TEASER: Lessons from Copenhagen with Mikael Colville-Andersen 

Doug Gordon: Hello, I’m Doug Gordon. What you’re about to hear is a teaser for a bonus episode of The War on Cars, in which I interview Mikael Colville-Andersen, the famed Copenhagen-based urban designer and host of the TV show, The Life-Sized City. We release about two episodes each month, with one bonus episode available exclusively to Patreon supporters because they help us produce the podcast and bring what we do to a general audience. It’s our way of saying thanks. If you become a Patreon supporter, in addition to bonus episodes like this one, you will also get free stickers, as well as special discounts at the official War on Cars store. Please visit Patreon.com/thewaroncarspod. You can sign up starting at just $2 a month. Once again, that’s Patreon.com/thewaroncarspod. Thanks so much for all your support. Now here’s a little bit of my interview with Mikael Colville-Andersen.

Mikael Colville-Andersen: Visionary politicians, man, they don’t grow on trees anywhere on the planet, but we’re seeing them emerge. And there is a kind of a trend I’ve noticed in municipal politics is that we’re getting a lot of the unusual suspects elected. In Barcelona, it was a people’s movement who went into politics. In Oslo, it’s like this weird left-wing alliance that never thought they had a chance. In Montreal as well, a people’s movement who went into politics. I really think that’s a totally different conversation. But it is super interesting how urban dwellers are tired of the same old, same old from their standard political parties, and are seeking urban change by electing different people.

Mikael Colville-Andersen: So these visionaries come in going, “Yeah, you know, let’s just go for it.” Montreal and Oslo are two funny examples. They both said, “We got four years. Nobody is ever gonna elect us again because this was, like, just a one off, man.” So they just go ballistic and visionary, and then they get reelected. In both cases. You know, Montreal now, the party runs the entire city. And so that’s super interesting. You just need people to go out and do it, and then you advance the conversation to a completely different level, because, man, I’m tired of talking about this, you know? The people who show advance the conversation to a much more intelligent place, and then we get work done.