We brought the hosts of podcast The War on Cars to Pittsburgh for an in-person discussion of their new book, Life After Cars
On January 29, neighbors, advocates, and visionaries braved the snow covered streets and sidewalks to make their way to Alloy 26 in Allegheny Center for a thoughtful and energizing conversation about reducing car dependency and envisioning progress for cities like ours. Ironically, the event was hosted in Allegheny Center, one of Pittsburgh’s poster children for poor mid-century urban renewal planning that put the convenience of cars over the people who lived there.
BikePGH brought Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon, hosts of the popular podcast The War on Cars, for an in-person discussion of their new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile. The evening challenged us to imagine cities that work better for all people, not just cars.
Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon, hosts of The War on Cars podcast and authors of the new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile
Pittsburgh perspectives, and lived experience was all at the table
Considering 42% of Pittsburgh workers don’t use a motor vehicle to get to their job, Pittsburgh is hungry for this conversation. With our historic neighborhoods and growing momentum around safe streets and multimodal transportation, our city has both the challenges and the ingredients needed to build something better.
We were also happy to host our special guest KDKA’s Boaz Frankel, formerly of Portland’s Pedal Powered Talk Show, to share his local perspective and further explore how cities like ours can achieve safer streets, cleaner air, and better-connected neighborhoods. Boaz shared what it’s like to experience different cities on foot, by bike, and by transit, and how past decisions directly affect his and his growing family’s quality of life.
We’re grateful to everyone who joined us to be part of this conversation. A special thank you to Alloy 26, Two Frays Brewery, and our local bookstore partner White Whale Bookstore for helping make the night possible, and to everyone who supported the event by purchasing tickets and books.
If you missed the event (or want to revisit the ideas), Life After Cars is available through White Whale Bookstore.
What’s Next?… YOU!
During the talk we reflected on the progress, pain points, and the importance of getting involved in the decisions about our streets and neighborhoods. While sometimes the “bike lash” may feel heavy, the talk was a great reminder that pushback is not unique to Pittsburgh, and that these changes are indeed popular and welcomed by residents who simply want to enjoy their neighborhoods without the fear of a driver hitting them.
Which is exactly what BikePGH and our network of neighborhood advocates do every day: pushing for safer infrastructure, supporting people who bike and walk, and making it easier for Pittsburghers to engage in the decisions that shape their city.
If you want to get further involved in your local neighborhood advocacy, boy do we have the resources for you! If you want to give financial support, every dollar helps make biking and walking better in Pittsburgh. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again– Progress doesn’t happen by itself: it takes all of us!
About the Book –
Cars ruin everything. That’s why we need Life After Cars.
When the very first cars rolled off production lines, they were a technological marvel, predicted to make life easier and better for everyone; yet a hundred years later, that dream is running on empty.
Instead of unbounded freedom, the never-ending proliferation of automobiles has delivered a host of costs, among them the demolition of our neighborhoods, towns, and cities to make way for car infrastructure; an epidemic of violent death; countless hours lost in traffic; isolation from our fellow human beings; and the ongoing destruction of the natural world.
That’s why we need Life After Cars. Through historical records, revealing interviews, and unflinching statistics, Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon, hosts of the podcast The War on Cars, and former host Aaron Naparstek unpack the scale of damage that cars cause, the forces that have created our current crisis and are invested in perpetuating it, and the way that the fight for better transportation is deeply linked to the fight for a more equitable and just society.
Life After Cars expands on the podcast with new interviews and original content—offering something for everyone, from longtime listeners familiar with the harms of car culture to those just beginning to imagine a world with fewer metal boxes zooming around.
Cars as we know them today are unsustainable—but there is hope. Life After Cars will arm readers with the tools they need to implement real, transformative change, from simply raising awareness to taking a stand at public forums.
It’s past time to radically rethink—and shrink—society’s collective relationship with the automobile.
About our special guest
Boaz Frankel has never owned a car. He’s an Emmy-winning correspondent for KDKA where he regularly covers environmental and bike-related stories. He’s also the creator and host of NEXTpittsburgh’s Yinzer Backstage Pass series. Boaz recently produced a pilot for WQED, Pittsburgh’s public TV station, dubbed “Rooted in Pittsburgh” about the unique plants and ecosystems that call the area home. He lives in Squirrel Hill and enjoys exploring Pittsburgh with his family on foot, bike and bus.
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