators, and policymakers can do about it.

If you're navigating school lotteries, IEPs, or just figuring out how to get your kid to class on time, give this one a listen. 

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Reach out with questions, ideas, and feedback: [email protected]

Keep up with us on LinkedIn:

• Greg Rogers
• Greg Rodriguez
• Samantha Roxas

www.beyondstreets.org

In this episode, we head to Buffalo, New York—a post-industrial city with deep roots and a bold future. We sit down with Justin Booth, Executive Director of GOBike Buffalo, to explore how biking, community-led planning, and quick-build infrastructure are reshaping the city’s streets and values.

From “Recycle-a-Bicycle” to regional trail planning, Justin shares the journey of GOBike’s 25-year evolution and the coalition-building needed to reconnect communities fractured by expressways. We discuss what it really takes to make change: listening to neighborhoods, rethinking parking culture, and focusing on the basics—like sidewalk snow removal and safer crosswalks.

Buffalo’s past holds lessons for every city rethinking its future. This one’s for planners, parents, advocates, and anyone who believes cities should work for people and a variety of transportation modes, beyond cars. 

🛠️ Topics covered:

• Community-led quick-build projects
• Repurposing the Kensington and Scajaquada expressways
• Bike equity, youth empowerment, and transportation demand management
• The intersection of advocacy, politics, and public health

Help us grow -- please rate and review us!

Reach out with questions, ideas, and feedback: [email protected]

Keep up with us on LinkedIn:

• Greg Rogers
• Greg Rodriguez
• Samantha Roxas

www.beyondstreets.org

Infrastructure Week is back — and no, it’s not just for D.C. insiders and engineers.

This week on Beyond Streets, we’re joined by Ross van Dongen, who wears a lot of hats at United for Infrastructure and Accelerator for America. We get into what’s actually happening on the ground with all the federal dollars flowing into cities. 

We talk about:

• What a “C” grade on our national infrastructure report card really means 
• Why those annoying orange cones might be the most hopeful thing you’ll see all week
• How cities like Phoenix and Waterloo are making real change — from better transit to cheaper internet
• The real barriers to getting money from D.C. to Main Street, and what needs to change

If you’ve ever wondered why infrastructure takes so long — or what you can actually do about it — there's never a better time to start learning than now. 

🎧 Tune in and get ready for Infrastructure Week with a helpful perspective on what it means to build a stronger, more connected future.

Help us grow -- please rate and review us!

Reach out with questions, ideas, and feedback: [email protected]

Keep up with us on LinkedIn:

• Greg Rogers
• Greg Rodriguez
• Samantha Roxas

www.beyondstreets.org

In this episode of Beyond Streets, we’re joined by Julia Thayne — economist, urbanist, and co-founder of Two Degrees and Rising. Julia’s career has spanned public, private, and nonprofit sectors, all driven by one clear mission: turning bold ideas into real-world impact.

We dive into her journey from Ernst & Young to Siemens to LA Mayor Garcetti's office, the founding of Urban Movement Labs, and now her latest venture building global clean tech partnerships. We unpack what it really takes to accelerate systems change — from policy sandboxes to third-space innovation — and why community engagement must evolve beyond checkboxes and into real collaboration and co-ownership.

Tune in for an honest, optimistic conversation about reinventing how we build cities, scale climate solutions, and actually get things done.

🔗 Learn more at Two Degrees and Rising

Help us grow -- please rate and review us!

Reach out with questions, ideas, and feedback: [email protected]

Keep up with us on LinkedIn:

• Greg Rogers
• Greg Rodriguez
• Samantha Roxas

www.beyondstreets.org

In this host-only episode, we dive into one of the most elusive forces in transportation and public life today: certainty—or the lack thereof.

With some decent dad jokes, candor/wit, and the occasional turmeric-ginger tonic, we unpack what it means to move forward on transportation policy, planning, and research when funding is unpredictable, infrastructure is politicized, and communities are just trying to make it work. From the shifting fate of Safe Streets for All to LA's budget realities and Oakland’s “pothole vigilantes,” this conversation threads together the personal, political, and policy-driven forces shaping how cities build—and maintain—livable streets.

Expect some takes on: 

• How cities adapt when federal support wavers
• What it means to weigh benefits vs. burdens
• The politics of potholes, parklets, and Purple Lines
• Whether or not pilot projects are back 
• And why defining value starts with community voice

Help us grow -- please rate and review us!

Reach out with questions, ideas, and feedback: [email protected]

Keep up with us on LinkedIn:

• Greg Rogers
• Greg Rodriguez
• Samantha Roxas

www.beyondstreets.org