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 would like to dive more deeply into this topic, our friends at the Columbus Metropolitan Library suggest checking out Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World, by Henry Grabar, 2023.