Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Podcast

Talking Headways Podcast: Louisville’s Urbanism Derby

podcast icon logo

This week's guest is Branden Klayko, founder of Streetsblog Network member site Broken Sidewalk, which covers transportation and urbanist issues in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville is one of the oldest American cities west of the Appalachians, and we discuss the history of the city and its urban heritage. (Is it southern? Is it in the Midwest?)  While many may know Louisville for bourbon, the Kentucky Derby, or college basketball rivalries, Branden gives us another view of the arts and culture that make the city great.

Streets-wise, there's a lot happening in Louisville, with the coming of bike-share, the city’s focus on pedestrian and bicycle safety, and the legacy of freeway opposition in the city. Branden also reminds us of great local figures in urbanism such as Grady Clay, who was Jane Jacobs contemporary and featured in Death and Life of Great American Cities (check pages 161 and 195).

And if you’re ever in town, make sure to travel the Big Four Bridge, which proved to Louisville residents that you don’t need a car to cross the Ohio River.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Talking Headways Podcast: Why Are We Going Backwards?

A very special discussion about why America keeps building highways, how President Trump is targeting transit and how we can all get a better federal transportation bill if we want it.

November 6, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Won Big

It was a good day for transit on Election Day Tuesday.

November 6, 2025

Transit Wins Big Again In Local Elections Across America

Several candidates who ran on ambitious transportation reform platforms won at the ballot box on Tuesday — but even more communities said yes to supporting transit directly.

November 6, 2025

Book Excerpt Special: The Incomplete Freeway Revolt

A new book looks the destructive 20th-century urban development style — freeways, downtown office towers, suburban housing developments — that keeps Americans so dependent on their cars. Here's an excerpt.

November 6, 2025

How One Artist Is Helping Neighbors Decide How Their City Should Sound

An Italian researcher is challenging tactical urbanists to think about sound — and helping neighborhoods imagine something better for their auditory environments.

November 5, 2025

PART III: Policy Solutions to the E-Moto Problem

What happens when existing state laws don’t quite seem to fit newer types of electric motor vehicles that are being sold and used? How should we address this problem? Here's Part III of our series.

November 5, 2025
See all posts