Go Cultivate!

Latest Episodes:

"Buckle Up, Baby" – with Chuck Marohn Nov 02, 2021

Show notes

The Go Cultivate! podcast is back! In this episode Kevin introduces Marshall Hines who will be helping out with episodes going forward and they talk about what to expect from us in the future. Chuck Marohn (of Strong Towns) and Kevin Shepherd (of Verdunity) discuss how they came to engineering in the first place, what led them to discover some problems in the profession, and their divergent paths to solving them. It turns out to be a critical conversation between two engineers recovering from the dogma of their chosen career with thoughtful advice for the rest of us. You'll also hear how Chuck and Kevin think about Bottom Up action applies to larger infrastructure projects and planning efforts.

Items mentioned in the podcast:

Confessions of a Recovering Engineer

Strong Towns

Careers at Verdunity

Episode 47 – Chuck Marohn and the Revolution We Need

Episode 10 – Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns

Aligning City Budgets with Desired Outcomes – with Andrew Kleine Dec 16, 2020

Show notes

Andrew Kleine is the Former Chief Administrative Officer for Montgomery County, MD, and before that, he was the budget director for the City of Baltimore. He’s the author of one of our favorite books, City on the Line: How Baltimore Transformed Its Budget to Beat the Great Recession and Deliver Outcomes. He describes the city's implementation of outcome-based budgeting during his time there. It’s an excellent resource for any city looking to implement an outcome budgeting approach.

Learn more about Andrew (or get in touch with him): @awkleine on Twitter / andrew@andrewkleine.com / cityontheline.com

Mentioned in the show:

A Playbook for Reducing Police Budgets and Investing in Equity – Andrew's recent op-ed in NextCity

The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.

You can also find us on social media. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn

And if you haven't yet, sign up for our weekly email digest. It's not lame! (Each week we collectively curate a list of the things we read that caught our attention. Then we hand-package your copy, spank a first-class stamp on that baby, and drop it right in your email inbox.) Sign up here!

(This episode features music from No Future, Tours, and Custodian of Records.)

2020 Wrapup & survey Dec 11, 2020

Show notes

2020 is almost over, and it's time for our annual assessment of how we're doing and what we want to focus on in the upcoming year. In this short update, Kevin and AJ talk about Verdunity's commitment to serving our listeners, followers, and partners and how we use listener feedback to inform what we write and talk about. To help us make the podcast and other content as relevant and helpful as possible, we're asking our friends and followers to complete a quick survey. Click HERE to let us know what podcast episodes and blogs were your favorites, what your biggest challenges are, and what information and topics you'd like us to cover in upcoming episodes!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Verdunity-GoCultivate2020

Thank you for listening to the Go Cultivate! podcast. We look forward to continuing to share content to help you cultivate meaningful improvement in yourself, your neighborhood, and your community!

The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.

You can also find us on social media. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn

Infrastructure funding! – with Jim Proce Sep 30, 2020

Show notes

Kevin speaks with Jim Proce, City Manager for the City of Anna, Texas, about a pressing issue many cities are facing: the struggle to find the money needed to maintain and replace streets and other infrastructure built back in their growth years. Also discussed in this episode:

The difference between street maintenance and replacement, and how they're each typically funded
How cities typically prioritize maintenance and CIP projects
How Jim is approaching his job in a city that is in the midst of its fast-growth phase

To see some of Jim's CIP process mentioned in the show, follow this link.

Find Jim on LinkedIn

The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.

You can also find us on social media. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn

Join us (and your peers!) in the Community Cultivators Network.

(This episode features music from No Future, Jim Croce, and Custodian of Records.)

verdunity.com/podcast/episode-76

Are We Doing This Right? // Sidewalks Edition Sep 23, 2020

Show notes

In this installment of the 'Are We Doing This Right?' series, we take on the humble sidewalk. We packed a lot into this episode, including:

How the use of the street right-of-way has changed over time
Who “pedestrian infrastructure” is really for
The common use of the term “pedestrian” and its implications
The bizarre ways sidewalks get paid for (and who that impacts most)
The recent resurgence in walking awareness
Elements of successful sidewalks
Scoring streets for their sidewalk quality
How shared space eliminates the need for the sidewalk
And of course, we answer the question, “Are we doing this right?”

Want to do some further research on the topic? Head on over to the show page for this episode to find a list of resources we found helpful in compiling this show.

The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.

You can also find us on social media. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn

Join us (and your peers!) in the Community Cultivators Network.

(This episode features music from No Future, Freddie Kepperd, Peter Grudzien, Dionne Warwick, and Jellybean.)

verdunity.com/podcast/episode-75

'Smart growth' and fiscal sustainability Sep 16, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Kevin is joined by a trio of folks from Smart Growth America: Vice President for Economic Development Chris Zimmerman, Deputy Director of Economic Development Jeri Mintzer, and visiting Director of Research Michael Rodriguez.

We discuss Smart Growth America's fiscal sustainability research and its implications for communities of all sizes, as well as some things the group would like to see all levels of government doing differently to build a stronger foundation for the communities of tomorrow.

The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.

You can also find us on social media. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn

Join us (and your peers!) in the Community Cultivators Network.

(This episode features music from No Money and Custodian of Records.)

verdunity.com/podcast/episode-74

Reflecting on 40 years of growth in North Texas – with John Lettelleir Sep 02, 2020

Show notes

Kevin sits down with John Lettelleir, Director of Development Services for the City of Frisco, Texas. John has been with the City of Frisco since 1998, when the population was around 25,000, and has seen it grow to more than 200,000 residents. John brings a unique perspective on planning for and managing fast population growth in North Texas.

Kevin and John discuss the recent repeal of the Plano Tomorrow comprehensive plan and the impact it may have on planning in North Texas in the coming years. They also talk about the challenges that come with managing growth, the long-term fiscal impacts of growth, and advice for leaders in other cities who find themselves in similar situations.

The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.

You can also find us on social media. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn

Join us (and your peers!) in the Community Cultivators Network.

(This episode features music from No Money and Custodian of Records.)

verdunity.com/podcast/episode-73

Building a culture of fiscal sustainability – with Noel Bernal & Helen Ramirez Aug 26, 2020

Show notes

Noel Bernal and Helen Ramirez, are the city manager and assistant city manager (respectively) for the City of Brownsville, Texas. In this wide-ranging interview, they discuss some of the ways they're using the lens of fiscal sustainability to guide investments, prioritize infrastructure projects, and make land use decisions. (Last year, Verdunity conducted a land use fiscal analysis for Brownsville, which was used as the launch point for a more intentional budgeting process, the creation of a new Unified Development Code, and investment in revitalization of their historic downtown.)

Noel and Helen also give some insights on building an effective and unified leadership team.

The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.

You can also find us on social media. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn

Join us (and your peers!) in the Community Cultivators Network.

(This episode features music from No Money, Tours, and Custodian of Records.)

verdunity.com/podcast/episode-72

Are We Doing This Right? // Budgeting Edition Aug 19, 2020

Show notes

This time on our ‘Are We Doing This Right?’ series, we take a look at the local budgeting process. Here’s what you can expect from this episode:

A quick rundown of common presumptions
An overview of the way budgeting processes work in most towns and cities
A discussion of the “seven deadly sins” of public finance (as told by friend of the show Liz Farmer),
Some of the most common criticisms of city budgeting processes and outcomes
A bit of perspective from AJ on what budgeting processes actually look like from inside a local government
A snapshot of some popular types of budgeting approaches that are out there (from line-item, to zero-based, to participatory, to outcome-based, and everything in between)
A list of best practices for creating a truly accessible budgeting process, plus examples of cities that have taken big steps in this direction
A final discussion about budgets as exercises in making choices
And, of course, we answer the titular question—are we doing this right?

Want to do some further research on the topic? Head on over to the show page for this episode to find a list of resources we found helpful in compiling this show.

The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.

You can also find us on social media. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn

Join us (and your peers!) in the Community Cultivators Network.

(This episode features music from No Money, Custodian of Records, Scott Joplin, and The Kinks.)

verdunity.com/podcast/episode-71

Safeguarding small business during the pandemic – with Kennedy Smith Aug 13, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Kevin speaks with Kennedy Smith, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), about strategies that city leaders can use to help local businesses weather the pandemic—and the post-pandemic world. Kennedy has just authored a report titled 'Safeguarding Small Business During the Pandemic: 26 Strategies for Local Leaders.'

The 26 actions outlined are grouped into three main priority areas that address immediate, short-term, and longer-term actions to guide community leaders:

First: Provide quick relief to keep businesses afloat
Next: Help businesses adapt and pivot
Later: Fix systemic problems that the pandemic has laid bare

We're big fans of ILSR, and we encourage you to check out the rest of their work as well!

The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.

You can also find us on social media. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn

Join us (and your peers!) in the Community Cultivators Network.

(This episode features music from No Money, Custodian of Records, and Petula Clark.)

verdunity.com/podcast/episode-10