Municipal Equation Podcast

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EP 41: Shifting Thoughts on the Sharing Economy Jan 09, 2018

Show notes

Did you take an Uber or a Lyft home on New Year's Eve? Did you wonder on your way back what that ride meant for city policy? Probably not as such, sure, but you've likely heard the conversation about regulating the elements of the sharing economy, like ridesharing (Uber; Lyft) or homesharing (Airbnb; VRBO). That's just one corner of the conversation, though. The sharing economy is expansive and is moving or upending so many parts of the marketplace that it's impossible for cities and their governments not to consider the ramifications. On this episode, we talk with the National League of Cities to go over where city governments are with the sharing economy and actions they're taking to come to terms, and even leverage it. NLC report, "Cities and the Innovation Economy: Perceptions of Local Leaders" - http://www.nlc.org/resource/cities-and-innovation-economy-perceptions-of-local-leaders Earlier one, from 2015 - http://www.nlc.org/sites/default/files/2017-01/Brief%20-%20Shifting%20Perceptions%20of%20Collaborative%20Consumption2015.pdf One Earth report on the sharing economy and local government - http://www.localgovsharingecon.com/uploads/2/1/3/3/21333498/localgovsharingecon_report_full_oct2015.pdf CityMetric article, "How can cities use the sharing economy to solve urban problems?" - https://www.citymetric.com/business/how-can-cities-use-sharing-economy-solve-urban-problems-2560 The Skatepark Podcast from the Tony Hawk Foundation - http://thfskateboardpodcast.libsyn.com/website

2017 Dec 19, 2017

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A year-end message.

EP 40: Know Your Maker (Plus: More of the Best Fictional Mayors) Dec 12, 2017

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It's time to meet your maker -- your talented, independent, local creator of tangible goods, like art, clothing, instruments, toys, knick-knacks, tech tools, anything. Your city or town might even have its own, motivated maker community that experts are increasingly calling a missing link in the local economic development strategy. On this episode we hear from four of these experts and dig in to a recent report about this "maker economy." What can your city make of it? Show notes: Report, "Discovering Your City's Maker Economy" - http://nlc.org/resource/discovering-your-citys-maker-economy Background on Etsy - https://www.etsy.com/about?ref=ftr Etsy's Craft Entrepreneurship initiative ("Our mission is to expand access to microbusiness education for underrepresented creative entrepreneurs") - https://www.etsy.com/craftentrepreneurship White House archives, "Nation of Makers" - https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/node/316486 CitiesSpeak, "Exploring Nashville's Small Manufacturing Revolution" - https://citiesspeak.org/2017/12/08/exploring-nashvilles-small-manufacturing-revolution/ Burgermeister Meisterburger bans toys (so, not a fan of toy makers) - https://youtu.be/xn_p8Z8Ltng

Inbetweenisode - Police Recruitment Followup (And A Request) Dec 05, 2017

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An "inbetweenisode" ahead of next week's episode and following up on the content of last week's > https://soundcloud.com/municipalequation/ep-39-the-police-recruitment-problem-and-solutions And a special request.....

EP 39: The Police Recruitment Problem (And Solutions?) Nov 28, 2017

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It's a nationwide issue weighing on police departments of all sizes: the lack of good, qualified applicants when police chiefs seek to hire officers. Salary concerns, public scrutiny, the inherent dangers, long hours and the need for wholehearted commitment are just a few factors stressing the profession. And there's more. To get a handle on it, we talk with an expert and visit with police officials who recently changed their own agency's hiring approach expressly to turn things around. Did it work? (Oh, and after the serious talk, we have a few more names to add to our ongoing list of Best Fictional Mayors.) Show notes: ADDED 12/4/17, crazy New Zealand police recruitment video - https://youtu.be/f9psILoYmCc Hartford Courant, "Lack of Qualified Applicants Forced Delay in Adding Cops to City Force" - http://www.courant.com/community/hartford/hc-hartford-police-classes-20170127-story.html Washington Post (2006), "Police Finding it Hard to Fill Jobs" - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/26/AR2006032600995.html The Forecaster, "Call for help: Southern Maine police department jobs going vacant" - http://www.theforecaster.net/call-for-help-police-department-jobs-going-vacant/ The Balance, "Why Police Departments are Facing Recruitment Problems" - https://www.thebalance.com/why-police-departments-are-facing-recruitment-problems-974771 Governing, "WANTED: Police for Hire, Minorities Encouraged" - http://www.governing.com/columns/smart-mgmt/gov-police-hiring-recruitment-minorities.html The Pantagraph, "Challenge remains in hiring minority, female police officers" - http://www.pantagraph.com/news/challenge-remains-in-hiring-minority-female-police-officers/article_36979ced-346a-53a9-9ede-c8c2e37872a0.html Burlington, NC recruitment video - http://burlingtonnc.gov/1126/Employment-Opportunities Police Foundation, "Recruiting, Selecting, and Retaining Law Enforcement Officers" - https://www.policefoundation.org/recruiting-selecting-and-retaining-law-enforcement-officers/ Southern City (2016), "Rebuilding Trust: Law Enforcement Leaders, Legislators Talk Modern Issues with Police and Public" - https://www.nclm.org/programs-services/publications/southern-city/2016/2016-09/Pages/RebuildingTrust.aspx#.WhxThSNzKUl Mayor Lenny - http://ghostbusters.wikia.com/wiki/Mayor_Lenny

Preview of Episode 39 Nov 21, 2017

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A preview of Episode 39, out Nov. 28.

EP 38: Being Careful About Smart Cities and Civic Tech (And the Best Fictional Mayors) Nov 14, 2017

Show notes

Appropriate to the age of exponential innovation, the smart-cities conversation is moving quickly. Should we it slow down? Explore additional ethical questions? Evaluate our best practices and ideas? More and more people think so. On this episode, we meet a town that's built a "simulated smart city" so they can try it before they buy it and experiment to better understand how it all fits together. And we talk with an author whose new book, among many other things, questions whether advances in civic technology are really taking the complexities of human beings and their various communities into account. Are we being inclusive in our efforts to collect better public data, engage with residents, and manage municipal resources? (After that, we get a bit lighter -- by listing out some of the best fictional mayors of all time, as submitted by you.) Episode 18, "The Smart Cities Primer" - https://soundcloud.com/municipalequation/ep-18 GovTech, "Cary, N.C., Turns Existing Government Campus Into a Simulated Smart City" - http://www.govtech.com/fs/Cary-NC-Turns-Existing-Government-Campus-into-a-Simulated-Smart-City.html Cary Citizen, "Cary Joins Municipal Initiative to Streamline Data, Share with Other Towns" - http://carycitizen.com/2017/10/05/cary-joins-municipal-initiative-to-streamline-data-share-with-other-towns/ Book by Cassim Shepard, "Citymakers" - http://www.monacellipress.com/book/?isbn=9781580934855 Urban Omnibus, a publication of The Architectural League of New York - https://urbanomnibus.net/ Popular Mechanics, "Bill Gates Is Buying Land in Arizona to Build a Smart City" - http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a29005/bill-gates-smart-city/ Places Journal, "A City Is Not A Computer" - https://placesjournal.org/article/a-city-is-not-a-computer/ Richard Florida, "Innovation and Urban Inequality Go Hand in Hand" - http://www.routefifty.com/smart-cities/2017/10/innovation-urban-inequality-richard-florida/142159/ Tech Crunch, "Alphabet's Sidewalk Labs to turn Toronto area into a model smart city" - https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/17/alphabets-sidewalk-labs-to-turn-toronto-area-into-a-model-smart-city/ Death and Taxes piece, "The politics of Mayor McCheese from McDonaldland" - https://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/275813/mayor-mccheese-politics/ Episode 17, "That High Lonesome Data" - https://soundcloud.com/municipalequation/ep-17

Preview of Episode 38 Nov 07, 2017

Show notes

A preview of Episode 38.

EP 37: The Power to Change Time (Halloween Mini Episode) Oct 30, 2017

Show notes

Typically, it would be time for the off-week preview. But since it falls on Halloween, we figured "why not?" and did a silly episode in tribute. But we keep our focus. We talk with a municipal official in Wisconsin whose town is like many these days in that its local government leadership actually schedules, by ordinance, when trick or treating takes place. We also look at the facts and figures on Halloween and its economy. And we check in with a police chief whose officers do their best to ensure a safe Oct. 31 -- with some advice for any youths planning to buy mass quantities of eggs. Listen to this one while you get your kids -- or yourself -- ready for Halloween-night fun. Census Bureau Halloween facts - https://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2017/cb17-ff18-halloween.html Scaffidi and Bilstad Show (with Halloween scheduling talk) - https://art19.com/shows/scaffidi-and-bilstad/episodes/7ad4ead7-d4d2-4d9b-b924-254be784c065 Fuquay-Varina Police Department on Facebook (plenty of Halloween info) - https://www.facebook.com/fvpolice/?hc_ref=ARSRmAmSzjPbT-usb-R6xHm6C3VRIhLj8FsmQa7yZhnhFm3mhpXLK8OtKHfF_x6c0SI&fref=nf

EP 36: Urban Cowboy 2, or Squashing 'Urban Vs. Rural' Oct 24, 2017

Show notes

For as often as we hear the phrase "urban versus rural" -- like it's an irreconcilable competition between two oppositely distinct regions -- there are loads of examples of urban and rural communities working together to learn from one another, obliterate stereotypes on each end and team up on common goals. It's also fallacious to think "urban" and "rural" describe the whole of a truly complex spectrum of local economies. On this episode we head to Kentucky to check out a successful barrier-breaker called the Rural Urban Exchange before a meetup with the National League of Cities to map out how varied our cities and towns really are -- and how they depend on one another. Show notes: Kentucky Rural Urban Exchange (RUX) - http://www.kyrux.org/ AP story about RUX - https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/kentucky/articles/2017-06-29/kentucky-man-taking-part-in-rural-urban-exchange NLC, 'Beyond Urban vs. Rural' - http://nlc.org/article/beyond-urban-vs-rural-new-report-reveals-five-distinct-local-economies Steve Holt, CityLab, 'What's the Future of the Urban Farmers' Market?' - https://www.citylab.com/environment/2017/09/whats-the-future-of-the-urban-farmers-market/538839/

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