Environmental Leadership Chronicles
Jun 4, 2026 · 1 hr 26 min · 14 segments
What part does CEQA really play in why we can't have nice things? Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson makes the case that systemic barriers, not lack of resources or will, prevent progress on…
Corinne Lytle BoninePanelist
Matt KlopensteinPanelistJessa SchwienhowerHost
Mindy FoggPanelistBut feel free, opinions are great, and help us shape the conversation as part of this panel and the podcast recording.
So the book covers a lot of areas regarding politics, governments, history, but today we intend to focus on the topics related to permitting and building CEQA, California legislation, and climate change.
So the book says we have built a vitocracy, a system better at blocking than building.
What do you guys think? Does that feel true that we are better at blocking than building? Does anyone want to share? You'll have a microphone.
Thank you.
Matt Going with Fehr & Peers.
This is, this is the book that I was waiting for, uh, when it came out, and because I think it does offer a lot of practical advice, because as a transportation planner, you know, we are, have just been saddled with endless amounts of traffic impact studies for housing, and that is a practical bottleneck, and I think the bottleneck detector that they go through really helps practitioners kind of think about what are the bottlenecks to achieving the outcomes that our communities want, and I think they did a really great job of explaining that in the book.
What do you think about that question? Are we better at blocking than building?
I think it's, you know, probably more complicated than a blanket yes or no.
I think, like, you know, so much of, you know, our society, whether, you know, something is working or not working really depends on what your perspective is, um, and unfortunately, the amount of resources you have, what level of power you have.
And I think that's, you know, probably how I would prefer to frame, you know, that the problem identifies, is how has the system been corrupted, either intentionally, unintentionally, with the best of intentions, and, you know, as a result of that, what are, what are we seeing now that could, should be fixed to make, you know, this society better for everyone involved?
And I basically agree with Corinne on that, but I do see the system also being a problem itself, in the sense that we've created a lot of different checkpoints, and maybe each one does have a reason for being there, but in practice, they can really add up in a way that makes it really hard to move projects forward, even when they're beneficial and supported projects
projectsAnd from the public sector side, what I routinely see is not just one barrier, but many layers.
CEQA is one of them, but along with the, the local policies, overlapping regulations, staffing constraints, and sometimes just the uncertainty about navigating the process.
But feel free, opinions are great, and help us shape the conversation as part of this panel and the podcast recording.
So the book covers a lot of areas regarding politics, governments, history, but today we intend to focus on the topics related to permitting and building CEQA, California legislation, and climate change.
So the book says we have built a vitocracy, a system better at blocking than building.
What do you guys think? Does that feel true that we are better at blocking than building? Does anyone want to share? You'll have a microphone.
Thank you.
Matt Going with Fehr & Peers.
This is, this is the book that I was waiting for, uh, when it came out, and because I think it does offer a lot of practical advice, because as a transportation planner, you know, we are, have just been saddled with endless amounts of traffic impact studies for housing, and that is a practical bottleneck, and I think the bottleneck detector that they go through really helps practitioners kind of think about what are the bottlenecks to achieving the outcomes that our communities want, and I think they did a really great job of explaining that in the book.
What do you think about that question? Are we better at blocking than building?
I think it's, you know, probably more complicated than a blanket yes or no.
I think, like, you know, so much of, you know, our society, whether, you know, something is working or not working really depends on what your perspective is, um, and unfortunately, the amount of resources you have, what level of power you have.
And I think that's, you know, probably how I would prefer to frame, you know, that the problem identifies, is how has the system been corrupted, either intentionally, unintentionally, with the best of intentions, and, you know, as a result of that, what are, what are we seeing now that could, should be fixed to make, you know, this society better for everyone involved?
And I basically agree with Corinne on that, but I do see the system also being a problem itself, in the sense that we've created a lot of different checkpoints, and maybe each one does have a reason for being there, but in practice, they can really add up in a way that makes it really hard to move projects forward, even when they're beneficial and supported projects
projectsAnd from the public sector side, what I routinely see is not just one barrier, but many layers.
CEQA is one of them, but along with the, the local policies, overlapping regulations, staffing constraints, and sometimes just the uncertainty about navigating the process.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.
