{"id":196762,"date":"2026-03-18T19:13:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T19:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/196762\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T19:13:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T19:13:11","slug":"on-mobility-matters-how-slower-streets-smarter-design-and-local-visionaries-shape-miami-dades-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/196762\/","title":{"rendered":"On Mobility Matters \u2013 How Slower Streets, Smarter Design, and Local Visionaries Shape Miami-Dade\u2019s Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On a recent episode of Mobility Matters, I had the privilege of welcoming Victor Dover, founding principal of Dover, Kohl & Partners, and one of the most respected urban planners and designers of our time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve known Victor for decades, and every time we speak, I\u2019m reminded of how fortunate we are to have world-class thinkers and doers right here in our own backyard. Miami is home to some of the brightest minds in urbanism, architecture, and mobility, yet people often take for granted that so many of the most renown leaders shaping global conversation live just a few miles away.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Victor describes his work as this: helping communities imagine what they want to become when they grow up.
With his team, he travels across the country guiding cities on how to design safer streets, build better neighborhoods, and create places where people genuinely want to live, work, and connect. And much of that work begins with a fundamental idea: cities were invented to bring people closer together and not farther apart.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We talked about the origins of the new urbanism movement, much of which grew out of the University of Miami\u2019s School of Architecture. Designers like Andr\u00e9s Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk helped define a philosophy centered on compact, connected, walkable communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The goal is not just aesthetic, it\u2019s deeply practical. When daily destinations are close at hand, and streets are designed for people, everything becomes safer, healthier, and more economically resilient.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Victor and I also tackled a topic that affects every resident in Miami-Dade: speed. The reality is simple: speed kills. A pedestrian struck at 20 miles per hour faces a 5% chance of death. At 40 miles per hour, that jumps to nearly 80%.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The solution, as Victor points out, isn\u2019t more signage or harsher enforcement. It\u2019s a better street design. Narrower lanes, tree canopies, shorter blocks, active frontages, and human-scaled environments naturally slow drivers without them even thinking about it. And when we create streets that feel comfortable for walking or biking, people start choosing those modes, often replacing the short, routine trips that make up the majority of our daily travel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We also discussed the changing culture around driving. Younger generations don\u2019t see cars as symbols of freedom; they see them as burdens. Parking, gas, insurance, stress, and congestion all add up. As Victor put it, more and more people want to \u201chave a life\u201d not just sit in traffic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These issues were front and center in an author panel titled \u201cCities, Mobility and a Vision for a Better America\u201d that Victor and I organized for this past November\u2019s Miami Book Fair which featured prominent thought leaders in placemaking, street design and mobility.\u00a0 During the panel, the authors \u2013 Victor Dover, FAICP, author of \u201cStreet Design: Secrets to Great Cities and Towns\u201d; Wes Marshall, Ph.D., P.E., author of \u201cKilled by a Traffic Engineer: Shattering the Delusion that Science Underlies our Transportation System\u201d; Angie Schmitt, author of \u201cRight of Way: Race, Class and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America\u201d; Charles Bohl, Ph.D., author of \u201cThe Art of the New Urbanism\u201d; and Juan Mullerat, author of \u201cThe Urban Calendar: 365 Days That Shaped the Urban World\u201d \u2013 engaged in a thoughtful and informative discussion on how to design cities and streets that truly work for everyone.<\/p>\n

As always, I\u2019m grateful for voices like theirs that push us to see mobility as more than engineering; it\u2019s about community, wellbeing, and how we choose to live together. If you\u2019ve ever wondered why your neighborhood looks the way it does, or how we can build safer streets for our families, this is a conversation worth hearing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To learn more about the CITT and how your half-penny surtax supports mobility across Miami-Dade, visit miamidade.gov\/CITT. And if you\u2019d like to get involved as a Board Member or Ambassador, we\u2019d love to have you join us.<\/p>\n

To view the full interview with Victor Dover, and other past Mobility Matters podcast recordings, visit our YouTube channel @TransportationTrust. Here you can also view a recording of the Miami Book Fair panel discussion titled \u201cCITT-Sponsored Author Panel at the 2025 Miami Book Fair.\u201d
We want to thank Miami\u2019s Community Newspapers (MCN) for their continued partnership in producing our bi-weekly Mobility Matters podcast, which airs live on MCN\u2019s network every other Thursday starting at 9:30 a.m. <\/p>\n


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