Pacific Conversations

In 1981, Henry Cisneros became the first Hispanic-American mayor of a major U.S. city, San Antonio, where he helped rebuild the city’s economic base and spurred the creation of jobs through massive infrastructure projects and downtown improvements. In 1992, he was appointed by President Bill Clinton as Secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development where he was credited with initiating the revitalisation of many of the nation’s public housing developments and formulating policies which led to the nation’s highest home-ownership rate.

This week, he joins Ed to talk building better cities in a post-COVID world.

Journalism and media, the fourth estate, is responsible for framing the political issues of the day so that voters can make informed decisions. But what happens when that power is concentrated into too few hands? And when does informing the public cross the line into advocacy?

Stephanie Zuniga-Maher is the Democrats Abroad Australia Global Black Caucus Chair and lifelong lover of politics, Tess Connery is a journalist for Mediaweek and a former Breakfast Host for 2ser 107.3 in Sydney. They join Ed and Sean to discuss the issues now affecting the political and media spheres in Australia and the US, and the need for greater education.

Income inequality forms a background to much of the political turmoil and division being seen in both the United States and Australia. Middle class lifestyles are on a steep decline. Jobs that once supported whole families, with a house and two cars, the shared dream of both Americans and Australians, are no longer sufficient or else don't exist.

Ed Blakely, and journalists Tina Quinn and Sean Britten got together to discuss the current situation and the situation facing future generations.

Dr Mtangulizi Sanyika is a New Orleanian community leader and former professor at Dillard University and TSU. Founder of the Black Unitarian Universalist Caucus and Black Affairs Council, and former project manager for the African American Leadership Project.

Ed and Mtangulizi discuss the battle over minority rights, voting, and voter suppression, particularly in the state of Texas.

Dr. Cynthia Goytia is a Professor at the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella and Harvard University Visiting Scholar. She holds a Ph.D from the London School of Economics and Political Science in the UK and is a senior consultant to Argentina's and Latin American governments.

Cynthia joins Ed in this week's chat to talk about the billion people living without infrastructure 'informal settlements' such as the favelas in Rio de Janeiro, and how that number is set to double in the next fifteen years, the inequalities of wealth and labour, and effects of the COVID pandemic on poor, high density populations.

Bruce Appleyard is an American city planner and urban designer, theorist, consultant, academic, and author. He works as a Professor of City Planning for San Diego State University in the School of Public Affairs and has authored articles in the emerging field of Livability Ethics. He is the son of Donald Appleyard, a British-born American urban and city planner.

Bruce joined Ed to talk about the basic principalities of building with an eye to ethical livability, creating community, and building back post-pandemic.

Eric J. Heikkila is a professor at the USC Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California. Trained as an economist, he has consulted for the World Bank, UNDP, USAID and a host of other development agencies. As founding Executive Secretary for the Pacific Rim Council on Urban Development, he helped organise numerous international consultative forums for cities throughout the region. He is the author of many scholarly publications including, most recently, China from a US Policy Perspective (Routledge, 2020)

This week, Ed Blakely and Eric talk about the rise of China as an economic powerhouse, the sustainability and dangers of China's rapid urban development, and realignment of the world order

Having travelled to more than 1000 cities and 60 countries, Ethan Kent works to support various organisations, projects and leadership to advance the cause of leading urban development with inclusive public spaces and placemaking. In 2019 he co-founded PlacemakingX to network, amplify, and accelerate placemaking leadership and impact globally.

Having worked together on the urban renewal of Parramatta in Sydney, Ed and Ethan talk this week about investing in public spaces, investment and advocacy, and the keys to placemaking in a post-COVID era.

Mary Comerio is an internationally recognised expert on disaster resilience and recovery. She has been on the faculty in the Department of Architecture at U. C. Berkeley for 40 years and has served as Chair. She led the FEMA sponsored Disaster Resistant University Program, and the Building Systems Research with Helmut Krawinkler at the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) Center.

This week, Mary and Ed chat about building for resilience against natural disasters and pandemics, protecting power supply and other supply lines, and planning for future disasters.

Roderick Simpson was appointed the Environment Commissioner of the Greater Sydney Commission in 2015, and prior to this he was the Director of the Urban Design and Master of Urbanism programs at the University of Sydney.

This week, he and Ed discuss how COVID has affected urban design and planning, modelling new communities, transport and recreation.