In this episode, Jess and Pete reflect on the tenth anniversary of the PlanningxChange podcast. This discussion occurs before an Ai review of the planningxchange podcast series. A rather indulgent episode to mark the anniversary!

For podcast extra / culture corner, Jess recommends making pizzas at home with the family. Her New Year resolution is to have more interesting podcast extra recommendations. Pete recommends doing background research about books you like. He also discusses film locations and the potential for cultural tourism. On YouTube there are various films about film locations. The film Pete mentions is Mad Max.

There are now transcripts for the episodes. These will progressively be included for previous editions. The transcripts generally reflect what is said in the episode (they are altered to improve grammar etc).

Audio production by Jack Bavage. Podcast released on 27 December 2024.

Katherine is a social planning practitioner with over 14 years’ experience working for a range of government and non-government organisations in Australia and the Pacific. Katherine has considerable experience in developing and implementing community plans, programs and policy to improve social inclusion and participation. Katherine was awarded the 2018 Rodney Warmington Churchill Fellowship to increase inclusion and accessibility in public toilets by researching taboos, design, policy and legal barriers. The Churchill Fellowship consolidated previous work with planners, institutions and community members identifying public toilets as essential to support the participation of a wide section of our communities. Photos of many toilets Katherine has visited are documented via Instagram @Public_Toilets_Anonymous. Katherine appears on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh7UQziutv8 talking about her work. 

Discussion mentions the film ‘Perfect Days’ which is set amongst Tokyo’s public ‘art’ toilets (https://www.archdaily.com/1018293/perfect-days-an-ode-to-tokyos-public-toilets). Mention is also made about Singapores ‘Happy Toilet Program’ (https://www.toilet.org.sg/docs/HTPBrochure.pdf)

For podcast extra / culture corner, Katherine recommendations ‘Birnam Wood’ by Eleanor Catton https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60784757-birnam-wood. She also recommends the ‘Public Toilet’ app. Jess recommends outsourcing at home in times of stress relying upon the ‘diner lady’. Pete recommends the ‘Transit maps’ app, and secondly, YouTube Premium.

Audio production by Jack Bavage. Podcast released on 7 December 2024.

In PX123 our guest is Bryan Caplan. Bryan is Professor of Economics at George Mason University and a New York Times Bestselling author. We interview him about his ground breaking graphic novel ‘Build, Baby, Build - The Science and Ethics of Housing Regulation’.

The book is described: 'In Build, Baby, Build: The Science and Ethics of Housing Regulation, economist Bryan Caplan makes the economic and philosophical case for radical deregulation of this massive market―freeing property owners to build as tall and dense as they wish. Not only would the average price of housing be cut in half, but the building boom unleashed by deregulation would simultaneously reduce inequality, increase social mobility, promote economic growth, reduce homelessness, increase birth rates, help the environment, cut crime, and more. Combining stunning homage to classic animation with careful interdisciplinary research, Build, Baby, Build takes readers on a grand tour of a bona fide “panacea policy.” We can start realizing these missed opportunities as soon as we abandon the widespread misconception that housing regulation solves more problems than it causes.’

The book is a must read for planning undergraduates and all policy makers involved in the housing sector.

Other books he has written include The Myth of the Rational Voter, named "the best political book of the year" by the New York Times, Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids, The Case Against Education, Open Borders (co-authored with SMBC's Zach Weinersmith), Labor Econ Versus the World, How Evil Are Politicians?, Don't Be a Feminist, Voters As Mad Scientists, You Will Not Stampede Me, and Self-Help Is Like a Vaccine. He is now writing Unbeatable: The Brutally Honest Case for Free Markets.

In Podcast Extra / Culture Corner Bryan recommends 

‘The problem with political authority’ by Michael Huemer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Problem_of_Political_Authority). He also recommends the Youtube series 'Ride with Gabi' https://www.youtube.com/@ridewithgabi

Jess has gone back to duolingo, learning Italian (https://www.duolingo.com). Pete recommends the Netflix K Rom Com ‘Business Proposal’. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Proposal)

Audio produced by Jack Bavage. Podcast released 12 November 2024.

In PX122 our guest is Rafael Mangual a distinguished writer and researcher on crime issues in cities and regions. He is the Nick Ohnell Fellow at the Manhattan Institute (MI), a contributing editor of City Journal, and a member of the Council on Criminal Justice. His first book, Criminal (In)Justice, was released in July 2022. He has authored and coauthored a number of MI reports and op-eds on issues ranging from urban crime and jail violence to broader matters of criminal and civil justice reform. His work has been featured and mentioned in a wide array of publications, including the Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, New York Post, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer and City Journal. He regularly appears on TV and radio.

In a wide ranging interview, Rafael explains various criminology theories about urban environments and how design measures can reduce crime. He talks about how crime reduces urban amenity, the consequences for the most disadvantaged and if unchecked how lax civic and legislative standards create a doom loop. Rafael presents an inspiring and well thought out approach to addressing a very serious urban issue that rarely receives attention in urban planning circles.

In Podcast Extra / Culture Corner Rafael recommends Fitness accounts and trackers. Jess recommends attending professional conferences. Pete recommends ‘The Passage of the Damned’ by Elsbeth Hardie https://scholarly.info/book/the-passage-of-the-damned/’.


Audio produced by Jack Bavage. Podcast released 23 October 2024.

In PX121 our guest is Calvin Po (https://www.calvinpo.com).


Calvin Po is a strategic designer at Dark Matter Labs, co-leading the Radicle Civics portfolio, where he explores institutional and governance systems as sites of design. He has led projects with the Scottish Government’s Land Commission on land governance reform, the Taiwanese Government on decentralised web3 civic infrastructure, and is developing multi-actor governance approaches for river ecosystems, and in FreeHouse, a commons housing model based on ‘self-owning’ houses.

At the Architectural Association School of Architecture, Calvin is a unit master of Diploma 9, ‘Universal Free Housing’, focusing on strategic, policy, and economic pathways for realising housing as a universal human right. He studied architecture at UCL Bartlett, where he graduated top of class as a RIBA Donaldson Medallist, and he was a scholar at the AA, where his Diploma thesis won the Dennis Sharp Prize and was a finalist for RIBA President's Awards for Research 2021.

Calvin is also a writer, publishing most regularly as an architecture critic for The Spectator magazine. His research interests and writing include topics on land, territory, and its political systems.

In podcast extra / culture corner, Calvin Po recommends the movie Tar directed by Todd Field (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tár); Jess recommends the Netflix program ‘Red Eye’ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421239/ and Pete recommends ‘War Gamers’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IikLz4GL8uw and https://www.zdf-studios.com/en/program-catalog/international/unscripted/history-biographies/war-gamers

Audio produced by Jack Bavage. Podcast released 11 September 2024.

In PX120 our guest is Assistant Professor Akane Bessho, Ph.D of the Housing and Urban Analysis Laboratory, Department of Engineering, The University of Tokyo. Information about Akane’s work is at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Akane-Bessho-2

and her website is: https://www.akanebessho.com

Akane has a wide range of research projects and field work including schemes that seek to reverse depopulation in Japan’s rural areas, assisting people with disabilities into the agricultural sector (see for example Coco Farm & Winery) (https://cocowine.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/cocofaw-pr-eng.pdf), new approaches to food production and creating community gardens and centres specifically designed to aid those with dementia. Her work ranges from densely populated metropolitan centres to small rural towns and villages.

Akane describes her faculty at the the Tokyo University and the excellent work it produces. Details at https://www.due.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/english/

The interview discusses many issues confronting Japanese society. From this we can draw lessons that can be applied to other countries.

An engaging and inspiring interview about new methods to create better societal outcomes.

In Podcast Extra / Culture Corner, Akane has two recommendations, music by Ren (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnbXfRACsVM) and a book The Essence of Language: How Words Were Born and Evolved? (by Mutsumi Imai & Kimi Akita):  https://amzn.asia/d/00SRoMrL

Jess has taken up tennis lessons and recommends this to listeners.

Pete has two recommendations both Japanese: The TV series Golden Kamuy on Netflix https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6DmjhcSt8Q

and 'Design X Stories' a program on NHK (https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/design_stories/) in particular ’Shared Living, Shared Spaces' (https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/2101025/)

Audio produced by Jack Bavage. Podcast released 10 August 2024.

In PX119 our guests is Kylie Legge of Place Score (https://www.placescore.org/about-place-score/).
Kylie is a leading voice in placemaking, an architecture graduate, planner, place maker, author, facilitator, curator and entrepreneur. She is founding Director of Place Partners, a multidisciplinary placemaking consultancy based in Sydney, Australia and Place Score – the world’s first place experience measurement company.


An engaging interview about new methods to find out what citizens seek in their local area.


In Podcast Extra / Culture Corner, Kylie Legge recommends The National Gallery of Victoria ‘Triennial’, an exhibition featuring 120 artists with contemporary works (see https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/triennial/home/). 
Jess recommends 'Turning Point' on Netflix (https://www.netflix.com/au/title/81614129)


Pete recommends the ‘WSJ Free Expression Podcast episode - ‘Is Modern Technology Ruining Our Children’ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/is-modern-technology-ruining-our-children/id1609730284?i=1000651467872

which features Jonathan Haidt author of ‘The Anxious Generation’ - How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing and Epidemic of Mental Illness’. Details at https://www.anxiousgeneration.com/book - and he also recommends the Ford Ranger Youtube clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPxo7siqjIo


Audio produced by Jack Bavage. Podcast released 20 July 2024.

In PX118 our guests are Jonathan O’Brien and Jonathan Nolan of YIMBY Melbourne.

Details of YIMBY Melbourne are at https://www.yimby.melbourne

YIMBY Melbourne seeks a ‘People-led’ ‘Grassroots’ ‘For Housing Abundance.’

The YIMBY website states: ‘A better Melbourne is possible. A Melbourne that is affordable, liveable, and sustainable. A city that is walkable, accessible, and which gives everyone access to the amenity-rich areas that make living here so special.

Creating housing abundance will take a lot of work. It will require reform across planning, governance, and taxation. It will force us to take a serious look at how we use, value, and control the use of land in this city.

The two Jonathan’s outline the problems with the current planning system and how this leads to disadvantage, exclusion and a lack of new housing. They propose various measures that can redress the problems. They also call for volunteers to assist the cause.

An engaging interview with dedicated activists who have created a new third party force in the housing / planning policy - public awareness space.

In Podcast Extra / Culture Corner, Jonathan Nolan recommends a website he has created (https://citydensity.com) which looks at the population density of major cities in relation to distance from the CBD.

Jonathan O’Brien recommends ‘Arbitary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and how to fix it’ by M Nolan Gray (https://islandpress.org/books/arbitrary-lines#desc)

He also recommends ‘The Boat’ by Nam Le (https://www.sbs.com.au/theboat/) and https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-boat-9780143009610

Jess recommends a book ‘What happened to Nina’ by Dervla McTiernan (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/171793386-what-happened-to-nina) and a podcast ‘The Imperfect’ (https://theresilienceproject.com.au/at-home/podcasts/).

Pete recommends ‘Climate - the movie (the cold truth)’ at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A24fWmNA6lM and the Radio Taiso (also spelt Rajio Taiso which translates to ‘radio exercises’) morning exercise program released by NHK - see YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6ZRH9Mraqw

Audio produced by Jack Bavage. Podcast released 24 June 2024.

In PX117 our guest is Rob Parker, President of Trilith Development, LLC. Rob oversees with a development team the continued growth of the Trilith Township and Film Studios. Trilith is located on the edge of Altana in Fayette County, Georgia. Trilith is in the advance guard of new urbanism practices. Details at https://www.trilith.com

Trilith is a large masterplanned community which seeks to ‘redefine the modern American town’. Based on New Urbanism 2.0++ principles, the town has a vibrant commercial centre, multiple open space places and a diverse range of housing options. It is colocated adjacent the Trilith Film Studios.

Rob describes the passions that drive the Trilith team and the concept of continuous improvement in the creation of new urban spaces. He discusses building for the long term and the high level of detail that goes into making first rate community projects.

Trilith has many unique features. One of the surprising aspects is the popularity of the ‘Trilith Experience’, a tour of not only the film studios but also ‘the intrically designed new urbanist community of the The Town @ Trilth’. Rob reports that many visitors are excited and drawn to the new urbanism built form and layout.

An engaging interview with a professional dedicated to creating better town life experiences. 

In Podcast Extra / Culture Corner Rob recommends ‘Suburban Nation - The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream’ by Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk and Jeff Speck https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781429932110/suburbannation and ‘Walkable City - How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time’ by Jeff Speck https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781429932110/suburbannation

Rob also describes the value of travel and taking in new experiences that can lead to better solutions 'at home'.

Jess recommends ‘Foul Play’ by Fiona McIntosh https://www.penguin.com.au/books/foul-play-9781761048012.

Pete recommends ‘I Robot’ by Isaac Asimov https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I,_Robot.

Audio produced by Jack Bavage. Podcast released 31 May 2024.

In PX116 our guest is Stephen Rowley. Stephen is the author of two books, ‘Movie Towns and Sitcom Suburbs: Building Hollywood’s Ideal Communities’ and ‘The Victorian Planning System: Practice, Problems and Prospects’.

In February 2022 he was made a Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia, the citation included: ‘Over the first 20 years of his career Dr Stephen Rowley has made a very significant contribution to planning as an inspiring and passionate lecturer, through his publications, his engagement in planning debates, and his continued advocacy for planning reform. Stephen is one of the profession’s leading voices on the operation of the Victorian planning system. His critical insights into the structure of the VPPs and their intersection with planning practice are highly valued across the sector.’

An engaging interview with a planning profession who has given much to the profession and Australian cities. His observations can be applied broadly to planning systems around the globe.

In Podcast Extra / Culture Corner Stephen recommends the British comedy (satirical) program ‘The Thick of It’ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thick_of_It). Jess recommends Canva a graphic design software program. Pete has two recommendations. the movie ‘Godzilla Minus One’ (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23289160/) and the second, a British comedy program from the 1980’s ‘The Young Ones’ (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083505/) that could never be made these days.

Audio produced by Jack Bavage. Podcast released 2 May 2024.