Fiscally-informed planning, design, and community engagement to cultivate strong neighborhoods.
We hear this a lot: Apartments bring higher crime, which means more police, which means higher police costs. But is it really the case that high density brings higher crime?
Happy New Year! It's a record-breaking episode, as we had on all four co-founders of Re:Form Shreveport, a grassroots organization whose aim is to “create a stronger and more resilient Shreveport by growing a culture of engagement and trust between citizens, businesses, and government.”
This is Part 2 of our discussion on incremental development with developer Monte Anderson.
We’ve talked about the value of small investments on this podcast before, and in this episode we sit down with someone whose name is synonymous with small, incremental development—Monte Anderson, CEP of Options Real Estate. Monte is a developer, small-business booster, and co-founder of the Incremental Development Alliance.
In part one of this discussion, we talk about the ways Monte is trying to help communities build wealth one incremental development at a time, how small development can address affordable housing needs, the importance of finding a low-risk entry point for people who want to own their own business, and much more.
In this episode we speak with Kevin Klinkenberg, an urban designer, planner, architect, and writer on all things cities. We discuss what city leaders can learn from the messiness of cities past, why small scale development is better for our communities (and why these days it's so hard to actually do), how to balance top-down and bottom-up action, zoning recommendations for cities that want to become walkable, and more.
In this episode, we’re following up on the economic development discussions of the last two weeks. Where is the status quo approach to economic development leaving our cities and our citizens? How do recent changes in economic trends affect the ways cities attempt to do business? What does a more localized, sustainable, and people-focused version economic development actually look like?
This is the second of a short series on city growth. Are there good ways or bad ways to grow? In this episode, we're asking: What should a city's relationship with debt look like? Are there bad debts? Are there good debts for a city to take on?
Today is a bit of a Thanksgiving grab-bag. Kevin and Jordan discuss what cities (of any size) can learn from the Amazon HQ2 contest about economic development, what the California wildfires should be telling cities about the implications of their development patterns, and whether “criticize then commit” is a philosophy city leaders can employ in citizen engagement.
This is the first of a short series on city growth. Are there good ways or bad ways to grow? In this episode, we're asking whether there is such a thing as growing too fast or too slow.
Jim Walker is CEO, cofounder, and lead artist at Big Car Collaborative, an Indianapolis-based art and design organization "brings art to people and people to art, sparking creativity in lives to support communities." Jim and Jordan talk about the role of artists in making neighborhoods more loving, vibrant, and homelike—and the ways partnerships are always messy but always necessary in making good things happen.
Kevin and Jordan discuss the beginnings of a framework for getting any city in better fiscal shape – all while building trust and collaboration with residents of all neighborhoods. Buckle in! We made Kevin the mayor of a city for this episode.
Kevin sits down with (fellow engineer) Chuck Marohn from Strong Towns to talk about recognizing our delusions, admitting failure, and embracing the "chaos" of bottom-up action at the local level.
Kevin sits down with Tim Wright, co-founder of Re-Form Shreveport [this was before he joined the Verdunity team!], to talk about about the conversations and actions that incrementally help make a community stronger. Tim gives insight into ways to build momentum and trust, through his roles as both a civil engineer and as a neighbor in a new city.
Joanna Taft of the Harrison Center discusses the role of the arts, place, and story to humanize, connect, and empower a neighborhood. We talk about how a neighborhood can change and improve in inclusive and equitable ways, and how important it is for people to feel known and loved in their community and their homes. Central to it all is being a neighbor to your neighbors. This is a jam-packed discussion you can't afford to miss!
Many citizens think their local government has enough money to maintain its infrastructure and keep up services, because they pay taxes. The reality is most cities do not, and it can be challenging for city leadership to communicate this to citizens. Today's guests are bucking that trend of silence. We talk to three key leaders (Mayor Connie Schroeder, City Manager Lynda Humble, and Hospitality & Downtown Director Sarah O'Brien) from the City of Bastrop, TX, about what managed growth means to the future of their city.
