Castuner

Building Better Cities

Kate Gasparro - Urban Development & Sustainable Infrastructure Expert

Cities don't just happen. They're shaped by the choices we make about housing, transportation, infrastructure, public spaces, and the communities we want to become.

Yet too often, the systems we rely on make it difficult to build the places people need.

Building Better Cities with Dr. Kate Gasparro goes behind the scenes with the leaders, builders, thinkers, and innovators reimagining how cities grow. Each episode explores the ideas and solutions helping create more sustainable, equitable, and thriving communities.

Breaking norms. Building cities.

Podcast website

Listen in your app

Episodes

51 episodes

  1. The Data Center Backlash: What It Reveals About How We Build Cities with Dr. Sarah Mills 31:42
  2. Beyond the Power Grid: Buiding Detroit's Resilience Network with Briana DuBose 33:29
  3. Paying for the Past, Building for the Future with Mayor Todd Gloria 39:11
  4. From Research to Action: Turning Evidence into Better Cities with Robert Puentes 30:57
  5. Shared Equity and a New Dream of Homeownership with Tony Pickett 38:31
  6. Can Opportunity Zones Reverse Neighborhood Disinvestment? (with Jimmy Atkinson) 35:16
  7. How Cities Shape Us: The Psychology of Place with Dr. Leidy Klotz 33:41
  8. The Holy Grail of Urbanism: Land Value Tax with Greg Miller 35:29
  9. The Hidden Reason Families Are Leaving Cities with Alicia Pederson 30:08
  10. When Impact is the Asset: Transforming Forgotten Spaces with Lindsey Scannapieco 35:08
  11. Can Impact Investing Redefine Urban Development? (with Brian Murray) 45:24
  12. Building Codes Are Political. We Just Don't Talk About Them. (with Ed Mendoza) 35:39
  13. Why Local Developers Matter More Than Ever with Jim Heid 40:44
  14. How San Diego rewired California housing incentives with Colin Parent 34:33
  15. What makes a better city? Inside LEED’s urban framework with Dr. Vatsal Bhatt 31:55
  16. Funding city infrastructure at the ballot box: what Nashville got right with Amanda Wall Vandegrift 33:27
  17. Part 2: Why transit investment is really a city building decision with Yonah Freemark and Sam Sklar 25:35
  18. Part 1: Why zoning reform isn't solving the housing crisis with Yonah Freemark 22:35
  19. Why mayors can't solve the housing crisis alone with Michael Tubbs 31:47
  20. From extraction to regeneration: place-based development in Appalachia with Steven Baumgartner 33:08
  21. The climate goals are clear. The infrastructure spending isn't. (with Adie Tomer and Ben Swedberg) 33:19
  22. Overcoming friction to build regenerative cities with Eric Corey Freed 34:35
  23. What it really takes to save a downtown with Mayor White of Greenville, SC 35:30
  24. Replay: Can rebuilding for resilience make insurance affordable? (with Alisa Valderrama) 26:00
  25. How mission-driven development pencils on Chicago’s South Side — with Byron Brazier 32:52
  26. The housing system is broken- can upzoning save it? (with Ben Metcalf) 33:49
  27. Replay: How urban design fosters stronger communities with Dr. Andrew Sonta 25:48
  28. Tulsa's bold model for restorative development with Ashley Philippsen and Dr. Lana Turner-Addison 32:58
  29. The battle over Penn Station's redevelopment with Claire Read 29:43
  30. Building a net-zero neighborhood for the future with Matt Grocoff 29:52
  31. From vacancy to vertical village and beyond with Todd Richardson 37:49
  32. Shaping vibrant neighborhoods with infill development with Shruti Shankar and Roberto Jenkins 32:01
  33. The public realm and the resistance of placemaking with Aaron Paley 30:02
  34. Who rebuilds LA? Planning post-fire recovery with Dr. Minjee Kim 31:04
  35. How purple states foster consensus and build with Brian Regli 33:44
  36. The Implementation Era: building beyond the big bills with Zach Kolodin 31:03
  37. Detroit's new model for scaling urban innovation with Kevin Mull 31:28
  38. Scaling value and resilience through district utility systems with Daniel Hansen 27:43
  39. Catalyzing urban change through institutional impact with Alex Feldman 28:18
  40. Placemaking to build (upon) pride and participation with Carol Coletta 32:54
  41. Infrastructure projects in a shifting federal policy landscape with Chris Livingstone 31:17
  42. Crowdfunding public good and the future of community-backed projects with Brian Ross 33:00
  43. How addressing embodied carbon can strengthen U.S. manufacturing with Anish Tilak 29:29
  44. The role of public finance in driving transformative developments with Ken Kalynchuk 32:54
  45. FutureProof-ing cities and pricing climate risk with Alisa Valderrama 26:00
  46. Neighborhood Trusts and how they prevent community displacement with David Kemper 33:05
  47. Taking LA's housing projects from permits to construction with Jenna Hornstock 30:21
  48. Trends in urban mobility and the TDM advantage with Lauren Mattern 27:55
  49. Better blueprints for mega urban developments with Adam Friedberg 27:37
  50. Easing the energy burden throughout the Midwest with Ben Dueweke 27:23