REDESIGNING CITIES: The Speedwell Foundation Talks @ Georgia Tech

How do cities compare in terms of their proportion of chain versus independent restaurants? Dr Clio Andris of Georgia Tech and Dr Xiaofan Liang of the University of Michigan discuss how they measured “chainness” and the geographic and political correlations they found in cities with high vs low proportions of chains. Professor Emeritum Ellen Dunham-Jones leads the follow-up discussion and debate over who is better served by chains versus independents and the implications of both on redesigning cities.   

How did the community of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s childhood neighborhood shape his views and the larger Civil Rights Movement? What can historic preservation teach us today about social infrastructure, storytelling and activism? Developer and preservationist Gene Kansas speaks about his new book, Civil Sights, a walk through Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn Historic District that tells the stories of the Civil Rights Movement through its buildings’ occupants and achievements. Clay Kiningham - illustrator of the book, rhetoric scholar Jacqueline Royster, and architect William J. Stanley III, join Gene and Ellen Dunham-Jones discussing the lessons of Sweet Auburn for today. 

How do designed landscapes connect us not just to the natural environment and ecology of a place, but to the people and cultural memories that have inhabited it? When should the designer minimize the presence of their own hand and when is it appropriate to intervene with bold and contrasting design ideas to stimulate new forms of occupation of the land? Sara Zewde, Associate Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture at Harvard and founding principal of Studio Zewde shares her approach to these questions in her design work and forthcoming book on Frederick Law Olmsted’s abolitionist work in the South, followed by a discussion with Ellen Dunham-Jones.

Does driving make you fat? Does taking transit make you thin? Are you likely to be healthier in a city with small blocks or big blocks? Are you less likely to get diabetes if you live near a park?  Do you breathe more pollutants in heavy traffic on a bike or in a car?  What urban form is healthier when you’re a teenager or a senior? Are you likely to have more friends if you live in a walkable neighborhood?  What health-related economic benefits do you receive from walkability, bikeways, and greenways? How do you measure these things? One of the most cited scholars in the world, Dr. Lawrence Frank coined the term walkability and has been answering such questions for three decades. After sharing the state of the evidence linking built and natural environment features with health and economics, he and Yilun Zha discuss the findings’ impacts on cities and public health.

Like many downtowns, suburbanization wiped much of the life out of Greenville SC’s downtown by the 1970s. Today it is a thriving, award-winning destination largely due to the 30-year leadership of Mayor Knox White. Why has it been so successful and what can other cities learn from its multi-layered strategies to attract people downtown and celebrate gathering at new iconic parks (including removing a four-lane highway bridge to do so?) Mayor White explains and Michael Messner and Ellen Dunham-Jones lead the follow-up conversation on the implementation and impacts of this remarkable redesign. 

Autonomous vehicles are here – but which mode best serves cities? Private AVs like Tesla? Privately-owned and operated robotaxis like Waymo? Or publicly supported on-demand AV shuttle buses? Are on-demand AV shuttles a more efficient way to provide transit service in lower-density areas where regular bus service is infeasible – and if so how should cities plan for them? This summer Boca Rotan, Florida began a three-year roll-out of AV shuttles. An affluent city struggling to attract service-industry workers, the city sees the shuttles as a means of connecting affordable housing to affordable transportation. Is it working? Jun Wang, Assistant Professor at FAU in Boca Rotan shares her dissertation research on planning for AV shuttles before Mark Wigder, Boca Raton Council Member tells us why he championed the AV shuttle and how it’s doing so far. Noted transit urbanist Peter Calthorpe also makes a surprise appearance.  

How did Oklahoma City go from being one of America’s most obese and least walkable cities in 2008 to an award-winning thriving downtown attracting an influx of jobs, dining, recreation, and young adults? Through the implementation of a complete redesign of the public streets and parks in the 50-block downtown core. Defying fears of gridlock, the one-way street system and a third of the driving lanes were eliminated while on-street parking was doubled, a bike network established, and over 2,500 street trees planted. Then Mayor Mick Cornett and urban designer Jeff Speck discuss how they pulled this off and lessons learned.   

Autonomous vehicles are here – but which mode best serves cities? Private AVs like Tesla? Privately-owned and operated robotaxis like Waymo? Or publicly supported on-demand AV shuttle buses? Are on-demand AV shuttles a more efficient way to provide transit service in lower-density areas where regular bus service is infeasible – and if so how should cities plan for them? This summer Boca Rotan, Florida began a three-year roll-out of AV shuttles. An affluent city struggling to attract service-industry workers, the city sees the shuttles as a means of connecting affordable housing to affordable transportation. Is it working? Jun Wang, Assistant Professor at FAU in Boca Rotan shares her dissertation research on planning for AV shuttles before Mark Wigder, Boca Raton Council Member tells us why he championed the AV shuttle and how it’s doing so far. Noted transit urbanist Peter Calthorpe also makes a surprise appearance.  

Is it possible for a suburban community to invest in long-term amenities like a walkable downtown, a symphony hall and award-winning public spaces while reducing property taxes? Jim Brainard did just that - and more - during his 28 years as Mayor of Carmel, IN. His presentation shows how he freed up redevelopment opportunities by using Tax Increment Financing to build public parking and elevate design quality. In a follow-up conversation Ellen Dunham-Jones asks him to discuss the health, energy, and climate impacts of these changes - as well as his conversion of over 150 Carmel intersections into roundabouts. Listeners may want to visit the Redesigning Cities website to watch the video to see Jim’s slides.  

As listeners and viewers to Redesigning Cities 40+ episodes should have figured out – urban design is complicated business! It requires integrating a wide range of social, transportation, energy, and environmental collaborators, infrastructures, networks, and design details into a spatial framework. Luckily Nico Larco, lead author of the Sustainable Urban Design Handbook talks us through this matrix of issues, as well as his research on emerging technologies and new mobility.