How to Push a Livable Streets Project Forward — Even in the Age of Federal Clawbacks (Christopher Coes)
From The Brake: A Streetsblog Podcast by StreetsblogUSA
April 7, 2026 · 27 min
About this episode
Christopher Coes discusses initiatives to advance livable streets projects amidst federal funding challenges.
Even before the Trump administration and the current congress started rescinding federal grants left and right, it was hard to get major sustainable transportation projects across the finish line in America. That's why one livable streets legend is stepping up to help push those efforts forward — including a few that lost funding since his own time in Washington On this episode of The Brake, we're joined by Christopher Coes — the third-ranking member of USDOT under President Biden and superstar alum of Transportation for America, Smart Growth America, and the Brookings Institution — to talk about his new initiative, AmericaFWD. With the help of former WashDOT head and guest of the podcast Roger Millar and a deep network of infrastructure experts, they're helping a select group of U.S. communities push forward major multimodal infrastructure efforts, projects to reconnect communities, and more. And you might even recognize a few of those efforts from the list of projects that had their funding rescinded under Trump. Give it a listen, then check out AmericaFWD's State of Play report, apply to be a part of its Project Delivery Accelerator Lab , and explore its Advisory Network.
People in this episode
Guest: Christopher Coes
Topics covered
- livable streets
- sustainable transportation
- infrastructure
- federal funding
- community projects
- multimodal transport
Keywords
- livable streets
- sustainable transportation
- federal grants
- infrastructure
- community reconnecting
- AmericaFWD
- Project Delivery Accelerator Lab
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: USDOT, Transportation for America, Smart Growth America, Brookings Institution, AmericaFWD
More episodes of The Brake: A Streetsblog Podcast
- Are US Cities Ready for the Robotaxi Revolution? (Josh Naramore) · April 28, 2026 · 22 min
- How a 'Universal Basic Neighborhood' Can Help Americans Live Longer · March 24, 2026 · 22 min
- How to Tell the Story of a Highway Teardown (Ian Coss) · March 10, 2026 · 21 min
- What It Takes To Map Every Sidewalk In Your State (Dr. Anat Caspi) · February 24, 2026 · 26 min
- Transportation Reform and the Fight Against ICE Violence in Minneapolis · January 27, 2026 · 13 min
- Five 'Supercool' Transportation Founders to Watch in 2026 · January 6, 2026 · 25 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Brake: A Streetsblog Podcast podcast page.