Episode 18: Tamika Butler

I first met Tamika Butler when she was the director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. Brilliant, funny, and not prone to pulling punches, she is simultaneously personally magnetic and politically unapologetic, holding those of us who have a hand in shaping the built environment to account. Now serving as the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, she brings the lens of a civil rights attorney to her work, helping to reveal and correct the inherent built environment inequities for people of color, people who are poor, and/or who may be experiencing homelessness. Given her diverse background, I wanted to hear Tamika’s perspectives on how homelessness intersects with transportation and open space in the City with the highest unsheltered population in America: Los Angeles. Her insights did not disappoint, and I hope that you will enjoy this conversation with Tamika.  

One of her previous speeches, the keynote address at Transportation Alternatives' Vision Zero Cities conference in 2017, is referenced in the recording. You can watch it here.