Giving you options for links because I'm comradely like that:

  • https://invidious.weblibre.org/watch?v=5ZwbZWrKbGI

  • https://invidious.namazso.eu/watch?v=5ZwbZWrKbGI

  • http://c7hqkpkpemu6e7emz5b4vyz7idjgdvgaaa3dyimmeojqbgpea3xqjoid.onion/watch?v=5ZwbZWrKbGI

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZwbZWrKbGI

Not sure I agree with the thesis or not, but it's interesting to think about. It's true that there are lots of very good non-grid cities. I've always thought that the main purpose of grids is to be understandable to the human mind, which maybe isn't that important a goal, and lots of things flow well in a complex way: look at our own circulatory systems.

  • zifnab25 [he/him, any]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Reminds me of "Strong Towns", the astroturf group dedicated to making people hate roads but also to hate all other forms of transportation.

    • Pog_De_Maistre [none/use name]
      ·
      2 years ago

      I really want to look up their finances, I'm convinced that the new libertarian urbanism pitch is a comibation of developers and capitalist interests using them and certain "content creators" to build consensus that actually, you want to live in a 500 square ft room and live in a city that only has bus rapid transit. Does anyone know how to look up non-profit finances? I used to have a tool at my old job where I could do this easily but I dont have access to it anymore

      • Kestrel [comrade/them]
        ·
        2 years ago

        They aren't directly connected as far as I know but Chuck Marohn used to write a new urbanist series in the American Conservative. They mainly try to appeal to conservatives with their fiscal arguments and it resonates with some.

        • Pog_De_Maistre [none/use name]
          ·
          2 years ago

          Yeah and I know the Manhatten insitute has praised some of the "New Urbanism" in Somerville NJ near me which has been done mostly through tax cuts and subsidies to developers. I think something stinks because there does seem to be some right-wing interest in this stuff.

        • Pog_De_Maistre [none/use name]
          ·
          2 years ago

          Googled them, found it. TIN: 27-1459378

          Also found this

          https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/271459378/201823199349316362/full

      • old_goat [none/use name]
        ·
        2 years ago

        While not completely transparent they can't really hide who they are. Big donors need to know who they are supporting through their largesse, which is why nonprofits will always have a page full of pr headshots and bios for their board members and usually list their corporate sponsors.

        • Pog_De_Maistre [none/use name]
          ·
          2 years ago

          Gotta run to the doctor soon but some of this is good info. Seems like there's one big chicago finance guy who is using his foundation to give to them. Seems a lil sus to me and worth looking into

    • DialecticalShaman [none/use name]
      ·
      2 years ago

      I wasn't aware of the second part, they do that? I found them in like 2018 and don't remember that angle. But I already biked and bussed regularly.

      • zifnab25 [he/him, any]
        ·
        2 years ago

        I started seeing them about the same time. Read a few of their articles and, once you get down below the fold, they never seem interested in any kind of answer other than "deregulation" and "stop spending money on things". Its very nakedly libertarian the farther in you go.

        • pumpchilienthusiast [comrade/them, any]
          ·
          2 years ago

          Chuck is fairly libertarian and conservative, and he makes the case for walkable cities purely through a financial lens. He is a recovering engineer, with all that entails. It is decidedly NOT an astroturf group, but it is full of folks that still think conservatives can be reached through facts and logic so take it for what it's worth.

        • determinism2 [he/him]
          ·
          2 years ago

          I remember digging into them a couple years ago when I first encountered them and the conclusion was that they had some association with an Omidyar-esque figure.

        • Pog_De_Maistre [none/use name]
          ·
          2 years ago

          yeah like density+public transit is good but something I've seen is a take that we should do transit oriented development without transit. Seems to me to be a neo-liberal attempt to juice more money from public spaces while providing less public services and simply telling people they should suck it up because the charts and graphs tell them it's a good thing.

    • BowlingForDeez [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Is that group involved with the NotJustBikes youtube channel? Or maybe they just reference "Strong Towns" a lot.