Originally from Vermont, Ruby Western has made quite a home for herself in the city of Chicago. Her experience as a curator, producer, designer, and artist speaks not only to the breadth of her abilities but also to the magnitude of her commitment to building community by creating. She currently works for United States Artists and runs her own freelance design business (check out her work at www.rubywesterndesign.com). Tune in as we talk about the internet as a place of possibility and the innumerable projects Ruby has been a part of since she moved to the Windy City in 2013.

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Glossary of terms used in this episode:

"Improv" - Short for 'Improvisational theater'. This most often refers to comedy, where most or all of what is performed is unplanned and created spontaneously by the performer.

“Cancer” - The fourth astrological sign in the Zodiac, originating from the constellation of Cancer. Cancers are thought of as intuitive, sentimental, generous, sensitive and concerned with the well-being of others.

“Dave Eggers” - An American writer, editor and publisher. One of his most well-known works is 'A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius'.

"The Bean" - A vernacular term for a large public sculpture in Chicago's Millennium Park titled 'Cloud Gate'. It was created by Sir Anish Kapoor and is among Chicago's most popular tourist destinations.

"Dyke Bar" - a term used by the LGBTQI* community to refer to a bar, club or other establishment frequented by lesbians. The erasure of these spaces was investigated in "Lost & Found: An Exhibit Exploring Chicago’s Dyke Spaces of the ‘70s & ‘80s", which was curated by Ruby Western in 2017.

Walking along 5th Avenue, Green-Wood Cemetery seems to appear out of nowhere. Its collection of 19th and 20th century statuary and mausoleums spans nearly 500 acres in Brooklyn, and its historical, architectural and ecological significance can't be overstated. In recent decades Green-Wood has been putting time and energy into figuring out how to increase public engagement with the cemetery while preserving its cultural heritage. In this episode I speak with Manager of Preservation and Restoration Neela Wickremesinghe about the history of Green-Wood, the importance of urban open space, and how to make the idea of death and dying more accessible to the public.

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Glossary of terms used in this episode:

“National Register of Historic Places” - defined by the U.S. federal government as an 'official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance.'

“Palimpsest” - something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form. A great example of a palimpsest is a wall that has peeling paint, allowing you to see any number of its previous colors.

"Cultural Landscape" - often recognized as a landscape that has significant history, resources, wildlife, or any other aesthetic value. Some cultural landscapes are formally recognized, like battlegrounds and memorials. I would argue that they can also be informal, such as playgrounds or vacant lots once home to housing projects.

"Birder" - a person who watches birds recreationally.

"Prospect Park" - a public park spanning over 500 acres in Brooklyn, NY.

"Oak Wilt" - a fungal disease which impacts the health of oak trees. It travels through the roots of trees and poses a serious threat to forests in the northeastern and central regions of the United States.

Adair Greene is a DJ and co-founder of Haute Sauce, which is self-defined as a “Brooklyn-based female collective celebrating black and brown culture by creating spaces that support cultural and creative inclusivity”. In this episode we talk about the experiences that shaped Adair’s move to New York, the founding of Haute Sauce, and why she loves what she’s doing.

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Glossary of terms used in this episode:

“South Orange / Maplewood” - A suburban community in northeastern New Jersey located approximately 25 miles from Manhattan. Often called “SoMA” or “Mapso”, it is actually two separate townships which share a public school district.

“Gayborhood” - a term used both formally and informally to describe part of a city that is inhabited predominantly by members of the LGBTQI+ community.

“Heteronormative” - any place, person, comment or gesture which assumes or asserts that heterosexuality is a societal norm.

“QTPOC” - an acronym for Queer and Trans People of Color.

“Intersectionality” - according to Wikipedia, it is “an analytic framework that attempts to identify how interlocking systems of power impact those who are most marginalized in society”. It is most often attributed to professor, scholar and civil rights advocate Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw.

As a longtime staff member at Smithsonian Gardens, Cindy Brown has been involved in a wide array of community outreach and educational programming in the nation’s capital. She has worked diligently to ensure that people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities feel comfortable and empowered in a horticultural landscape. In this episode we explore the challenges and rewards associated with greening the city, working with volunteers, and bringing Smithsonian Gardens into the lives of people everywhere.

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Glossary of terms used in this episode:

“Gerontology” - defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “the comprehensive study of aging and the problems of the aged.”

“Green Spaces” - most often this refers to densely planted spaces in cities, which usually contrast with the paved and/or developed spaces that characterize urban landscapes. Green Space could include a park, bike trail, arboretum or public garden.

“Stewardship” - the practice of taking responsibility for protecting, preserving or improving a place or property. Stewards are often volunteers.

“Living Collections” - in botany and horticulture, this refers to plants and specimens that are catalogued and made available for scientific research and public exhibits.

“Natural History” - in this context, it refers to the National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC, which was founded in 1910 and is administered by the Smithsonian Institution.

Peter Adams works in one of the most iconic, complex, and vulnerable landscapes in the world: New York City. During this episode he digs into how the city has responded to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy by prioritizing cultural, structural and ecological resilience.

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Glossary of terms used in this episode:

“Sandy” - One of the most destructive and costly hurricanes to hit the United States. It devastated much of the island of Manhattan and nearby boroughs in October 2012.

“Ecosystem” - a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. In places like New York City, the ecosystem includes both “natural” components as well as infrastructure like roads, bridges and the subway.

“Rockaway Boardwalk” - A coastal pedestrian pathway in Rockaway Beach, a neighborhood on the Rockaway Peninsula in the borough of queens.

“Red Hook” - A low-lying neighborhood in southwest Brooklyn that was inundated during Hurricane Sandy. Recent redevelopment efforts in Red Hook, both by the city and private investors, have sparked concerns that it might be yet another Brooklyn neighborhood that is slowly becoming unaffordable and inaccessible to long-time residents.

“EJ” - An acronym for Environmental Justice, which is defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws regulations and policies.

In this episode, Gina Ford discusses her former role as a Principal of Sasaki Associates, an internationally recognized planning and design firm in Boston, MA. We explore the idea of designing for locals and visitors simultaneously, the reasons why people resist public landscape projects and how to justify investing in the built environment. Gina is now Principal and co-founder of the award-winning firm Agency Landscape + Planning, which is based in Cambridge, MA.

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Glossary of terms used in this episode:

“The GSD” - the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, which offers degrees in Landscape Architecture, Architecture, Urban Planning and other design study programs.

“CAD Skills” - this refers to proficiency in a design software program called AutoCAD, or Computer-Aided Design.

“Circulation” - a term used by planners and designers referring to roads and/or pathways for pedestrians, cyclists, cars, and other modes of travel.

“Bascule Bridge” - more often called a drawbridge.

“Field Ops” and “MVVA” - two different NYC-based landscape architecture firms: James Corner Field Operations and Michael Van Valkenburgh, respectively.