Skip to content

Talking Headways Podcast: Gabe Klein’s Start Up City

Gabe Klein joins us this week to talk about how to get things done and make big changes to improve city streets and transportation. Gabe has served as the transportation chief of both Chicago and Washington, DC, and prior to his stint in government was an executive with Zipcar (he is also currently on the board of OpenPlans, the organization that publishes Streetsblog USA).
podcast icon logo

Gabe Klein joins us this week to talk about how to get things done and make big changes to improve city streets and transportation. Gabe has served as the transportation chief of both Chicago and Washington, DC, and prior to his stint in government was an executive with Zipcar (he is also currently on the board of OpenPlans, the organization that publishes Streetsblog USA).

Gabe is out with a new book, Start Up City, about creating change through local government. He shares his insights about the interplay of the public and private sectors, how to push people to overcome a fear of failure, and cutting across the siloes of city departments. Gabe also talks about how he got into transportation, and why Vision Zero is a powerful idea for cities.

All of this and more (including our debate over whether a hot dog is a sandwich) on Talking Headways.

Photo of Jeff Wood
Jeff Wood is the creator of the Talking Headways podcast and editor of the newsletter The Overhead Wire.

Read More:

More from Streetsblog USA

How (And Why) To Capture the Livable Streets Movement on Film

November 10, 2026

Tuesday’s Headlines Are Still Surfing the Blue Wave

November 10, 2026

How to Fight a Freeway 101

November 9, 2026

Monday’s Headlines Come Heavy or Not at All

November 9, 2026

The California DMV’s Culture of Obstruction

November 6, 2026
See all posts