Shows
Go Cultivate!Season 3 Wrap Up — with Kevin ShepherdWe’ve reached the end of Go Cultivate! Season 3! To wrap us up, Kevin details the impacts that the suburban experiment has had on our country and asks the question: what does ‘quality of life’ really mean, and does an auto-centric lifestyle support these outcomes? After defining actionable steps to take in order to address the challenges posed by the suburban development pattern, Kevin emphasizes the importance of finding and connecting with other people and groups in your area to drive meaningful change at the local level. We believe that by working together, we can create more vibrant and inclus...
2023-08-0143 minGo Cultivate!Meet the Verdooners — with Matt MealsIn this episode we are sitting down with Matt Meals, the newest addition to Verdunity’s engineering team. He and Kevin discuss Matt’s journey to Verdunity, and his perspective on how land use fiscal analysis gives cities the education they need to plan for communities to take root, as well as how it empowers citizens to take active roles in shaping the future of their communities. Throughout the interview, Matthew emphasizes the importance of context and community in engineering and design, and shares how his passion for environmentalism and sustainable energy led him to where he is today.
2023-07-1415 minGo Cultivate!Meet the Verdooners — with Maddie BonneyTime to roll out some new Meet the Verdooners episodes to introduce y'all to the newest members of our team! In this episode, Kevin sits down with Maddie Bonney, our new Planner, and they discuss her personal motivations for pursuing a career in planning, including her desire to improve quality of life and promote self-sustaining economic development. She explains how her values align with Verdunity's focus on fiscal health and local wealth, and they discuss the relationship between the design of our neighborhoods and the mental health of the people living there.
2023-06-2715 minGo Cultivate!Development Bills at 2023 TxLEG—with Michael Kovacs and Tom YantisThere are a number of bills working their way through this year’s session of the Texas Legislature that will impact cities’ ability to guide development in a manner that ensures fiscal sustainability and affordability. Proposed bills address topics like: annexation/deannexation; prohibiting cities from requiring development value and infrastructure costs as a factor in development approvals; reducing the minimum lot size; and allowing accessory dwelling units by right. One side of the conversation centers on those who want to preserve personal property rights and are opposed to higher density development via smaller lots and units. From the local gove...
2023-05-1146 min
The Messy City PodcastBringing the Strong Towns Message to TexasIt’s a tale of two Kevins, as we discuss cultivating local prosperity and the Strong Towns message with Kevin Shepherd of Verdunity. Kevin is an engineer by background, and started his own planning and engineering firm just over a decade ago in the Dallas area. He left the corporate world to follow his calling to help cities and towns make more fiscally-productive decisions with land use and infrastructure. He talks with us about why he made that leap, how it’s going working in cities and towns in Texas (and elsewhere), and how others can follow in his foot...
2023-05-091h 07Go Cultivate!Rural Community Transformation — with Julianna DodsonRural communities are a focus for us here at Verdunity. In this episode, AJ interviews Julianna Dodson, Deputy Executive Director, and Radically Rural Director for the Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship. Prior to her work with Hannah Grimes, she was primarily in the financial services industry (which according to her is a lot more vibrant and dynamic than one might imagine!) but has also taught English overseas, and runs her own small business on the side. Together they chat about how to transform these places for the better. You might be surprised to hear that rural communities f...
2023-05-021h 19Go Cultivate!2023 Podcast SurveyWhether you're a long time follower of our Go Cultivate! podcast or just started listening, we'd love some feedback. This annual survey guides our team in creating content you actually want! As a thank you, all submissions will be entered into a drawing to win a $50 Amazon gift card - winner will be announced in our May 2nd podcast episode! Link: verdunity.com/2023survey
2023-03-3101 minGo Cultivate!Meet the Verdooners — with Kevin ShepherdKevin Shepherd, the founder and CEO of Verdunity is here to talk about where the company has been, where it might be going in the future, and what gifts your city-focused friends might enjoy. Spoiler alert: he loves books. Kevin is an engineer, but as is usually pretty obvious, not your typical engineer, and its interesting to hear from him some of the struggles he has faced trying to communicate a message of fiscal responsibility to sometimes very resistant parties. This episode rounds out our Meet the Verdooners mini-series. We hope you've enjoyed getting to know a little more...
2022-12-2227 minGo Cultivate!Meet the Verdooners — with AJ FawverEpisode 5 of “Meet the Verdooners” introduces us to AJ Fawver, who leads Verdunity’s Community Consulting Program. In this episode we learn what initially brought AJ into the planning world and what element of community building she is most concerned about. AJ is a firm believer that we serve communities best when we remember that people are at the center of everything we do, and she greatly admires communities that are willing to have difficult conversations in order to effect positive change in their cities. After the episode make sure to check out AJ’s book reco...
2022-12-2030 minGo Cultivate!Meet the Verdooners — with Tim WrightTim Wright's work spans the gamut from missing middle housing to incremental development and infrastructure right-sizing. He has been an engineer on the kinds of projects that can transform a place into a more sustainable, connected community. Hailing from the great state of Louisiana (Shreveport to be exact) and proudly lacking on sleep (as he's a brand new dad), Tim is an integral part of the team here at Verdunity. Tim is also the founder of Re:Form Shreveport, an organization that is working to improve the city of Shreveport by fostering deep community connections and volunteerism, locally.
2022-12-1516 minGo Cultivate!Meet the Verdooners — with Mari AustinMari Austin is Verdunity's Process and Communications Coordinator. Her work is too varied to adequately explain in a podcast blurb – but it ranges from process improvement to multimedia production (including this very podcast), to fostering a positive and forward-looking company culture here in-house. Mari comes from outside the world of municipal planning and engineering, and thus brings a unique perspective to our team. But it's clear in this episode how much Mari brings to the work that we do here; her personal experience living in underserved communities and looking up at the systemic apathy that can often oversee the co...
2022-12-1318 minGo Cultivate!Meet the Verdooners — with Karina CastilloEpisode 2 of "Meet the Verdooners is back with Karina Castillo, a planner here at Verdunity. If you are a young planner, ready to go out and change the world, there is some interesting backstory you might enjoy from Karina. There are some real gems of knowledge here when it comes to trying to get good work done – who really makes the big decisions in your community, and are those the same people who are most qualified to solve the issues in front of them?
2022-12-0818 minGo Cultivate!The Rosetta Stone of Zoning - with Sara BroninIf just about anyone tells you that they totally understand zoning codes, they are probably lying to you. Well, unless they are today's guest. Sara Bronin is a Mexican-American architect, attorney, and policymaker specializing in property, land use, historic preservation, and climate change. She's a professor of planning and law at Cornell University, and she was recently nominated by President Biden to Chair the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, pending Senate confirmation. She founded and directs the National Zoning Atlas, a tool that aims to depict critical aspects of zoning codes nationwide in an online, user-friendly map. If there is...
2022-08-0250 minGo Cultivate!Rethinking Budgeting – with Andrew Kleine & Shayne KavanaghAndrew Kleine is the author of "City On the Line" and is working tirelessly toward a future in which municipal budgeting produces the results that leaders are looking for. Shayne Kavanagh, the Senior Manager of Research for the Government Finance Officers Association, has spent his career looking at how government policy interacts with the fiscal health of the places in which he works.To some, municipal budgeting is a black box, but today's conversation aims to make this sometimes-confusing topic a little more transparent. Can the budgeting process be communicated to the public in a way that...
2022-05-031h 06Go Cultivate!Demystifying Affordable Housing — with Deborah MyersonHave you ever heard the phrase "affordable housing" used by 5 different people, but it seems like every one of them is talking about something slightly different? This episode will help shed some light on this sometimes confusing, always complex subject. AJ and Deborah go deep and we are here for it.Lots of great content to check out after you listen to this episode:Deborah’s Business: https://dmyersonconsulting.com/Mentioned in This Episode:How Did They Do It? Discovering New Opportunities for Affordable Housinghttps://dmyersonconsulting.file...
2022-04-051h 05Go Cultivate!The Battle Over Broadway – with Kea WilsonIn the heart of San Antonio, Texas lies 2.2 miles of 7-lane stroad that connects to I-35.Originally part of a state owned loop, the Texas Transportation Commission (TTC) approved a transfer of ownership to the City of San Antonio in late 2014. Since then, the City has undertaken a public engagement process to determine how best to adjust this road to better suit its citizens.Leaders in San Antonio are proposing to reduce travel lanes to two in each direction and add protected bike lanes, widen sidewalks, and plant street trees to make the thoroughfare accessible...
2022-03-011h 14Go Cultivate!Serving You Better: 3 Reflections from 2021 and Initiatives for 2022In this first Podcast of the year Kevin takes an introspective look look back at Verdunity’s last year and gives a preview of what we expect to be up to in 2022. Listen in to Kevin giving some thought toWhat prosperity is.How we are building cities we can’t afford to live in or maintain.How clear it’s becoming that there is hope at the neighborhood level.As we look forward to 2022 we hope you will join us for some upcoming workshops we will be holding around the state of Texas. Stay tuned, chances are we...
2022-01-1145 minGo Cultivate!Fiscally Informed Planning - with the City of Taylor, TexasDoes your community say it values fiscal responsibility but continue to make development decisions that increase infrastructure and service liabilities without a plan to pay for them in the future? If so, a fiscally-informed comprehensive plan process like the one Verdunity helped Taylor, Texas prepare might be beneficial. Taylor is a small town in Central Texas who’s heyday came and went in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Originally a major hub for commerce in Williamson County, Taylor stagnated due to a number of factors including having I-35 routed significantly west of town bypassing the community entirely. No...
2021-12-071h 41Go Cultivate!"Buckle Up, Baby" – with Chuck MarohnThe Go Cultivate! podcast is back! In this episode Kevin introduces Marshall Hines who will be helping out with episodes going forward and they talk about what to expect from us in the future. Chuck Marohn (of Strong Towns) and Kevin Shepherd (of Verdunity) discuss how they came to engineering in the first place, what led them to discover some problems in the profession, and their divergent paths to solving them. It turns out to be a critical conversation between two engineers recovering from the dogma of their chosen career with thoughtful advice for the rest of us. You'll...
2021-11-021h 26Go Cultivate!Aligning City Budgets with Desired Outcomes – with Andrew KleineAndrew Kleine is the Former Chief Administrative Officer for Montgomery County, MD, and before that, he was the budget director for the City of Baltimore. He’s the author of one of our favorite books, City on the Line: How Baltimore Transformed Its Budget to Beat the Great Recession and Deliver Outcomes. He describes the city's implementation of outcome-based budgeting during his time there. It’s an excellent resource for any city looking to implement an outcome budgeting approach.Learn more about Andrew (or get in touch with him): @awkleine on Twitter / andrew@andrewkleine.com / cityontheline.com
2020-12-161h 11Go Cultivate!2020 Wrapup & survey2020 is almost over, and it's time for our annual assessment of how we're doing and what we want to focus on in the upcoming year. In this short update, Kevin and AJ talk about Verdunity's commitment to serving our listeners, followers, and partners and how we use listener feedback to inform what we write and talk about. To help us make the podcast and other content as relevant and helpful as possible, we're asking our friends and followers to complete a quick survey. Click HERE to let us know what podcast episodes and blogs were your favorites, what your bigg...
2020-12-1206 minGo Cultivate!Infrastructure funding! – with Jim ProceKevin speaks with Jim Proce, City Manager for the City of Anna, Texas, about a pressing issue many cities are facing: the struggle to find the money needed to maintain and replace streets and other infrastructure built back in their growth years. Also discussed in this episode:The difference between street maintenance and replacement, and how they're each typically fundedHow cities typically prioritize maintenance and CIP projectsHow Jim is approaching his job in a city that is in the midst of its fast-growth phaseTo see some of Jim's CIP process mentioned in the show, follow this...
2020-09-301h 01Go Cultivate!Are We Doing This Right? // Sidewalks EditionIn this installment of the 'Are We Doing This Right?' series, we take on the humble sidewalk. We packed a lot into this episode, including:How the use of the street right-of-way has changed over timeWho “pedestrian infrastructure” is really forThe common use of the term “pedestrian” and its implicationsThe bizarre ways sidewalks get paid for (and who that impacts most)The recent resurgence in walking awarenessElements of successful sidewalksScoring streets for their sidewalk qualityHow shared space eliminates the need for the sidewalkAnd of course, we answer the question, “Are we doing this right?”Want to do some furt...
2020-09-231h 14Go Cultivate!'Smart growth' and fiscal sustainabilityIn this episode, Kevin is joined by a trio of folks from Smart Growth America: Vice President for Economic Development Chris Zimmerman, Deputy Director of Economic Development Jeri Mintzer, and visiting Director of Research Michael Rodriguez. We discuss Smart Growth America's fiscal sustainability research and its implications for communities of all sizes, as well as some things the group would like to see all levels of government doing differently to build a stronger foundation for the communities of tomorrow. --The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this an...
2020-09-161h 04Go Cultivate!Reflecting on 40 years of growth in North Texas – with John LettelleirKevin sits down with John Lettelleir, Director of Development Services for the City of Frisco, Texas. John has been with the City of Frisco since 1998, when the population was around 25,000, and has seen it grow to more than 200,000 residents. John brings a unique perspective on planning for and managing fast population growth in North Texas. Kevin and John discuss the recent repeal of the Plano Tomorrow comprehensive plan and the impact it may have on planning in North Texas in the coming years. They also talk about the challenges that come with managing growth, the long-term fiscal i...
2020-09-031h 02Go Cultivate!Building a culture of fiscal sustainability – with Noel Bernal & Helen RamirezNoel Bernal and Helen Ramirez, are the city manager and assistant city manager (respectively) for the City of Brownsville, Texas. In this wide-ranging interview, they discuss some of the ways they're using the lens of fiscal sustainability to guide investments, prioritize infrastructure projects, and make land use decisions. (Last year, Verdunity conducted a land use fiscal analysis for Brownsville, which was used as the launch point for a more intentional budgeting process, the creation of a new Unified Development Code, and investment in revitalization of their historic downtown.)Noel and Helen also give some insights on building...
2020-08-261h 10Go Cultivate!Are We Doing This Right? // Budgeting EditionThis time on our ‘Are We Doing This Right?’ series, we take a look at the local budgeting process. Here’s what you can expect from this episode:A quick rundown of common presumptionsAn overview of the way budgeting processes work in most towns and citiesA discussion of the “seven deadly sins” of public finance (as told by friend of the show Liz Farmer), Some of the most common criticisms of city budgeting processes and outcomesA bit of perspective from AJ on what budgeting processes actually look like from inside a local government A snapshot of some popular types of bud...
2020-08-1959 minGo Cultivate!Safeguarding small business during the pandemic – with Kennedy SmithIn this episode, Kevin speaks with Kennedy Smith, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), about strategies that city leaders can use to help local businesses weather the pandemic—and the post-pandemic world. Kennedy has just authored a report titled 'Safeguarding Small Business During the Pandemic: 26 Strategies for Local Leaders.'The 26 actions outlined are grouped into three main priority areas that address immediate, short-term, and longer-term actions to guide community leaders:First: Provide quick relief to keep businesses afloatNext: Help businesses adapt and pivotLater: Fix systemic problems that the pandemic has laid bare...
2020-08-141h 08Go Cultivate!Connecting housing & community health – with Becky GrayIn this episode, Kevin speaks with Becky Gray, Director of Housing for Chaffee County, CO, to discuss the County's early efforts to build a more resilient regional housing system. We follow up on their work since the County hosted Kevin and Monte Anderson for a workshop last year. Curious about the original radio show discussed in this episode, featuring Kevin and Monte? We aired it as a podcast episode last year. Note from your producer: The audio quality in this episode is not quite what it usually is! We had an issue with the normal rec...
2020-08-051h 04Go Cultivate!A recovery toolkit for local leaders – with Rachel QuednauOur friends at Strong Towns have put out a new resource for folks in local government called The Local Leader's Toolkit: A Strong Towns Response to the Pandemic. Jordan speaks with Rachel Quednau of Strong Towns and then with Verdunity's AJ Fawver to discuss some of its key points.--The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.You can also find us on social media. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedInAnd if you haven't yet, sign up...
2020-07-291h 03Go Cultivate!Are We Doing Doing This Right? // Comprehensive Plans EditionFor this month’s edition of ‘Are We Doing This Right?’, we’re turning our attention to the comprehensive plan. There’s a lot to talk about, including:History! Where did comp plans come from?How to know when your city’s comprehensive plan is outdated (or even harmful)An alternative vision for what comprehensive plans could be… from all the way back in 1967Why some comprehensive plans just sit on the shelf gathering dustWhat it means for comprehensive plans to “fail”—and what causes failure (from AJ’s experience)Some examples of comprehensive plans we like, for one reason or anotherA...
2020-07-231h 10Go Cultivate!Who gets to participate? – with Shari Davis & Derrick BrazielIn this episode we’re joined by Shari Davis, Executive Director of the Participatory Budgeting Project, and Derrick Braziel, co-founder and Development Director of MORTAR Cincinnati.On today’s show, we follow the money. We discuss public budgeting processes, the moral weight of budget decisions, and the opportunities we have to make these documents “living, breathing reflections of community need and community-driven investment.” Participatory budgeting (PB) is a process by which all people in a community can play a role in shaping the kinds of projects their governments spend money on. We discuss what this means in general...
2020-07-0958 minGo Cultivate!Are We Doing Doing This Right? // Bike Networks EditionWe're back with another edition of Are We Doing This Right?—this time to ask that question about bicycle networks. If it seems like the conversation surrounding bike networks is straightforward, it's not quite. We dip our toes in what is a much, much bigger and richer discussion, and do our best to examine some of what we're getting right and wrong about bike networks. This one could have lasted for hours, but we had to cut it off well before exhausting our notes! We may have to return for a part two. 🤔For links to some of th...
2020-06-2447 minGo Cultivate!Advocating for Texas cities – with Bennett SandlinToday’s episode features a conversation with Bennett Sandlin, the Executive Director of Texas Municipal League. We talk about:what a Municipal League is and what they do;the ongoing dialogue between local governments and state officials in Texas about resource gaps, property tax caps, and annexation;how COVID-19 has had an impact on city budgets;ways TML is available to help all of their member cities, including the many small, rural communities throughout the state; what to expect at TML’s annual convention coming up (tentatively) this October in Grapevine, TX.--Want to take...
2020-06-1753 minGo Cultivate!Building vibrant communities – with Quint StuderQuint Studer is the author of Building a Vibrant Community, which we discuss in this episode. His most recent book, The Busy Leader’s Handbook, became a Wall Street Journal bestseller. He is the founder of Studer Community Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on improving the quality of life in his hometown of Pensacola, Florida. He is also the founder of Vibrant Community Partners, which coaches communities in building out a blueprint for achieving growth and excellence. Quint speaks and works with communities across the country, helping them execute on their strategic plans, create a better quality of life, and...
2020-06-111h 02Go Cultivate!Emerging strongerMost cities lack the resources to keep up with infrastructure and service demands, yet daily decisions continue to prioritize growth and short-term wins over long-term costs and impacts.If you’re in local government and are looking for ways to get more out of your existing resources—while building community trust and making immediate progress—we've been working on something we think will help you do just that.We’re hosting a free, 10-part training webinar series called Emerge Stronger, where we're walking through the process we use to help city leaders align vision, policies, and inve...
2020-06-0405 minGo Cultivate!Talking tax bases & sustainable development – with Patrick Lawler and Chad JanicekIn this episode, Kevin chats with Patrick Lawler and Chad Janicek, the co-founders of ZacTax, an online sales and hotel tax analysis platform for local governments. Before making the jump to ZacTax full-time, Patrick and Chad both worked in local government, most recently as City Manager and ACM for Hudson Oaks, TX. They share our passion for helping communities move toward a more sustainable development and operations model, and using data to inform decisions. We talk about what led them to create the early version of ZacTax while they were working at the city, how the software h...
2020-05-291h 09Go Cultivate!From local advocate to elected official – with LeVette FullerLeVette Fuller, Shreveport councilmember and co-founder of Re:Form Shreveport, joins the show to talk about her journey from citizen advocate and "land-use nerd" (her words) to local elected official—plus a few specific challenges the city has faced during her tenure.Some of what we cover in this show:LeVette's background in community advocacy and how Re:Form Shreveport was startedWhat motivated her to run for City CouncilHow actually serving on Council compares to what she thought it would be likeAn example of a key issue and how she handled the research, response (voting), and re...
2020-05-221h 03Go Cultivate!Credit downgrades, budget shortfalls, & federal relief — with Liz FarmerIn this episode, Kevin speaks with Liz Farmer about the current economic situation and how it compares (so far) to the 2008 recession. They discuss the magnitude and impact of unemployment, recent credit downgrades for cities and states, and the ramifications of projected budget shortfalls for Medicaid, pensions, and infrastructure. They also delve into the Federal Relief Bill and what it covers, as far as state and local agencies go. And finally, Liz gives her thoughts on what recovery looks like, plus some advice for local leaders while navigating this crisis.Liz Farmer is a fiscal policy expert...
2020-05-0651 minGo Cultivate!Are We Doing This Right? // Parking Minimums EditionWe’re back with another edition of our series “Are We Doing This Right?” This time around, we take a closer look at parking minimums. They might seem like a harmless feature of your zoning ordinance, but they play a huge role in shaping the physical environment of your community. Intentionally or not, parking minimums adversely affect the viability of public transit and local businesses, housing affordability, regional ecological health, and the fiscal strength of the cities that enact them.In this episode, we dig into the history and consequences of minimum parking requirements, and then we talk a...
2020-04-291h 05Go Cultivate!Reclaiming the streets — with John SimmermanJohn Simmerman, founder of Active Towns and host of the new Active Towns podcast, joins the show for a second time. John and Jordan discuss how the coronavirus is changing the way people are interacting with their neighborhoods, and some of the creative things cities are doing to enable more people to safely get outside and stay active.John explains how this crisis offers an opportunity for us to build and sustain a culture of activity while cars are off the streets and demand for accessible active spaces grows.Toward the end of this episode, J...
2020-04-2349 minGo Cultivate!Small development, trust, & strong local economies – with R. John AndersonR. John Anderson, co-founder of Incremental Development Alliance, joins the show to talk about the small developer movement, the CARES Act and its impact on small businesses right now, and what cities can do to cultivate a stronger small business ecosystem.You can learn more about IncDev at incrementaldevelopment.org and on the IncDev Facebook page. John also founded and maintains the excellent Facebook group "We Do Incremental Development" (formerly "Small Developers & Builders") for anyone interested in small-scale, incremental development. John shares some of his thoughts over at his blog, RJohnTheBad.com. John is...
2020-04-1559 minGo Cultivate!Leveraging federal emergency management funding: COVID-19 edition — with Laura ClemonsDisaster recovery & resilience specialist Laura Clemons rejoins the program to talk about taking advantage of federal disaster relief funds to build more resilient cities and towns in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Laura previously joined us to talk about how smaller cities should be preparing for natural disasters—not just how to mitigate them but also how to effectively take advantage of (and not miss out on) federal funding. In this episode, Laura talks about the same process, but tailored to pandemic response. As before, this episode is absolutely full of practical tips for leaders of mun...
2020-04-101h 05Go Cultivate!How local governments should respond to the small business crisis — with Basel MusharbashThe COVID-19 crisis has been a disaster for small businesses across the country. In this episode, Kevin speaks with Basel Musharbash about why an aggressive local government response to the small business crisis is essential—and what legal strategies cities and towns should be using immediately to help them survive and eventually recover.In this episode we discuss the key takeaways from Basel’s recent blog post: Directing Capital to Small Businesses Affected by COVID-19: Legal Strategies for Texas Local Governments.In it, Basel outlines three specific strategies that local governments can use to leverage publi...
2020-04-0846 minGo Cultivate!Where do cities go from here? Lessons for the Corona CrisisIn this episode, Kevin and Jordan discuss (some of) the flaws of the prevailing approach to development that are being exposed and magnified by this growing crisis. We also highlight a few opportunities that cities have for doing things differently from here on out. (It turns out that being resilient is exponentially more important in a disaster.) This will not be our last discussion on these matters! Crises require swift, bold, and informed actions—and they also offer us an opportunity to rethink what we previously took for granted. We'll be continuing to explore some things that cit...
2020-04-0152 minGo Cultivate!Engaging local government leaders! – with Kirsten WyattIn this episode, Kirsten Wyatt, co-founder & executive director of Engaging Local Government Leaders (ELGL), joins us to talk about how her organization is doing just that.If you enjoy this episode, make sure you find the partner episode over on the GovLove podcast, where Kirsten interviews AJ and Kevin.Follow Kirsten on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.(We recorded this episode before things really got flipped upside down in the past few days with the coronavirus. If you still want to "go out and cultivate," as we suggested at the end of the show...
2020-03-1755 minGo Cultivate!Effort is the enemy of apathy – with Jeff SieglerJeff Siegler, founder of Revitalize, or Die, joins the podcast to talk about the importance of place, how cities can encourage effort (and discourage apathy), how we can cultivate civic pride, and much more. Find out more about Jeff's work at RevitalizeOrDie.com. While you're there, make sure to check out his videos! He's also on Twitter (@jeff_in_one_ear) and Facebook (@RevitalizeOrDie).--The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.You can also f...
2020-03-0248 minGo Cultivate!Building a bus system that works – with Jerome HorneIn this episode, we speak with Jerome Horne, ridership experience specialist for IndyGo, about Indianapolis's ongoing transit transformation and some of the key elements in building a reliable and effective bus system. Indianapolis makes a great case study for car-dependent cities looking to overhaul under-performing transit systems or even start from scratch.Some of the topics we cover in this episode include:Reasons to prioritize the bus over the trainThe ridership vs. coverage dilemmaWhy frequency means freedomGetting the details right: bus stop spacing, amenities, and schedulesWhy grids are better than hub-and-spoke systemsHow to do public engagement...
2020-01-281h 09Go Cultivate!What did we learn about housing in 2019? — w/ Daniel HerrigesFriend of the show Daniel Herriges, senior editor at Strong Towns, joins us to talk about some important housing-related stories from 2019 and what lessons they hold for those of us who care about housing equity. In this episode, we discuss:An emerging trend of (re)legalizing certain types of missing middle housing in some cities and states.A peculiar story about a mixed-use project in San Bruno, CA, that was eventually killed after three years of concessions—and, more importantly, what it can teach us about the conflicting incentives that our desire to maintain control can cre...
2020-01-0753 minGo Cultivate!Are We Doing This Right? // Food Trucks & Pop-ups EditionFor the December installment of 'Are We Doing This Right?’ on the Go Cultivate! podcast, we’re diving deep into the world of pop-up retail and food trucks. The whole concept is a lot older than you (might) think. Join us for a walk through some of the history, regulatory and social issues, and much, much more.Your hosts for this episode: Jordan Clark & AJ Fawver.--The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.You can...
2019-12-201h 02Go Cultivate!Affordable housing & incremental developmentIt's a crossover episode! Kevin Shepherd (along with our friend Monte Anderson) was recently interviewed on an episode of Chaffee Housing Report from KHEN in Salida, Colorado, and we're delighted to share it on our feed. In this hour-long chat, Kevin, Monte, and the hosts discuss affordable housing, the fiscal impact of development patterns, incremental development, and much more. Want to host a workshop in your city on any of the topics discussed here? We're putting together our 2020 schedule right now. Send us an email to info@verdunity.com.--The Go Cultivate! p...
2019-12-111h 05Go Cultivate!Chuck Marohn and the revolution we needIn this episode, we welcome back Chuck Marohn, Founder and President of Strong Towns, to talk about some of the themes from his brand-new book Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity.Here's a sampling of what Chuck and Verdunity's Kevin Shepherd talk about in this show:What Chuck says when people ask him “okay, well what specifically should we do?”What the role of the professional class is in generating cities that can’t pay for their growthWhat it means for cities to do a comprehensive plan or a zoning code in a way th...
2019-12-061h 13Go Cultivate!Are We Doing This Right? // Public Engagement Edition (Part 2)For the November installment of 'Are We Doing This Right?’ we’re tackling public engagement. What does it look like when it’s done well? What are some pitfalls to look out for? Who and what is it for, exactly? It shouldn’t come as a surprise that there’s no one-size-fits-all right answer to public engagement. But we think there is such a thing as the right approach.In this double episode, we dig into literally everything you need to know about public engagement. Just kidding; we probably left a few things out. But we do think this...
2019-11-2732 minGo Cultivate!Are We Doing This Right? // Public Engagement Edition (Part 1)For the November installment of 'Are We Doing This Right?’ we’re tackling public engagement. What does it look like when it’s done well? What are some pitfalls to look out for? Who and what is it for, exactly? It shouldn’t come as a surprise that there’s no one-size-fits-all right answer to public engagement. But we think there is such a thing as the right approach.In this double episode, we dig into literally everything you need to know about public engagement. Just kidding; we probably left a few things out. But we do think this...
2019-11-2756 minGo Cultivate!Engineers have feelings, too!In this episode, AJ and Kevin sit down with Mike McKay, Assistant City Engineer for Lubbock, Texas, for a wide-ranging discussion on the past, present, and future of the engineering profession, and its role in the way we’ve built our cities.Some of the ground we cover in this episode:The relationship between engineers and planners—how it could improve, and what each side should understand about the otherWhat it means for our cities to be sustainable, and whether we’re on the right track in any meaningful waysWhether street standards and specification should have flexib...
2019-11-201h 20Go Cultivate!Are We Doing This Right? // Placemaking Edition (Part 2)This is Part 2 of our 'Are We Doing This Right?' discussion on placemaking! This time, we delve deeper into some criticisms of placemaking as it is commonly applied.Your hosts for this episode: Jordan Clark & AJ Fawver.--The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.You can also find us on social media. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedInAnd if you haven't yet, sign up for our weekly email digest. It's not lame! (Each...
2019-11-0734 minGo Cultivate!Are We Doing This Right? // Placemaking Edition (Part 1)Placemaking is one of those ubiquitous urbanist buzzwords these days. Yet it can be difficult to get a broadly agreed-upon definition. We discuss what is actually means (as far as we can tell), what trends it came about as a response to, and why it might look different depending on the location. We run through some of the key elements of (the different forms of) placemaking, and a few notable (good and bad) examples of where it's been done.This is Part 1 of a two-part discussion. In Part 2, we'll get more familiar with some of the different...
2019-10-301h 04Go Cultivate!Parcel data, Detroit, and you — with Jerry PaffendorfThe fascinating Jerry Paffendorf, CEO & co-founder of Loveland Technologies, joins the show to talk about the ways that fine-grained parcel data can be a tool for making cities more equitable and transparent. We also discuss Detroit’s history and present, where its majority Black population is undergoing a historic loss of property ownership due to a flawed tax foreclosure problem—as well as what Jerry’s team is doing to help arm residents with information they need. And of course, we geek out a bit on the history and long legacy of the U.S. public land survey, as well a...
2019-10-231h 21Go Cultivate!How smaller cities should prepare for disasters — Laura ClemonsFederally declared disasters impact countless communities every year, and the vast majority are small municipalities with very limited resources. We brought on Laura Clemons, a disaster recovery and resilience specialist, to talk about what smaller cities ought to do (and sometimes not do!) before, during, and after a disaster.We discuss what cities should be planning for now to take advantage of federal funding opportunities should a disaster strike. This episode is full of practical tips for city officials across the country. You never know when your town could get hit with a disaster (and they don't...
2019-10-091h 10Go Cultivate!So your city's on its way to going broke — Lynda HumbleVerdunity CEO Kevin Shepherd sits down with Lynda Humble, city manager of Bastrop, Texas, to talk about what she learned from a fiscal model of the city's development pattern, how that reshaped discussions with City Council and citizens, and how it is informing Bastrop's overhaul of plans and codes that don't align with its goal of fiscal sustainability.(Spoiler: they learned the city would soon go broke if it kept its current approach to growth.)Lynda and Kevin also discuss the immediate and long-term fallout from the 86th Texas Legislative Session for Texas cities, and...
2019-10-0356 minGo Cultivate!Are We Doing This Right? // Tiny Homes EditionTiny homes have been growing in popularity over the past decade. To some, they’re an opportunity to shed unnecessary “stuff” and fully embrace a minimalist lifestyle. To others, they’re a critical part of addressing the homelessness crisis in this country. But in most cities in the U.S., it’s not exactly clear where they fit in with housing regulations.In this installment of our “Are We Doing This Right?” series, we take a look at some of the common assumptions about tiny homes, how people are using them, what laws are applicable to them (and what’s oft...
2019-09-251h 07Go Cultivate!Are We Doing This Right? // Granny Flats EditionCities across the country face a shortage of affordable housing, despite a nationwide glut of single-family homes. Accessory dwelling units (ADUs)—often referred to as granny flats or other quaint-sounding names—have emerged as one way to quickly add affordable units to single-family neighborhoods, without tearing down existing homes.
Yet, in most cities, they remain illegal to build. And while some cities have re-legalized them, they often put in place so much red tape that few units end up actually getting built.
In this episode, we cover:
the myriad arguments in favor of building more...
2019-09-0456 minGo Cultivate!Property tax caps aren't helpingTexas is the latest state to pass or amend legislation capping the amount cities’ revenue from property taxes can increase year to year. Bills like Texas’ SB2 are passed with the intent of limiting the amount homeowners have to pay in property tax and keeping them from getting priced out of their homes.
That stated goal is a noble one (on its face), but there’s another side to the equation, and that includes the increasing costs cities have to provide basic services and maintain aging infrastructure, fund education and support programs intended to cultivate growth and opport...
2019-08-1549 minGo Cultivate!Are We Doing This Right? // Single-Family Zoning EditionAcross the country, cities big and small are facing a housing affordability crisis, yet many single-family houses sit vacant. Many of the same cities have serious infrastructure funding shortages. We examine the role of single-family zoning in shaping these issues and more—and we explore why there is momentum building to re-legalize other housing types, such as duplexes and fourplexes.
"Are We Doing This Right?" is our new podcast series where we dig deeper into an issue that affects cities across North America, bust (or uphold) a few myths, set some context, and give our frank opinions ab...
2019-07-231h 04Go Cultivate!Building community wealth with Monte AndersonSmall developer Monte Anderson joins the show for a second time to go a bit more in depth about his Dallas-area projects that give small-time entrepreneurs a place to make a living and build wealth for the community.
If you haven't yet, supplement this episode with parts 1 & 2 of our interview with Monte from Season 1.
And if you're in local government, and you want to ask Monte any follow-up questions on the examples we talk about in this show, you need to do two things: 1) Join the Community Cultivators Network, and 2) show up on July 31st...
2019-07-0959 minGo Cultivate!Are We Doing This Right? // Fire Departments EditionWe’re starting a new series on the Go Cultivate! podcast called “Are We Doing This Right?” Once a month we’ll pick a topic – some element of the way we design or operate our cities – and honestly ask the question: Are we doing this right? We’ll explore common assumptions, bust (or uphold) a few myths, and try to get toward a sense of what we might be able to do differently (based on the experiences of those who have already tried it themselves).
This month’s topic: Fire departments.
Fire departments. Public safety. You hardly hear o...
2019-06-181h 03Go Cultivate!Who do you trust? [Part 2]Welcome back to Part 2 of our discussion about trust and distrust between the public and planners. If you haven't listened to Part 1, we'd recommend starting with that. :)
Who you're hearing in this episode: Jordan Clark (your host), Daniel Herriges of Strong Towns, and Verdunity's Felix Landry.
The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.
You can also find us on social media. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn
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(Music in this episode is from NO MONEY...
2019-05-1645 minGo Cultivate!Who do you trust? [Part 1]What happens when the public doesn't trust planners? What does that even mean? And how can we work to build trusting, responsive, two-way relationships between community members and the folks in local government?
On today’s episode, we’re returning to two common themes from this show: "change" and "trust.” Changes to the failed status quo of city building and trust between the people who live in a city and the ones pulling the levers of power.
So much of the business as usual in cities is leaving them bankrupt, making them more fragile socially, enviro...
2019-05-1046 minGo Cultivate!UPDATE! New opportunities, y'allHope y'all have been coping during our short hiatus. We'll be back with more episodes before you know it. Promise!
We're checking back in to let you know about a couple pretty cool opportunities:
1. WORKSHOPS!
If you've followed this podcast for a while and want to dig deeper into the complex challenges facing cities of all sizes—and the realistic actions you can take to make meaningfull progress with limited resources—then we have good news!
Our new workshop series is designed to help city leaders diagnose, understand, and explain their city’s fina...
2019-04-1812 minGo Cultivate!30 – [PART 2] Revitalization without gentrification?We're back with the second part of our interview with Derek and Bianca Avery, incremental developers and community builders with COIR Holdings. In this episode we talk more about the history and very present effects of redlining in American cities and why Derek and Bianca first look for those neighborhoods to invest in. We then discuss some specific things cities can do to set the environment for responsible, incremental development.
For part one of this interview, check out episode 29.
This is also the last episode of Season 1 of this podcast! We'll be back after a...
2019-03-2137 minGo Cultivate!29 – [PART 1] Revitalization without gentrification?On this episode, we talk with Bianca and Derek Avery of COIR Holdings about what it means to be a responsible developer – especially at a time when many people are skeptical of the profession. We talk the difference between a "spreadsheet developer" and a "community developer," and the possibility of "revitalizing" a neighborhood without generating displacement. Then we dig into their holistic approach to sustainable community development that is focused on creating mixed-income neighborhoods.
This is part one of our interview. Part two will be available next week!
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The Go Cultivate! podcast is a...
2019-03-1434 minGo Cultivate!28 – A small city does the math on new developmentHey listeners! If you're a Strong Towns follower, don't forget that March 10 is the deadline to submit your city to the 2019 #StrongestTown contest. Verdunity is proud to be a sponsor of this year's contest. Even if you don't submit, it's a great way to learn how other cities are incrementally building financial strength and improving lives. Sign up here!
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[EDIT: The original release of this episode had some audio we meant to clip out. We've gotten that taken care of now! Re-download your episode if it's still showing up. You'll know it when you hear...
2019-03-061h 07
Go Cultivate!27 – Making the jump toward more active towns, with John SimmermanWe're excited to bring you a conversation with Active Towns founder John Simmerman (@JohnSimmerman), who's been on a long journey to document what cities are doing to become safer and more comfortable places to walk, bike, and be active.
John joins Jordan Clark on the podcast talk about his findings since beginning his Active Towns Tour in 2012, including:
The best ways to encourage cycling among the "less confident" majority of the population
How cities can navigate potential "bikelash" by trying out small, temporary accommodations
The "hardware" and "software" assets that every city needs
How an "active...
2019-02-2556 min
Go Cultivate!26 – Should states be setting a limit on city property taxes?Today we're talking about a push by state lawmakers in Texas to put a cap on how much cities can raise their property tax rates from one year to the next. This proposed legislation would have huge repercussions, severely undercutting cities' ability to collect enough revenue to pay for needed services. To help us dive deeper into what this means for city governments, we're joined by Mayor Connie Schroeder of Bastrop, Texas.
Though this episode is specifically about the legislative battle in Texas, the discussion absolutely has relevance for cities and citizens across the country. As we've...
2019-02-2057 min
Go Cultivate![B-Side] 25 - Dollars, decisions, and your city's futureWe're back with the B-Side to episode 25! That discussion ran too long for one episode, so we're back to talk about some specific ways cities could tie their zoning codes, subdivision ordinances, transportation plans, and economic development decisions to a rigorous fiscal analysis.
Attention Podcast Land!
Could you take a moment to help us make this podcast more relevant or interesting to you? We're running a quick (nearly pain-free!) little questionnaire to learn more about what you'd like us to dive deeper into, and what things we could stand to work on.
Just...
2019-02-1836 min
Go Cultivate!25 - Dollars, decisions, and your city's futureIn this episode, we follow up on last week's chat on the crucial challenge facing city administrators across the country—their city's resource gap. We talk about how city leaders can understand whether their current processes and daily decisions are moving them toward or away from long-term fiscal health. We say often that in many cities, "business as usual is broken." But that doesn't mean city administrators have to throw everything they know out the window. We explore some new ways cities can put the tools they already possess to work to close their resource gap.
We go...
2019-02-1552 min
Go Cultivate!24 – Your city's resource gap (and what you can do about it)Running a city is hard work, and it’s even harder when there aren’t enough resources to cover basic service and infrastructure needs. More and more cities are finding themselves in this tricky spot, and it’s easy for city leaders to feel helpless.
In this episode, we talk about the challenges facing city administrators (as well as their staff) who are increasingly stretched thin by their city's growing resource gap. Then we discuss what they can do about it.
There are plenty of tools (related to land use, growth management, economic development, etc.) that c...
2019-02-0545 min
Go Cultivate!23 – Co-creating the city you want to live in, with Ben OrcuttAttention Podcast Land! Could you take a moment to help us make this podcast more relevant or interesting to you? We're running a quick (nearly pain-free!) little questionnaire to learn more about what you'd like us to dive deeper into, and what things we could stand to work on. (Do we say "um" too much? Great, now you're listening for it...)
Just go to this Google Form. It'll take you 5 minutes, tops, or your money back. ;) We really appreciate it.
Ben Orcutt is a bike-advocate-turned small business owner and candidate for city council of Anderson...
2019-01-291h 07
Go Cultivate!22 – Scaling the city: Have we gotten size all wrong?We design our homes to the scale of a human being. We used to design our neighborhoods that way. So what happened? And does it matter how we size our streets or our cities?
In this episode, Jordan Clark and Felix Landry discuss the implications—economic, equity, human, and more—of designing cities to primarily accommodate moving objects that are ten times bigger than human beings. We wrap things up by talking about some of the ways we can start addressing the various problems created by an out-of-whack transportation network (starting at the 51:45 mark).
This podc...
2019-01-181h 05
Go Cultivate!Let's chat: Do apartments require more police?We hear this a lot: Apartments bring higher crime, which means more police, which means higher police costs. But is that really the case?
Join Felix Landry and Jordan for a quick discussion about Felix's latest piece for the Verdunity blog.
The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of your friends at Verdunity. If you like this addition to the podcast feed, or if you hate it—or if you really want us to riff on a particular subject—let us know: info@verdunity.com.
Find us elsewhere in cyberspace: Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn
2019-01-1527 min
Go Cultivate!21 – The favorites episode!It's a full house on the podcast today. Felix Landry, Tim Wright, and Kevin Shepherd join Jordan to talk about our favorite reads and listens from the year.
Here are links to the stuff we talked about in the show:
Tim's picks:
There’s a missing middle for commercial spaces, too – Kevin Klinkenberg, The Messy City
What’s Up with All Those Empty Commercial Storefronts in New Mixed-Use Developments? – Rachel Quednau, Strong Towns
Podcast: Typology with Ian Morgan Cron (We also discuss his book The Road Back to You)
Felix's picks:
Building Jerusale...
2019-01-101h 09
Go Cultivate!20 – Building a culture of engagement and trust, with Re:Form ShreveportIn this episode, Jordan speaks with Tim Wright, Levette Fuller, Luke Lee, and Chris Lyon of Re:Form Shreveport. We discuss how they are building a more trusting relationship between the people of Shreveport and City staff and officials, why and how to avoid a "criticize-first" mentality, lessons for city governments on embracing neighborhood-led change (or co-creation) instead of top-down planning, the role of local business, and MUCH more.
If you're a city leader or just a neighbor looking for some inspiration to take action heading into 2019, this chat is a great place to start!
...
2019-01-021h 06
Go Cultivate!19 – Monte Anderson on incremental development (Part 2)Here's what we discuss in part 2 of our interview with Monte Anderson:
Three things a small developer (or a small entrepreneur) needs [2:00]
Why Monte says low-interest loans are more effective than “giveaways” [4:00]
Why too much business and not enough space is better than the opposite [7:15]
Assessing the fiscal productivity of small developments as opposed to large-scale developments [9:05]
"It’s a lot easier to train a carpenter to be a business man than it is to train a business man to be a carpenter.” [16:55]
Why planners and developers should stay on the ground in planning a place, and testing while pl...
2018-12-2439 min
Go Cultivate!17 – Embracing the "messy" city, with Kevin KlinkenbergIn 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.
[2:00] Kevin’s background and involvement with Congress for the New
Urbanism
[5:00] Why he got into writing, where it’s taken him, and his focus
on practical advice for...
2018-12-141h 03
Go Cultivate!16 – Economic development: questioning the status quoWe'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?
Links to things discussed in the show:
Should Economic Development Focus on People or Places?
Walmart is building 'town centers' in its parking lots
Economic gardening
Unfortunately, we've had to push off our next webinar. But, you CAN...
2018-12-1042 min
Go Cultivate!15 – Is debt a bad thing for cities?[Some of you may have had a sound issue at the beginning of this podcast. We've fixed it but it still might show up for some listeners. Sorry about that!]
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?
Felix Landry (Verdunity's resident city planner and data geek) is back on this week's episode to talk...
2018-11-301h 10
Go Cultivate!14 – Amazon HQ2 / CA wildfires / Genuine community engagementToday 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 and “being your best you” [1:10]
what the California wildfires should be telling cities about the implications of their development patterns [19:20]
whether “criticize then commit” is a philosophy city leaders can employ in citizen engagement [30:20]
We also take a few moments at the end [50:00] to let you know about a few cool things we’re working on.
You can sign up for our brand-new Cultivate Journal, a monthly roundup of our best p...
2018-11-2159 min
Go Cultivate!13 – Is fast growth a bad thing?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.
Jordan speaks with Verdunity's Felix Landry about both the financial and social/cultural implications of fast growth vs. slow growth. We discuss the ways building standards can help or hurt, what it means to love a place, whether cities have knobs that can speed up growth or slow it down, whether it matters that you build a whole block...
2018-11-0954 min
Go Cultivate!12 – What cities can learn from socially-engaged artJim 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.
Here’s a further sample of our conversation topics:
Why community building is about the personal connections between people
Big Car’s role as a “neighbor-to-neighbor” project, as well as its role as a...
2018-11-0251 min
Go Cultivate!11 – How might a city become fiscally sustainable?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.
The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of VERDUNITY. Learn more at verdunity.com Find our other episodes and blog posts at GoCultivate.org.
(The music in this episode is from Custodian of Records.)
2018-10-261h 06
Go Cultivate!Let's chat: Neighborhood identity and community involvementWe're trying something new here. The Verdunity office is always buzzing with good discussions about what's on our minds that week. So, instead of keeping them all to ourselves, we'll be dropping short, spur-of-the-moment conversations like this one into the feed from time to time. It might be something we've read that day, an interaction we've had with a community leader, or just something we ate (hopefully not).
Today, Tim Wright (the brand-newest member of Verdunity!) and Jordan Clark chat about neighborhood identity and community involvement.
The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of your...
2018-10-2425 min
Go Cultivate!10 – Chuck Marohn of Strong TownsKevin 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.
Here are some highlights from the discussion:
When optimism becomes delusion for city administrators.
The ways that many engineers and other professionals have built up natural defense mechanisms to avoid acknowledging failure and fallibility.
The common myth in Texas and other high growth areas that "fast growth will continue indefinitely and it will solve all our problems"—and the two possible ways it could end.
Not le...
2018-10-1651 min
Go Cultivate!09 – City planning: it takes village (Part 2)This is the second of a two-part interview with AJ Fawver, director of planning for the City of Lubbock, Texas. (Follow her on Twitter: @planningguru. Read her blog on ELGL here.)
In part two, we talk about the world of strengths assessments and communication styles—and how they can be applied to make organizations like city government more effective and empathetic. Then Kevin asks AJ what she as a planner wants people other roles in the city to know. They run through advice and input for elected officials, city management, economic development folks, engineers, and citizens.
...
2018-10-0837 min
Go Cultivate!08 – Nine lessons for building stronger communitiesWe thought this would be a quick chat. It wasn't that quick, but we do think it's a good start to a deeper discussion on ways cities can better serve and engage citizens – and build a more sustainable community in the process. In this episode we walk through Kevin's most recent post on the blog.
Here's a rundown of the nine lessons Kevin spells out in his post and this discussion:
Quality of life is measured at the neighborhood level. (IBM paper discussed in the episode can be found here.)
Citizens often have a...
2018-10-031h 05
Go Cultivate!07 – City planning: it takes a village (Part 1)This is the first of a two-part interview with AJ Fawver, director of planning for the City of Lubbock, Texas. (Follow her on Twitter: @planningguru. Read her blog on ELGL here.)
Here's a sampling of what Kevin and AJ get into:
The difference between land use planing and zoning—and what they’re good for. And some ways that their application hasn’t been good for cities.
Dealing with the common perception (in various cities) that planning departments exist to hinder growth or development
The ways that money enters the equation in dec...
2018-09-2939 min
Go Cultivate!06 – How to start a productive conversation in your communityKevin sits down with Tim Wright, co-founder of Re-Form Shreveport, 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.
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1:00 – Introducing Tim Wright and Re-Form Shreveport
4:50 – Teasing our involvement in the upcoming Strong Towns Regional Gathering (join us for that!)
13:05 – Beginning of Kevin’s discussion with Tim
15:26 – Why Tim (and Kevin) joined the Strong Towns movement
17:45 –...
2018-09-191h 16
Go Cultivate!05 – Math, maps, and money: How fiscal analysis can change the conversation in communitiesVERDUNITY's Felix Landry joins the show to discuss the importance of understanding the fiscal consequences of our development patterns, as well as the ways that cities can use map-based fiscal analysis to make more holistic land use decisions.
3:29 – Beginning of interview
5:00 – How Felix stumbled into looking at the economics of cities
7:00 – Pro formas—why don't city planning departments have them? (And more questions Felix had during his time in a his city's planning department)
12:00 – Confusion on how to go about applying fiscal analysis in planning work
17:53 – Insolvency issues and how fiscal a...
2018-09-151h 28
Go Cultivate!BONUS: A student's perspective on engineeringKevin sits down with VERDUNITY's summer intern Nadia Whitehouse for a brief chat on the ways the engineering profession is changing, and what it means to bring a resource-conscious, people-first attitude to engineering school. They also get into some of the ways Nadia sees the world differently after a few months with the VERDUNITY crew.
2018-08-2420 min
Go Cultivate!02 – Dollars and sense: the future of civil engineeringAn in-depth discussion with VERDUNITY's Kevin Shepherd, P.E., on the past, present, and future of the civil engineering profession—and the lasting fiscal and social impacts their work has on communities.
1:30 – What does is mean to be considered a "creative engineer”?
5:15 – What the conventional approach to civil engineering misses, and how Kevin’s thought process changed as his career progressed
9:50 – The impact of considering financial implications in the design process, vs. the assumption that “the money’s always going to be there”
15:00 – What is the engineer’s role and responsibility with regard to financi...
2018-08-2251 minGo Cultivate!01 – What to expect on the Go Cultivate! podcastIn the first episode of Go Cultivate!, we discuss what it means for a city to be financially resilient, resource-conscious, and people-friendly. Then, we talk about 5 key groups of community leaders.
1:03 – Why Go Cultivate? And what's up with the name VERDUNITY?
5:00 – Revisiting the purpose of the podcast: "helping community leaders grow financially resilient, resource-conscious, and people-friendly cities.
5:51 – "Financially resilient"
7:00 – "Resource-conscious"
8:00 – "People-friendly"
11:40 – What is the status quo and what keeps the status quo in place?
16:32 – Community leaders: five broad groups
17:52 – Elected officials
22:21 – City administrator...
2018-08-0941 min