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Latest Episodes:

Navigating Different Stages of Growth - with Kent Cagle Sep 06, 2022

Show notes

Kent Cagle has been a city manager in Texas for over 20 years, and has worked in local government in Texas for nearly 35. He has worked in cities that are growing rapidly, and ones that are built out and having to determine how they can balance a budget with limited resources. He is the current city manager in Killeen, Texas and oversaw the city's recent Comprehensive Planning effort. Kent shares a great deal of knowledge on how he has navigated the changing landscape of local government and provides some useful insight on how to actually get things done. Hint: he's very pragmatic about it all.

In this episode:

City of Killeen – 2022 Comprehensive Plan

Kent Cagle – City Manager

Contact Kent

The Rosetta Stone of Zoning - with Sara Bronin Aug 02, 2022

Show notes

If just about anyone tells you that they totally understand zoning codes, they are probably lying to you. Well, unless they are today's guest. Sara Bronin is a Mexican-American architect, attorney, and policymaker specializing in property, land use, historic preservation, and climate change. She's a professor of planning and law at Cornell University, and she was recently nominated by President Biden to Chair the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, pending Senate confirmation. She founded and directs the National Zoning Atlas, a tool that aims to depict critical aspects of zoning codes nationwide in an online, user-friendly map. If there is one thing we love discussing here at Verdunity, it's zoning and how it can be improved. You won't want to miss this episode.

Links to things discussed in this episode:

Cornell Chronicle 5/17/22 National Zoning Atlas launched to make America's patchwork of codes accessible and comprehensible

National Zoning Atlas website

Bloomberg, 2/2/22 Why the U.S. Needs a National Zoning Atlas

Strong Towns, 3/30/22 Is It Time for a National Zoning Atlas?

Connecticut Public Radio/WNPR, 1/28/21, Report: The Vast Majority of Connecticut Zoning Blocks Affordable Housing

The Connecticut Mirror, 1/28/21, Data suggests dozens of towns are violating CT Supreme Court decision on exclusionary zoning

The Connecticut Mirror, 2/3/21, The Zoning ATlas – an important resource as Connecticut rethinks housing policies

Hartford Courant, 1/27/21, New zoning map shows how hard it is to build multifamily housing in Connecticut; most of state is restricted to single-family homes

https://parkingreform.org/resources/mandates-map/

The Day, 1/31/21, Study: Connecticut zoning regulations restrict expansion of affordable housing

Sara Bronin - audio/print/video works

Desegregate Connecticut website

Energy Policy Now podcast: Zoning Rules Stifle Urban Clean Energy. Can The Rules Be Rewritten?

Courier Journal, 6/9/20, Opinion: In fight for justice, zoning laws that exclude low-income people must be changed

PBS Newshour, Roads to Recovery

Next City, 6/10/22, New Digital Atlas Hopes to Demystify Urban Zoning

Governing, 6/19/22, Project Highlights Relationship Between Zoning and Affordable Housing

Embracing Incrementalism - with Colleen Askew Jul 06, 2022

Show notes

Incremental improvement is a key element to the success of any place. The biggest projects, developments, and infrastructure also come with the biggest collection of dangers and places that something can go wrong. Starting from the bottom and working to solve an immediate need in the most effective way possible can also solve big problems over time, we just need to embrace that way of thinking. Kevin and Colleen Askew discuss just this (and more).

Resurrecting a Dying Downtown - with Jason Duff Jun 07, 2022

Show notes

Jason Duff is the Founder of Small Nation which encompasses a group of companies, leaders, and investors who develop places, spaces, and dreams for small towns and small-town entrepreneurs across the county. Jason and his team at Small Nation have completely revitalized the town of Bellefontaine, Ohio. In 10 short years, they have turned a dying town around and helped make it a Best-in-State destination. If you want some serious inspiration for how your downtown can be enlivened with passion and hard work, this is a must-listen.

Mentioned in This Episode:

About Jason & Small Nation:

https://smallnationstrong.com/

Jason’s Work:

Downtown Proponent Breathes Life Into One Small Town, Hopes to Repeat Feat

https://ddc.downtowndevelopment.com/2022/03/01/downtown-proponent-breathes-life-into-one-small-town-hopes-to-repeat-feat-2/?doing_wp_cron=1647274596.8421850204467773437500

BG Leaders Look at Bellefontaine’s ‘Hustle Hard’ Approach Used to Rescue that Downtown

http://bgindependentmedia.org/bg-leaders-look-at-bellefontaines-hustle-hard-approach-to-rescue-that-downtown/

Bellefontaine - The Resuscitation of a Dying Small Town

https://smallnationstrong.com/case_study/bellefontaine/

Articles by Jason:

The Best Entrepreneurs Spend Less Time Marketing And More Time Building Social Media Engagement

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/09/13/the-best-entrepreneurs-spend-less-time-marketing-and-more-time-building-social-media-engagement/?sh=19dd88f76e2c

Other Resources:

Incremental Development Alliance

https://www.incrementaldevelopment.org/

Building Small: A Toolkit for Real Estate Entrepreneurs, Civic Leaders, and Great Communities, by Jim Heid

https://www.jheid.com/small/

How to Get Started as a Small-Scale Developer

https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/11/1/how-to-be-a-small-scale-developer

Seeing Small

https://www.mainstreet.org/HigherLogic/System/DownloadDocumentFile.ashx?DocumentFileKey=e921d7c8-92fe-b822-1975-1254a2f6ee61&forceDialog=0

4 Tested Techniques to Catalyze Small Town Redevelopment

https://meetingoftheminds.org/4-tested-techniques-to-catalyze-small-town-redevelopment-27017

A Common-Sense Approach to Reinvigorating Small-Town America

https://www.ruralbusiness.com/a-common-sense-approach-to-reinvigorating-small-town-america/

Rethinking Budgeting – with Andrew Kleine & Shayne Kavanagh May 03, 2022

Show notes

Andrew Kleine is the author of "City On the Line" and is working tirelessly toward a future in which municipal budgeting produces the results that leaders are looking for. Shayne Kavanagh, the Senior Manager of Research for the Government Finance Officers Association, has spent his career looking at how government policy interacts with the fiscal health of the places in which he works.

To some, municipal budgeting is a black box, but today's conversation aims to make this sometimes-confusing topic a little more transparent. Can the budgeting process be communicated to the public in a way that actually helps them understand and be a part of the process? The answer is yes. Kevin, Shayne, and Andrew look seriously at how we can we take a data-first approach to planning for the future and come up with ways for our budgets to actually produce meaningful results in our communities.

Lots of great content to check out after you listen to this episode:

https://www.gfoa.org/rethinking-budgeting
https://bloombergcities.jhu.edu/category/budgeting-equity

Some books worth checking out:

City on the Line by Andrew Kleine
Trying Hard is Not Good Enough by Mark Friedman
The Price of Government by David Osborne and Peter Hutchinson
The Art of Explanation by Lee LeFever
Data Story by Nancy Duarte
Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam

Demystifying Affordable Housing — with Deborah Myerson Apr 05, 2022

Show notes

Have you ever heard the phrase "affordable housing" used by 5 different people, but it seems like every one of them is talking about something slightly different? This episode will help shed some light on this sometimes confusing, always complex subject. AJ and Deborah go deep and we are here for it.

Lots of great content to check out after you listen to this episode:

Deborah’s Business:

https://dmyersonconsulting.com/

Mentioned in This Episode:

How Did They Do It? Discovering New Opportunities for Affordable Housing

https://dmyersonconsulting.files.wordpress.com/2021/04/how-did-they-do-it-jan-2017.pdf

Few American Cities are Truly Dense. We Can Do Better.

https://www.governing.com/community/few-american-cities-are-truly-dense-we-can-do-better

Public Meetings Thwart Housing Reform Where it is Needed Most

https://www.governing.com/now/public-meetings-thwart-housing-reform-where-it-is-needed-most

Some of Deborah’s Work:

Invisible Neighbors: How To Include People Left Out of B-town’s Neighborhoods

https://limestonepostmagazine.com/invisible-neighbors-left-out-of-neighborhoods/

Best in American Living (Blog)

https://bestinamericanliving.com/?s=deborah+myerson

Prospects for New Housing Cooperatives: Feasibility Study for Housing Cooperatives in the Northern Rockies

https://dmyersonconsulting.files.wordpress.com/2020/09/prospects-for-new-housing-cooperatives-executive-summary-1.pdf

Multifamily Housing Development: Ten Case Studies of Innovative Projects

https://uli.bookstore.ipgbook.com/multifamily-housing-development--ten-case-studies-of-innovative-projects-products-9780874203868.php

Other Relevant Tools and Articles:

Are We Doing This Right: Granny Flats Edition

https://www.verdunity.com/podcast/episode-37

The Affordable City: Strategies for Putting Housing Within Reach (and Keeping it There) by Shane Phillips

https://islandpress.org/books/affordable-city

Supportive Housing: A Community Solution

https://www.csh.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/BeyondNIMBYpdf.pdf

The Radical Way Cities are Tackling Affordable Housing

https://www.fastcompany.com/90618596/the-radical-way-cities-are-tackling-affordable-housing

Local Tools to Address Housing Affordability: A State-By-State Analysis

https://www.nlc.org/resource/local-tools-to-address-housing-affordability-a-state-by-state-analysis/

Cooperatively Owned Builder Sees Affordable Housing, Climate Action in ‘Granny Flats’

https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/cooperatively-owned-builder-sees-affordable-housing-climate-action-in-grann

The Battle Over Broadway – with Kea Wilson Mar 01, 2022

Show notes

In the heart of San Antonio, Texas lies 2.2 miles of 7-lane stroad that connects to I-35.

Originally part of a state owned loop, the Texas Transportation Commission (TTC) approved a transfer of ownership to the City of San Antonio in late 2014. Since then, the City has undertaken a public engagement process to determine how best to adjust this road to better suit its citizens.

Leaders in San Antonio are proposing to reduce travel lanes to two in each direction and add protected bike lanes, widen sidewalks, and plant street trees to make the thoroughfare accessible to all types of traffic. But the state has decided that is unacceptable, and in January rescinded the transfer on the grounds that an official Project Acceptance letter was never issued. The Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott has opposed similar Road Diets in Austin, and has referred to these types of projects as a "war on cars".

Kevin, and Kea explore this back and forth between the state and local leaders and discuss reasons why there is such a disparity between what direction is being given from the top-down, and the push for reform from the bottom-up.

Links:
TxDOT votes to take control of Broadway, short-circuiting city's redevelopment plans

State moves to take back Broadway and stop city's redevelopment project

Lower Broadway Transformed: What's Coming and on the Drawing Board

TxDOT Ends Program That Converts Paved Roads to Gravel | The Texas Tribune

Vibrant Downtowns - with Catherine Sak Feb 03, 2022

Show notes

What makes a great downtown? What do we sometimes miss that can influence the way new visitors feel about our downtown? AJ interviews Catherine Sak, Executive Director of Texas Downtown to get the answers to these questions.
If you care about your downtown, or are just a lover of downtowns generally this episode is for you. Catherine and AJ get into when you need to drop Truth Grenades on the members of your community who aren't helping your downtown to be as successful as it can be, and how important a downtown is to your sales tax revenue. There's also some interesting discussion about small commercial districts in neighborhoods and how those places are deserving of our time and attention.

Links:
Texas Downtown website: https://www.texasdowntown.org/
The Value of U.S. Downtowns and Center Cities: 2020 Summary:
https://downtown.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/IDAVODT20_Compendium_2020_ExecSum_021921.pdf.pdf?utm_source=ida&utm_medium=publication&utm_campaign=button
Key Elements of Successful Downtowns: https://ced.sog.unc.edu/2019/01/key-elements-of-successful-downtowns/
Here's What *Not* to Do to Your Small-Town Main Street: https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2020/12/2/heres-what-not-to-do-to-your-small-town-main-street
Main Street America - Resources: https://www.mainstreet.org/howwecanhelp/resourcecenter/webinarseries
Recast Your City: How to Save Your Downtown with Small-Scale Manufacturing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdnIvp9Udv0
The Heart of the City: Creating Vibrant Downtowns for a New Century by Alexander Garvin
Resilient Downtowns: A New Approach to Revitalizing Small- and Medium-City Downtowns by Michael A. Burayidi

Serving You Better: 3 Reflections from 2021 and Initiatives for 2022 Jan 11, 2022

Show notes

In this first Podcast of the year Kevin takes an introspective look look back at Verdunity’s last year and gives a preview of what we expect to be up to in 2022. Listen in to Kevin giving some thought to

What prosperity is.
How we are building cities we can’t afford to live in or maintain.
How clear it’s becoming that there is hope at the neighborhood level.

As we look forward to 2022 we hope you will join us for some upcoming workshops we will be holding around the state of Texas. Stay tuned, chances are we will be coming somewhere near you!

Items mentioned in the podcast:

Podcast Survey

Episode 23 – Co-creating the city you want to live in, with Ben Orcutt

"Buckle Up, Baby" – with Chuck Marohn

Fiscally Informed Planning - with the City of Taylor, Texas

Building community wealth with Monte Anderson

Episode 28 – A small city does the math on new development

Fiscally Informed Planning - with the City of Taylor, Texas Dec 07, 2021

Show notes

Does your community say it values fiscal responsibility but continue to make development decisions that increase infrastructure and service liabilities without a plan to pay for them in the future? If so, a fiscally-informed comprehensive plan process like the one Verdunity helped Taylor, Texas prepare might be beneficial. Taylor is a small town in Central Texas who’s heyday came and went in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Originally a major hub for commerce in Williamson County, Taylor stagnated due to a number of factors including having I-35 routed significantly west of town bypassing the community entirely. Now in the early part of the 21st century Taylor is poised for major growth as more people move outside of Austin. Major employers have taken notice – Samsung has just inked a deal for the single largest silicon chip manufacturing facility in the US to be built at the edge of Taylor. Having just completed the first major rewrite of their comprehensive plan in 20 years Mayor Brandt Rydell and Assistant City Manager Tom Yantis discuss why the city wanted financial resilience to be at the center of their planning process, the role Verdunity’s fiscal analysis played in informing decisions and building alignment in the community, and why it’s important to have these conversations in your community before you jump into investing valuable time and dollars into code updates or capital improvement projects.

Envision Taylor Comprehensive Plan (PDF)

Envision Taylor Comp Plan Promotional Video (5 big ideas)

Samsung to Choose Taylor, Texas, for $17 Billion Chip-Making Factory - WSJ