The CityAge Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Nicolia Robinson: Building With the Community Aug 31, 2022

Show notes

Nicolia Robinson is an architect from Cooper Carry, and she’s on the show today to tell us what it means to take a community-driven approach to urban design. Nicolia and Anna chat about how Nicolia’s team engages the community, why it’s important, the growth that Nicolia’s city (Atlanta) is experiencing, and Alon and Anna chat about why they both love architects.

Then, Anna and Alon share the story for this week: Louisville awarded $20.5 million in federal RAISE grants to fund

ReImagine 9th Street, Broadway All the Way.

Learn more about Microsoft’s Westside Campus in Atlanta.

Learn more about the Kauffman Foundation.

Lafayette Crump: Reconnecting Milwaukee Aug 17, 2022

Show notes

On this episode Anna sits down with Lafayette Crump, Commissioner of City Development for Milwaukee. They cover a lot: from the basics of his role as Commissioner, how he balances multiple competing priorities, community engagement in neighborhood investment, and what he’s learned during his time in the role. Then, CityAge Co-Founder Miro Cernetig tells us about the future of food in a special feature segment. You’ll hear from food expert Evan Fraser, Director of the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph and Tamara Rebanks, Director at the Weston Family Foundation. We dive into the state of the food crisis, what role Canada can play in solving it, and how the Weston Family Foundation is helping the country lead the world.

Then Anna and Alon share this week’s story: Averting a Lost Decade.

Cindy Wallis-Lage: Building Sustainable Cities Aug 03, 2022

Show notes

On this week’s episode, brought to you by the Kauffman Foundation, CityAge Co-Founder, Marc Andrew, chats with Cindy Wallis-Lage, Executive Director of Sustainability and Resilience at the engineering firm, Black & Veatch. They talk about her new role as well as her previous position in Black & Veatch’s Water Business, the federal infrastructure money, EV charging, why everyone needs to take responsibility for building a more sustainable future, and why.

Then Anna and Alon share this week’s story:

Washington, DC, among cities piloting transparency standard for digital tech

Learn more about the Kauffman Foundation.

Miles Sandler: Investing in Entrepreneurship to Build Better Cities Jul 20, 2022

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On this week’s episode, brought to you by Genome BC, Anna chats with Miles Sandler, Director of Policy and Engagement and Public Affairs at the Kauffman Foundation, about how investing in entrepreneurship, and diverse, inclusive entrepreneurship in particular, is critical to building better cities. They get into how regional economic growth is directly impacted by the success of small businesses, how neighborhood design impacts whether someone can access entrepreneurial, educational, and job opportunities, and why supporting businesses owned by women and people of colour helps all of us. Then Anna and Alon share this week’s story:Abolish Zoning. Entirely. For good.Learn more about Genome BC.Learn more about the Kauffman Foundation’s policy framework, America’s New Business Plan.

Barbara Humpton: The Future of City Infrastructure Jul 05, 2022

Show notes

On this episode of the CityAge podcast Anna and Alon chat about summer, parks (did you know your insurance might go down if you live close to one?), and of course today’s guest: Barbara Humpton. Barbara Humpton is the CEO of Siemens USA. Fast Company named Siemens World Changing Company of the Year in May. Marc, one of CityAge’s Co-founders, sits down with Barbara to talk about what it really means to change the world. They touch on three of the verticals of infrastructure that Siemens is transforming (transportation, buildings, and energy), her advice for young women building a career in city building, where she gets her optimism from, and what it’s really like to work in DC among federal leaders. Then Anna and Alon share their story for this week, sent to them by Heather, CityAge’s Event Manager, all about how Houston is confronting homelessness:How Houston Moved 25,000 People From the Streets Into Homes of Their Own

Monte Wilson: The Natural City Jun 22, 2022

Show notes

On this special episode of The CityAge Podcast, brought to you by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Anna & Alon share a feature on what we like to call The Natural City. Then CityAge Co-Founder, Miro Cernetig, sits down with Monte Wilson, the Global Market Director for the Built Environment at Jacobs, to dive in a bit deeper. They talk about the practice that makes the Natural City possible (biomimicry), what it means for the future of cities, what kind of work Jacobs is doing in this area right now, and how the public, especially in Houston, is responding to the idea of biomimicry.

Learn more about our collaborators:

Jacobs: https://www.jacobs.com/

Kauffman Foundation: https://www.kauffman.org/

Biomimicry 3.8: https://biomimicry.net/

Then Anna and Alon share this week’s story: 8 Cities That Show You What The Future Will Look Like

Bruce Katz: Cities and the New Disorder Jun 08, 2022

Show notes

On this episode Anna chats with Bruce Katz, Founding Director of the Nowak Metro Finance Lab at Drexel University and one of the Co-Founders of the New Localism. He helps cities design, finance and deliver transformative initiatives that promote inclusive and sustainable growth. Katz regularly advises global, national, state, regional and municipal leaders on public reforms and private innovations that advance the well-being of metropolitan areas and their countries. Katz is the co-author of The New Localism: How Cities Can Thrive in the Age of Populism and The Metropolitan Revolution: How Cities and Metros are Fixing Our Broken Politics and Fragile Economy. Both books focus on the rise of cities and city networks as the world’s leading problem solvers. Anna and Bruce talk about why he calls our current era The New Disorder instead of The New Normal, what role cities will play in navigating it, and why he views cities as the real “doers” in our society. Then Bruce shares which book has taught him the most about cities (the answer might surprise you).

Then Anna and Alon share this week’s story: A new Maryland-based nonprofit aims to create a hub supporting women of color entrepreneurs.

Kim Williams: Public Transit is for Everyone May 25, 2022

Show notes

On this episode Anna sits down with Kim Williams, Chief Innovation Officer for the Metro Transit Authority for Harris County. She’s worked in California, Washington, D.C. and Beijing but today, she is in charge of METRO’s “idea factory”. She looks for the latest and greatest developments in transportation and figures out how to make them work for the Houston area. They talk about how the rise of Uber and Lyft pushed public transit to innovate, public-private partnerships, the biggest challenges that come with working in transit, her vision for the future of cities, and the move towards more people-centered transportation.

Then Anna and Alon share with you their story for this week:

Michigan awards grants to spur EV equity and economic development

Jonathan Reichental: Our Future Belongs to Cities May 11, 2022

Show notes

In this kick-off episode Alon and Anna discuss CityAge’s delayed entry into podcasting, what they hope listeners will take away from the show, and Alon reveals he doesn’t know much about blockchain. Then CityAge Co-Founder and journalist, Miro Cernetig, sits down with founder, professor, author, and smart city expert: Jonathan Reichental. They talk the future of cities, autonomous vehicles, digitizing government services, and more. Finally Alon & Anna share with you the stories and articles that the CityAge team has been sending each other lately. You can read them here:

Welcome to the CityAge Podcast Apr 26, 2022

Show notes

More than 70 percent of the world's population will live in cities by 2050. What does that mean? That means we need to build the equivalent of one New York City every single month. For the next 40 years.

And that means the way we build our cities will define the next century.

But there’s a problem. The way we’ve been building our cities isn’t working anymore. Cities are responsible for 70 percent of carbon emissions. They’re home to social and structural inequities. They’re not universally accessible, physically or financially.

At CityAge, we’re figuring out how to do it differently - how to do it right.

On this show Alon Marcovici and Anna Stafford are sitting down with the people on the cutting edge of building this urban future.

But you can’t build the future alone.So we invite you to join us, right here, every other week, as we embark on this age of cities together.

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