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The Building Culture Podcast

#38 Jeral Poskey: Urban Transportation of the Future? Retrofitting Suburbia with Swyft Cities.

April 3
52 mins

Episode Description

In this episode, I talk with Jeral Poskey, former project executive at Google, and current Founder and CEO of Swyft Cities, about a radically different approach to urban transportation that’s fast, flexible, and surprisingly affordable. Spoiler: it's not autonomous or flying cars.

When I first heard about Swyft’s solution, I was skeptical.  But I’m increasingly excited about the possibilities, and how it could unlock walkable districts and neighborhoods within the suburban sprawl context (so basically everywhere).  

We get into how Jeral’s experience inside Google’s real estate division led to the birth of Project Swyft, why traditional mass-transit infrastructure isn’t feasible (at least on its own), and how Swyft’s solution solves for the last few miles, weaves between buildings, and adapts to cities as they grow.

If you're into urbanism, real estate, autonomous vehicles, or just want to understand what could actually make our cities function better (without waiting 20 years and wasting billions of dollars for a new train–looking at you, California), this one’s worth your time.  And excitingly, Swyft has numerous projects underway around the world beginning in 2026.


CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction to Project Switch and Urban Transportation

01:48 The Origins of Swyft Cities

05:08 Innovative Transportation Solutions

10:31 Skepticism to Curiosity

14:09 The Last Mile Connection and Urban Challenges

17:34 Economic Models and Urban Growth

19:23 Modularity and Network Effects in Urban Transit

21:16 AI and Efficiency in Transportation Systems

23:40 Cost Comparisons and Infrastructure Decisions

24:15 Understanding the Station Design and Functionality

26:22 Infrastructure Flexibility and Cost Efficiency

29:09 The Competition: Self-Driving Cars and Urban Mobility

32:52 Private vs. Public Sector Transportation Solutions

35:16 Real-World Applications and Case Studies

40:01 Overcoming Skepticism and Educating Stakeholders

43:45 Induced Demand: A Positive Perspective on Urban Transportation

48:13 Future Vision: Scaling and Real Estate Integration


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