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Episode 36: RCP Enhancing Woodbury's Urban Tree Canopy Jun 08, 2021

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The Metropolitan Council has partnered with the Resilient Communities Project (RCP) to provide support for communities implementing their 2040 comprehensive plans. One of the projects that RCP and the students worked on in the 2020-21 academic year was "Enhancing Woodbury's Urban Tree Canopy." Through this effort, RCP assisted the City of Woodbury with their Tree Canopy plan engagement process and created an engagement toolkit that can be used by any other community. This episode explores the process and results of this project.

Episode 35: Equity Considerations Dataset May 06, 2021

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The Metropolitan Council Research team has put together a dataset to provide equity-relevant characteristics for all census tracts in the Twin Cities Region. You may have heard of and worked with Areas of Concentrated Poverty (ACP). The new Equity Considerations dataset replaces ACPs to provide nuanced information in conjunction with community engagement efforts and additional local knowledge (as described in the User Guide). In this episode, Krysten Ryba-Tures and Matt Schroeder from the Council’s Research team explain this dataset and its applications for local planning.

Episode 34: Local Economic Solutions to a Global Pandemic Apr 05, 2021

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In 2020 we experienced an unprecedented pandemic ; we witnessed businesses, schools, and offices close; many of us started working from home; we adopted rigorous health and safety guidelines; and we didn't visit our families and friends. Our Cities suffered similarly, with tax loss, lack of funding, and extenuating circumstances to respond to the communities' needs. Many of them have come out stronger with lessons to take into the future. In this episode, we hear from Todd Graham at the Metropolitan Council about the big picture economic impact of the pandemic, and we talk with Meg Beekman from the City of Brooklyn Center and Anne Kane from the City of White Bear Lake about the measures they have implemented in their communities.

Episode 33: Local Implementation of Equity Policies Mar 10, 2021

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Many communities have started to consider to address equity policies in their long-range plans, as well as implementation actions. However, resources about how to start these conversations, identify actionable policies, and continue the effort at the local level are hard to come by. In this episode, we explore these points with two cities in the Twin Cities region that been working on this topic. We are joined by Alicia Sojourner, Meg McMonigal, and Sean Walther from the City of St. Louis Park, and Kiarra Zackery and Jason Zimmerman from the City of Golden Valley.

Episode 32: Sustainable Design – Elizabeth Turner Feb 08, 2021

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Planners regularly work and interact with architects as part of development proposals, variances, and approvals. However, planners are less aware of how architects arrive at the design concept they bring to the table. What considerations matter more in the process, and how can planners make the most of this partnership? In this episode, Elizabeth Turner from Precipitate Architecture and Sustainable Design consulting firm, helps us navigate how planning policies and zoning codes impact development projects and how such impacts can be reduced to foster better design.

Episode 31: Energy Policy – Katie Jones Oct 23, 2020

Show notes

You may have heard the term 'energy policy,' but what does that really mean? What are the energy trends that we see in our communities, and what resources are available to create and implement energy policies? The Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) is a non-profit organization that helps communities create and implement energy policies. In this episode, we hear from Katie Jones, Community Program and Policy Manager at CEE, about the energy policy technical assistance they provide to local communities.

Episode 30: Highway Planning – Melissa Barnes, Molly McCartney, Brad Utecht Sep 11, 2020

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How are highways and highway improvements planned? What agencies are involved in ensuring that the region’s transportation system is operating smoothly? What is the process from envisioning a highway project to implementing that change? These are some of the questions that we explored in this episode. Listen to our conversation with transportation professionals from Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), Melissa Barnes, Molly McCartney, and Brad Utecht.

Episode 29: UN Climate Conference (COP25) – Sarah Goodspeed & Eric Wojchik Feb 21, 2020

Show notes

What happens at the United Nations Climate Conference every year, and why do these international negotiations matter for Minnesota? What can Minnesotans contribute to and learn from this international conference? We asked these and other questions to Climate Generation’s Sarah Goodspeed and the Metropolitan Council’s Eric Wojchik about their December 2019 attendance at the COP25 in Madrid, Spain.

Episode 28: Economic Development in Kenya – Hamed Ehsani Dec 26, 2019

Show notes

Following Episode 26 of our podcast about planning in Scotland, we continued exploring planning topics in another part of the world. In this episode we had a conversation about economic development and private investments in Nairobi, Kenya; specifically the Village Market development complex. Hamed Ehsani, Managing Director of Green Hills Investments talked about the process, opportunities, and challenges of developments in Kenya.

Episode 27: Equitable Economic Growth – Tawanna Black Sep 24, 2019

Show notes

As the population of the Twin Cities metro area grows, the economy has become more prosperous. However, the impacts and positive outcomes of the growth in the economy are not distributed equitably in the region. Some geographic areas or populations have been excluded from the prospects of a strong economy. In this episode, Tawanna Black, from the Center for Economic Inclusion talks about the role of planning and local governments in advancing equity in economic growth.

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