Life After Cars: Reimagining Cities for People

What if the way we move is shaping the way we live — but not for the better? Join us with the authors of Life After Cars and the hosts of the acclaimed podcast The War on Cars for a bold conversation about how automobiles have transformed cities, communities, and the climate — and what it might take to imagine a future beyond car dependency. Drawing on decades of advocacy, journalism, and urbanist insight, Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon unpack the costs of car culture — from divided neighborhoods and environmental impacts to public health and social inequity. We’ll explore how transportation reform is central to building a more connected and livable society, and share stories of communities already leading the way.

If you’re a longtime urbanist or just beginning to consider the role of cars in daily life, join us for a conversation to challenge assumptions, spark new ideas, and offer a compelling vision for a future built around people — not just vehicles.

Copies of “Life After Cars” (published 2025 by Thesis, An Imprint of Penguin Random House) will be available for purchase following the forum.

Featuring Sarah Goodyear, Co-Host, The War on Cars Podcast, and Co-Author, “Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile”; Doug Gordon, Co-Host, The War on Cars Podcast, and Co-Author, “Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile”; Devayani Puranik, Mobility Development Program Director, COTA, with moderator D’Laveance Bert-Sims, Board Member, Transit Columbus.

If you finish Life After Cars and would like to dive even more deeply into this topic, our friends at the Columbus Metropolitan Library also suggest checking out Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World, by Henry Grabar, 2023.