A conversation w/ Culdesac co-founder and CEO Ryan Johnson (exclusive on-bike interview)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 มิ.ย. 2024
- In this episode, I explore "car-free" Culdesac in Tempe, AZ, with its co-founder and CEO, Ryan Johnson. Come along for the ride and check out this community that is setting a new standard in neighborhood design that breaks the status quo of car dependency and living up to its tagline of "Cities For People, Not Cars."
We discuss the story behind Ryan's dream to build communities that free people from car dependence, how the relaxation of parking requirements for residents makes this all possible, and a new protected bike lane on Smith Rd connecting residents to Tempe Marketplace and the Rio Salado Pathway.
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Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel):
- My to Culdesac from the airport: • Riding my bike from th...
- Culdesac mini-tour w/ Alexys Still: • Culdesac Tempe: A car-...
- My Ride from Culdesac to the Airport: • Join me as I ride to t...
- Culdesac Art video: • Take a Look Inside the...
- A fabulous recent video by @kirstendirksen on Culdesac: • Living car-free in the...
- Brompton Vincita Bag Link: vincita.cc/?ref=6zadxp5o 10% Off Coupon Code: ActiveTowns
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Credits: Video and audio production by John Simmerman
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Background:
Hi Everyone! My name is John Simmerman, and I’m a health promotion and public health professional with over 30 years of experience. Over the years, my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization in how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.
Since 2010, I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be while striving to produce high-quality multimedia content to help inspire the creation of more safe and inviting, environments that promote a "Culture of Activity" for "All Ages & Abilities."
The Active Towns Channel features my original video content and reflections, including a selection of podcast episodes and short films profiling the positive and inspiring efforts happening around the world as I am able to experience and document them.
Thanks once again for tuning in! I hope you find this content helpful and insightful.
Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2024
North America needs more of this! I'm convinced that as more people experience car-free life the good word will spread, as will demand for such projects. Thank you for sharing this with us! 😀
You are quite welcome, and I couldn't agree more!
I agree!
@@pbilk 🙌
A super cool community (temp included) and Im glad to see it still thriving 4 months later. Hopefully more cities recognize how this is a viable model and seek to create their own culdesac. Great video!
I hope so too! Hopefully this profile will help spread the message. Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John
Glad this showed up in my TH-cam feed. Good stuff!
Cool! Stoked that you enjoyed it. Cheers! John
I used to live in scottsdale and you can ride on the trail from scottsdale to tempe town lake.. it's a pretty cool ride.
Yes! And as Ryan mentioned, the protected bike lane on Smith Rd from Apache will connect to that trail - my next video will feature my ride to the airport taking that route. Thanks for tuning in once again. Cheers! John
Great question about the response of the real estate development people. They should be moved by the conviviality, aesthetics, and health of it all. Yes, give people this viable option. I hope this sparks a sweet revolution.
Thanks, Mark. I hope so too. Cheers! John
Such a fascinating development. The idea that new construction in the US can be walkable, bikeable and transit accessible.
Thanks for sharing John!
You are quite welcome! Yeah, it provides a bit of hope that cities will see what is possible when transit is paired with land use and parking code reform. Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John
Love this 🌿
Yay! I thought you would. Thanks so much for watching and please feel free sharing within your networks. More people need to learn about Culdesac. Cheers! John
Exciting to see this stuff in Arizona.
It sure is... exciting to see this anywhere in North America. 😀
I live in Florida(we need this!!!) My daughter lives in Gilbert....I'm going to ride from the airport to her place on my Brompton and we're going to visit this place! so excited! Thank you for all your inspiration!
You are quite welcome! Enjoy your visit 😀
Yes and no Yes you need the concepts.. But the Design should be Tree and flower first building secondary.. BeCause the trees and flowers will help stop flooding and Mosquitoes and ants
Great neighborhood, more of these communities are needed.
They sure are!
Chicago is a great candidate for this type of stuff. I'm inspired
Just as i was giving up hope that america would ever get away from those homogenous suburban developments... I'm simply amazed at this development! I hope this becomes a massive success.
I hope so too. 😀
This is awesome
It really is. Thanks so much for watching. I hope you are enjoying the Channel.
Cheers! John
Important question, assuming families move in as well:
How will kids get to school? Elementary, Middle, and High School.
Is there any bike networks that connect to the schools, youth transit pass, or walking paths for them to have independent mobility?
Yes, there are schools within walking and biking distance of the community. The Smith Rd protected bike lane Ryan mentioned will also help with that accessibility, and more walking and biking facilities are clearly needed in general. I did see many kids walking to the elementary school when I ventured out for my morning walk in the neighborhood. Thanks for much for watching and for the question. Cheers! John
Great video on a fine example of missing middle housing. I hope they consider Pomona, specifically the Fairplex site, for their next project.
Thanks! So noted. 😀
In our community, a soon to be abandoned and obsolete business park has been purchased by the developer of large scale luxury apartments. It has created a firestorm of controversy by the neighbors opposed to the development. The Irony is that it is close to transit, retail, restaurants, bars, licquor stores, grocery stores, banks, and health care providers. While not car free, I have friends and neighbors who have chosen car light lifestyles in this area. I wish the developer was amenable to considering a different approach and communicating with their neighbors to create and contribute to a car-light community and foster a win-win opportunity for everyone. Really looking forward to learn more about Culdesac and watching it grow. I hope this type of development will become mainstream rather than unique. Thanks John and Ryan.
You are quite welcome, Gary! I really hope this video and the Culdesac development concept will take off... I think "car-lite" communities have the potential to result in more housing without resulting in more car traffic. Cheers! John
It reminds me of the Pueblo I visited in Taos, New Mexico. I kept expecting to see wooden ladders and Ristras hanging everywhere.
One of the best designs I've seen was I think in Barcelona where they had the city broken into super blocks. Cars could drive on the roads surrounding the superblocks but inside the 9 square blocks of the superblock, there was very limited access to cars. There were plazas in the center of the superblocks and movable bollards that would sink down into the pavement if a delivery truck with a transponder approached.
I'm imagining a whole city of superblocks with neighborhoods like Culdesac, each with its own plaza, retail space, parks, recreation, and open market spaces all connected by wide bike and pedestrian paths all with safe crossings of the roads in between the superblocks. The only thing I would add to the Culdesac neighborhood would be some farming plots that could be rented or leased. Imagine you see the food growing and then you see it for sale at the market right in your neighborhood. You could talk to and get to know the people growing your food.
Love this vision! Thanks for watching and for contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John
They should also reduce the lanes on Apache Boulevard. Just one lane in each direction and remove the traffix lights. You have wide roads in the North and South.
I can't tell you how many times I said that while I was there. I do hope that the city will be bold enough to make that move someday, as there is absolutely no reason for four lanes on Apache. The traffic volumes were low the entire time I was there, and people would routinely treat it like a race track. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John
@@ActiveTowns Traffic will be faster with one lane and removal of some traffic lights. Slow pace, but without stops.
@@lkruijsw Correct! You are talking my language here. Multiple lanes in these contexts just encourage speeding which leads to crashes, noise pollution and a general degradation of the quality of life and safety in the area.
I noticed some of the shots of the street seemed empty at time. Didn't seem like there was a lot of traffic, at least when they were filming.
@@pavld335 Exactly! There is no reason for four lanes. Full stop. Thanks so much for watching. Please do share it with others. I really appreciate it. Cheers! John
In the late 1990s communities like this were springing up all along the new light rail from Hillsboro to Portland OR.
Yeah, I've seen these developments while riding this line while visiting friends living in Hillsboro. It was wonderful. 😀
Is culdesac being extended? I see on the map that there is new construction on the east that I didn't see a few years ago.
Their 17-acre (6.9-hectare) property stretches to S. River Dr., where there is now another new community being built.
Where’s the community Garden area??? A MUST for human survival
I hear it is on the way. Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John
We need a Culdesac in Kansas City
I hear ya! We could use 'em almost everywhere in North America. The key is access to high-quality transit, other meaningful destinations within walking and biking distances, and a safe and inviting active mobility network. In the meantime, a city could eliminate parking requirements so more housing can be built near meaningful destinations through incremental infill development. Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John
Excellent video!
Thank you! 😀
Man this is so cool!!!
Pretty nice, eh!? 😀
@@ActiveTowns When does Austin get one! hahaha
Not for independent rural people.
@@marilynmitchell2712 Uh, okay. Nobody said anything about independent rural people. If that is your preference there is plenty of that to choose from. And as a bit of context I grew up on a small farm in Northern California. This is about creating more flexible living options within urban environments while preserving rural areas. In any case, thanks for watching. Cheers! John
Interview Mr Money Mustache while your there!
I did get the chance to meet and chat with him! 😀
@@ActiveTowns Cool!
👏👏👏👏
🙏 Thanks for tuning in.
One significance of the mural is the bird itself. It appears to be a cactus wren. It's the state bird of Arizona, and the largest species of wren in the United States.
Second, for health reasons the bougainvillea should be removed. It looks nice form a distance, but close up it's mostly made of daggers. Someone has to take care of the plant, and heavy gloves are a little inadequate for protection. I kind of hate bougainvillea.
1,000 people on 17 acres sounds like pretty good density. Not too crowded.
Cool! Thanks, Claude. 😀
I'd like to see them landscaping with native plants. Other than that it looks pretty sweet.
@@baddriversofcolga
At least the trees are native.
@@JustClaude13 That's good to know! I am admittedly not that familiar with western flora.
@@baddriversofcolga
it's mostly all about tiny leaves and lots of thorns.
There should be elevators for the elderly that cannot use the stairs.
Definitely! 💯
This is in a neighborhood I wouldn’t walk around in. It’s run down, so I’m guessing the land was cheap. Light rail has a reputation for crime and homeless people just riding it and sleeping on it. It’s over 100 degrees in the summer in Tempe, 120 in August. Few people walk and ride bikes in that weather. Monsoon season is June to September when heavy rains can cause flooding. I can’t imagine that the little market in the complex will have competitive pricing and the closest grocery store closed 2 years ago. Not a fan of the building placement. It creates canyons that will echo and increase noise.
Corporations can build whatever they want. If people desire it, they will rent it. Rent … the rent in this complex is pretty high, even for Tempe, so I would guess just the idea of it will attract ASU kids, since that’s who usually fills the apartments in that area. But, whatever … have fun.
To each his own. I walked around the neighborhood after dark and first thing in the morning as families and children were walking and riding their bikes to school. Is it the most affluent neighborhood? No. Is it safe? That’s something each person will need to answer. I will say this, the Thursday night Little Cholla was amazing with hundreds of residents from the surrounding neighborhoods in attendance and everyone I met I’d be delighted to live next to. None the less, thanks for tuning in. Even if this place is not your cup of tea, I hope you enjoyed the ride. Cheers! John
@@ActiveTowns People can just look at a crime map and come to a conclusion. And luckily AZ is way ahead in school choice and has a decent selection of charter and private schools cause schools in that area are terrible.
The rent is expensive for that area, but ASU kids will love it.
I wondered about the crime as well as the weather. Thanks for the info.
Ah. A charter school lover. tell me you're a conservative without telling me. You don't want to tax billionaires to make schools better, but my tax dollars get to pay for your kid to go to a private school? seriously, on behalf of the working class that fit that bill for you, get bent.@@katydid2877