Urban Design
186 episodes · Page 6 of 8
#2927: Housing vs. Financial Assets — The Global Experiment
Jerusalem's ghost towers, Vancouver's empty homes tax, and Singapore's radical approach to separating shelter from speculation.
#2896: What We Lost When We Lost the Courtyard
The biblical chatzer wasn't a patio. It was a pre-industrial cooperative that solved parenting exhaustion.
#2874: China's Invisible Megacities: Linyi, Yiwu, and More
Cities larger than London or Paris that most Westerners have never heard of. Meet China's second-tier giants.
#2866: What Happens to Jerusalem's Unsorted Trash?
Jerusalem doesn't ask you to sort your trash. The machines do it instead — with hyperspectral cameras and air jets.
#2804: Who Actually Runs Your City?
Master plans, zoning codes, and the people who shape where you live.
#2757: Can Cities Engineer Calm?
How much green space per person do cities actually need? The WHO says 9 sq meters minimum. Most cities don't meet it.
#2748: What Cities Look Like Without Cars
How Barcelona, Paris, and others are redesigning streets for people instead of vehicles — and what we can learn from them.
#2746: How Zoning Built the Suburbs We Hate
Why walkability advocates loathe suburbs, from Ponzi scheme infrastructure to deadly stroads.
#2745: What Do Urban Planners Actually Do?
The invisible skeleton of cities, from sewers to zoning fights. What breaks if you let cities grow organically?
#2744: What Walkability Actually Means in Urban Planning
The five D’s of walkability — density, diversity, design, destination accessibility, and distance to transit — explained.
#2717: Lower Greenville: From Streetcar Suburb to Food Mecca
How one Dallas street went from farmland to counterculture hub to dining destination.
#2686: Why Jerusalem Stays Poor Despite Its Pull
Why Jerusalem’s economy is broken, from the 1948 division to the modern housing crisis.
#2632: How to Start a Meetup Without Burning Out
Practical steps for launching a local community around any interest — without it taking over your life.
#2631: How Shelter Became a Speculative Asset
Why are millennials turning to barges, yurts, and shipping containers? A deep dive into the financialization of housing.
#2628: Your Snake Plant Isn't Saving You
Why your houseplants aren't cleaning your air — and what they're actually doing for you.
#2576: The Centimeter-Level Challenge of Burying City Power
How cities bury high-voltage cables with centimeter precision and why some still keep wires overhead.
#2530: Canals as Highways: The Real Pollution Math of Water Transit
Venice moves garbage, ambulances, and Amazon deliveries by boat. How does water transit actually compare to buses on pollution?
#2521: Are We Really Worse Off Than Our Ancestors?
A look at 700 years of wages, housing costs, and what "purchasing power" actually means today.
#2509: How Shabbat Reveals a Blind Spot in Air Quality Indexes
Jerusalem's Shabbat cuts traffic pollution 4x more than Western weekends—but standard air quality indexes barely register the change.
#2485: How Many Floors Up Before Stairs Become a Burden?
Research shows life gets measurably worse above the 4th floor. Here's what the data says about stairs, families, and safety.
#1976: What Counts as a City That Never Dies?
From Jericho's water spring to Aleppo's Silk Road fortress, discover the secrets of 11,000 years of urban survival.
#1899: Why Japan's Vending Machines Thrive While America's Struggle
From Roman holy water to Japan’s soup-dispensing giants, we explore why vending machines jam—and why America’s are stuck in the past.
#1880: Militaries Build Fake Cities to Train for War
Why armies pour concrete to build fake cities instead of just using VR.
#1760: Why Sloths Keep Dying on Roads and Power Lines
Sloths are getting trapped in cities, but a simple rope bridge is saving hundreds from highways and power lines.