Better Planners Podcast

Latest Episodes:

A Conversation on Tribal Planning with Chuck Sams Aug 11, 2026

Show notes

This episode was a great one with Chuck Sams, an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla, Walla Walla, and Cayuse tribes, as well as the 19th director of the United States National Park Service from 2021 to 2025. He now serves as one of two of Oregon's members of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, the director of Indigenous programs at the Yale Center for Environmental Justice, and senior fellow at the University of Oregon Law School.

Chuck has extensive experience in environmental stewardship and has spent nearly over 30 years doing salmon and watershed restoration work all across the Pacific Northwest and across the country on larger scale watershed restoration. We talk with him about tribal planning, lessons we can learn from indigenous nations, relationship building between tribes and government entities, and the current hot topic: data centers.

Articles and resources mentioned in the episode:

Want to be a part of the podcast? Send in an email or voice message!
The team behind the upcoming Better Planners podcast wants to hear from you about the real life issues you handle as a planner. What are the honest, gritty, wicked problems you find yourself managing?

To share your experiences, email betterplannerspodcast@gmail.com or leave a voice message by clicking: https://www.speakpipe.com/BetterPlannersPodcast
Your message might end up in one of the upcoming podcast episodes. You can be as anonymous or as identifiable as you want.
Where to find us:
Website: https://oregon.planning.org/community/betterplannerspodcast/
Instagram: @betterplanners

How has Planning Changed since 2025 Apr 28, 2026

Show notes

Welcome to another episodes of the Better Planners Podcast brought to you by the Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association. This episode is a conversation between a few of the podcast team members who are professional planners in Oregon. They talk about how things have changed since the beginning of 2025 for planners and the profession. The conversation includes topics on government distrust and community engagement, as well as, what self care for planners may look like and takeaways for working as a planner in today's environment.

The podcast team would love to hear from the listeners on topics discussed in today's episode. Write an email at betterplannerspodcast@gmail.com or leave a voice message by clicking https://www.speakpipe.com/BetterPlannersPodcast.

APA article mentioned in the episode:

"Planning Right Now is Daunting and Emotionally Exhausting": https://www.planning.org/planning/2026/feb/planning-right-now-is-daunting-and-emotionally-exhausting/

Sounds of Cities Part 2 - Influence and Inspiration Mar 17, 2026

Show notes

Welcome to part 2 of our two-part series on sounds of cities. In this episode we focus on how the sounds of cities have influenced and inspired art and culture, including some of the most famous musicians of this generation. We get into Billie Eilish, Adele, Aminé, Dr. Dre, Kendrik Lamar, and more! Find a playlist below that will add to the listening of this episode. Feel free to listen before, after, or during the episode.

Playlist:

Bad Guy - Billie Eilish (song)
Rumour Has It - Adele (song)
Hong Kong musician (video)
Good Kid, M.A.A.D City - Kendrik Lamar (album)
Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar & 50 Cent FULL Pepsi SB LVI Halftime Show (video)
Woodlawn - Aminé (music video)
Symphony in D: A Symphony for Detroit, by Detroit (video)
Metro Manners PSA: Super Kind - Eating イーティング (video)

Additional Resources:

Sound of Cities Part 1 - Noise Pollution Jan 22, 2026

Show notes

Welcome to another episode from the Better Planners Podcast brought to you by the Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association. This episode is part 1 of a 2-part series on sounds of cities, both the good and the bad. In this episode we focus on the negative impacts of sounds on cities, especially around noise pollution. What is the definition of noise pollution, who is responsible for creating regulation, and why are certain sounds regulated and others not? We'll also discuss the health impacts sound has on humans and then what inventive ways are cities dealing with noise pollution. Where can planners play a role and what tools already exist out there?

Research:

Community Led Grocery Store in Tulsa - How Planners Got Involved Dec 11, 2025

Show notes

Today's episode is a great one! We interviewed Gary Hamer, the current Director for Strategic Planning at Partner Tulsa, but his previous role with the City of Tulsa led to the implementation of a locally owned, full service grocery store in an underserved area of Tulsa, Oklahoma. In this episode we cover how Gary, as a planner, was able to use federal funds to assist in building a community led grocery store, lessons learned and the importance of community engagement and community leaders, as well as the impact of local businesses to the economics and livability of a city or neighborhood.

Learn more about the Oasis Grocery store:

Planning Magazine: Partnerships and Federal Funding Build an Oasis in a Food Desert
He Opened the First Black-owned Grocery Store in Tulsa in 50 Years (video)
Oasis Fresh Market Opens in North Tulsa (video)

Stories and Advice from Planners Across Oregon Apr 22, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to another episode of the Better Planners Podcast! This time Mary is joined by four other planners who also happen to be our podcast volunteers! They bring stories and advice from all across Oregon with various backgrounds and expertise. In particular, we focus on the good, bad, ugly, and funny parts of working in urban and rural planning. We also provide some good advice for new planners or folks in planning grad school or people who are looking into planning as a career. We hope this episode brings fun, relevant, and informative stories to new and old planners alike.

Article mentioned by Alexa as part of her funny story: https://vtdigger.org/2019/06/23/westfords-middle-finger-there-to-stay/

Enjoy!

Orchestrating the Vibes - Planning like an Artist Feb 11, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, Mary and Shelley interview planner and artist: Miguel Vazquez! He is a FAICP planner who likes to mix the worlds of art and planning together. We discuss how to think like an artist to become a better planner and why that is important. We also discuss various projects he's been involved in where art was used to assist in planning activities.

Miguel is also heavily involved in the Latinos in Planning Division of the American Planning Association (APA) and the California Chapter of the APA.

In the episode, Miguel discusses an activity around dancing and movement as part of that year's annual conference for California APA. You can watch the outcome of that here: https://youtu.be/IogrB6cyGfc?si=yW0p-thoMY25PVPR

Hands-On Play as Community Engagement Jan 14, 2025

Show notes

The Better Planners Podcast is back for 2025! In this episode, Shelley and Mary interview James Rojas and John Kamp to talk about their new book, Dream Play Build: Hands On Community Engagement for Enduring Places and Spaces.
They talk extensively on their process with using hands-on community engagement methods to create an equal playing field for everyone to get involved in community planning work.
Find their book at Island Press.
Find James Rojas at PlaceIt.org.
Find John Kamp at Prairieform.com.

Pocket Park Ep: Pacific Northwest High Speed Rail Oct 01, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to another installment of a pocket park episode! In this one, Mary and Shelley discuss all things high speed rail, including the new federal funding to study a potential high speed rail line in the Pacific Northwest. What are the exciting opportunities, but also what are the pitfalls? Is it worth it to be able to go from Portland to Seattle in 1 hour, but it'll take years to fund? What about the existing Amtrak line? We talk all about it in this episode.
What is a pocket park episode? It's a shorter episode on highly relevant, planning related topics that are happening in the public realm in real time.
Episode Resources:

WSDOT Ultra High Speed Rail Study https://wsdot.wa.gov/construction-planning/search-studies/ultra-high-speed-rail-study
President Biden Announces $8.2 Billion in New Grants for High-Speed Rail and Pipeline of Projects Nationwide https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/president-biden-announces-82-billion-new-grants-high-speed-rail-and-pipeline-projects
FY22 Corridor Identification and Development Program Selections https://railroads.dot.gov/elibrary/fy22-CID-program-selections
High-speed rail projects get a $6B infusion of federal infrastructure money https://www.opb.org/article/2023/12/08/high-speed-rail-projects-get-a-6-billion-infusion-of-federal-infrastructure-money/
Lawmakers introduce bill that would require ultra-high-speed rail project to extend to Eugene https://www.opb.org/article/2023/02/25/cascadia-bullet-train-pacific-northwest-transportation-portland-seattle-eugene-politics/
Rail Advocates Still Pushing For Northwest Bullet Train Despite Anti-tax Mood https://www.opb.org/news/article/bullet-train-portland-seattle-vancouver-car-tab/
Cascadia bullet train stuck at the station as feds dole out big bucks for rail https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2023/12/08/cascadia-bullet-train-stuck-at-the-station-as-feds-dole-out-big-bucks-for-rail/.
What I learned from taking a train across the US (VOX) [Video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=von_IMi97-w

Pocket Park Ep: Offshore Wind Energy in Oregon? Aug 06, 2024

Show notes

Shelley and Mary have a second pocket park episode for you all! This one is a shorter episode on a very interesting topic: Offshore Wind Energy. Is there going to be one along the Oregon coast? We talk about how this federal project got to this point, where it is today, and the controversies surrounding the project. Will there be environmental issues, public engagement concerns, tribal nations engagement, and more.
What is a pocket park episode? It's a shorter episode on highly relevant, planning related topics that are happening in the public realm in real time.

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