Cities & Planners

In this episode I speak with Sarah Meggison, AICP, Housing Development Manager for the city of Tucson, AZ. Sarah is passionate about her city and about creating all kinds of affordable housing for its residents. In addition to housing policy, we talk about adaptive re-use, City-University relations, the Tucson Streetcar, growth trends, and Tucson's unique culture.

Links 

Housing Affordability Strategy (HAST Plan)

SunLink (streetcar) 

Cities & Planners is the podcast about cities from the perspective of urban planners. On each episode we interview a planner or related professional from a different city and hear about what they love, what they don't love, and how they are working to make their city better.

In this episode I talk to Mark De La Vergne, VP of Cavnue. Mark was formerly Chief of Mobility Innovation for the City of Detroit, and he has a true love for his adopted city. We talk about making transit work better for City residents who need to reach jobs in the suburbs, why there is a need for affordable housing in a city with a surplus of housing stock, and how COVID has impacted the upward trajectory of Downtown Detroit, among other topics.

Here are some links to KQED Forum podcasts about San Jose that I mention in the introduction to this podcast:

Exploring the 'Great Immigrant Food City' of San Jose

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo on Gun Control, Housing and His Last Year in the Mayor’s Office

And here is a guide to Detroit murals, which I discussed with Mark..

I interview Jesse Mintz-Roth, Vision Zero Program Manager for the San Jose Department of Transportation. Jesse and I talk about San Jose, a city of one million people which is often overlooked, even within the San Francisco Bay Area. San Jose experienced low density sprawl for much of the 20th century, but is now focusing on transit oriented development and providing much needed housing, unlike many other Bay Area cities. Jesse also shares what he has enjoys about living in San Jose, including the diverse immigrant community and food discoveries he has made.