City Dweller

Ron Swinson is the President of Peach Properties, a real estate development firm located in Columbia, South Carolina. His firm was responsible for restoring the Equitable Arcade, a shopping arcade built in 1912 by a group of businessmen in Columbia including Edwin Wales Robertson, a prominent banker and developer.

In this episode, I talk with a panel of three people involved in historic preservation in Columbia, South Carolina. Janie Campbell is a Preservation Consultant at the law firm Rogers Lewis Jackson Mann & Quinn. Meg Syms is the Marketing Director for the architecture firm Garvin Design Group. John Sherrer is the Director of Preservation at Historic Columbia, a non-profit organization that preserves places and shares complex stories from the past that connect us in the present and inspire our future.

Tom Babin is the creator of the YouTube channel Shifter and the author of Frostbike: The Joy, Pain and Numbness of Winter Cycling, an exploration of getting around on two wheels throughout the year. His work is committed to furthering the conversation about the ways bicycles can make our lives better, for smart and thoughtful people who care about urban transportation and the future of city life.

Emily Talen is an urban planner who directs the Urbanism Lab at the University of Chicago. The Urbanism Lab studies the built environment and its meaning and impact. Its research focuses on social, cultural, and political movements aimed at improving the quality of the built environment. Of particular interest is the notion of sustainable urbanism and the ability of cities to be places of vibrancy, social diversity, and neighborhood identity.

Natalie Dalea is a Creative Writing Fellow who is working on a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Minnesota with a focus on creative nonfiction writing. She also worked as an intern for Curious City, a podcast from Chicago Public Media that answers questions about Chicago, the surrounding region, and its people.

Angel Montalvo is the Manager of the city of Chicago SAFE Ambassadors Program. SAFE stands for Streets Are For Everybody. Their mission is to educate and encourage bicyclists and pedestrians in order to make Chicago a safer place for active transportation. Angel has worked for and managed this program for the past 10 years, and he has worked in transportation since he was 16. He is a a proud husband and father of a 2-year-old, and he enjoys taking bike rides with his family.

Jennifer Lizak is passionate about supporting the cultural community in Chicago, particularly in the areas of music, community radio, literacy, and education. She is also concerned about social justice, especially in the areas of healthcare, civil rights and economic equality. Jennifer is the Coordinator of Special Projects for Cultural and Civic Engagement at the Chicago Public Library where she plays a lead role in cultural and civic programming for adults, including the One Book, One Chicago program. She is a board member for the Chicago Independent Radio Project (CHIRP) where she also hosts a weekly show.

Robbie Ellis is a presenter and producer for Chicago's classical music station, WFMT. He’s been a teaching artist with The Second City, Chicago Opera Theater, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; and he’s composed and MC’d musical comedy concerts for the Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago and Fourth Coast Ensemble. He is a music director for comedy theater, works as an event MC around town, and performs his comedy songs from the piano.

Genna Contino is a graduate of the University of South Carolina who reports on local government for the Charlotte Observer. She has also covered gentrification and affordable housing for the Greenville News and growth and development for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. As part of her reporting on public transportation in Charlotte, Genna attempted the challenge of going car-free in Charlotte for a week.