#38 Jeral Poskey: Urban Transportation of the Future? Retrofitting Suburbia with Swyft Cities.
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.
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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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Website: https://swyftcities.com/
Newsletter: https://swyftcities.us10.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=04dae35275c37b51b049b89c9&id=349fe9a899
Twitter: https://x.com/jeralpo
Twitter: https://x.com/swyftcities
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jposkey/
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