This week, Robin Rather of Collective Strength joins the podcast to talk about missteps in the planning profession -- including how things go wrong with language. Robin shares how she got to thinking about urban issues and why she believes current planning practice is stuck in the 1990s. We discuss the often jargon-filled language the profession uses, taking a paragraph from Austin’s current zoning code rewrite to illustrate.
Streetsblog USA
Talking Headways Podcast: Critiquing the Language of Planners
By Jeff Wood
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog Los Angeles
Pomona Is Becoming Bike-Friendly
Pomona has made a point of going above and beyond the basic minimums for safer streets, including bikeabilty, walkability, accessibility, and transit improvements
November 4, 2025
Active Streets Corazón del Valle Open Thread
Thousands of participants enjoyed car-free streets through the cities of South El Monte and El Monte
November 3, 2025
