If you are interested in urban (and suburban) planning, you may want to check out a podcast at the Smart City blog with writer Richard Florida, who talks about his views on what cities and ‘burbs will look like in the future.

He envisions denser, more “livable” urban areas connected by mass transit, with far shorter commutes, lower car ownership and with fewer people owning homes and instead opting for apartments. Florida also thinks the ongoing recession is the perfect chance for government to start pushing for these changes that will also help turn around the economy and transform the way we live.

The 30/10 Initiative is never discussed, but a lot of what Florida says seems to me to be a good argument for the plan. If you want to give people an alternative to driving and create places to densify the area, building 12 transit lines in the next decade seemingly makes good sense.

Florida also writes about these themes at his blog on the Atlantic Monthly website.