#urban-planning
263 episodes
#5326: What Makes a Bar a Third Place?
A listener's search for a bar where you can actually hear your friend — and the 35-year-old sociology that explains why it's so hard to find.
#5290: Inside the Urban Exploration Boom
13.7 billion TikTok views, 42 arrests at one IBM office park, and a community at war with its own imitators.
#5289: Why World's Fairs Built Absurd Transit
Moving sidewalks, monorails, and robot boxers: what we lost when technology's grand public spectacles became trade shows.
#5271: 10 Transit Ideas That Never Left the Drawing Board
From the Hyperloop to the Sinclair C5, why do beautiful transit renderings never survive contact with the invoice?
#5181: Shuafat: Jerusalem's Walled-Off Refugee Camp
Inside the Jerusalem camp that's within the city limits but beyond the barrier — taxed by the city, policed by no one.
#5120: Why Ground Rumble Ignores Your Acoustic Windows
Acoustic windows can't stop low-frequency rumble traveling through soil. Can wave barriers or base isolation actually work between city buildings?
#5098: Jerusalem's Digging Problem: Who Pays for Progress?
Jerusalem is tearing itself apart to rebuild. Residents pay top taxes but get no signage, no end dates, no recourse. Do other cities do better?
#5046: Mapping Purple: How Texas Really Votes
Texas isn't just red. We break down the blue cities, red rural expanse, and the purple suburbs that decide elections.
#5042: The Town That Vanished From the Map
How do real, populated communities simply disappear from official maps? We explore the strange phenomenon of forgotten towns.
#5019: Designing a Kosher Korean BBQ Restaurant
What happens when K-drama food culture meets kashrut? We design a restaurant that bridges both worlds.
#4987: The Ultimate Disappointment Tour: 17 Cities to Skip
A globe-trotting itinerary of the most overpriced, overcrowded, and disappointing cities on Earth.
#4985: Kazakhstan's Wild Apple Forests and Futuristic Cities
Where every apple's DNA began and a capital built from scratch on the steppe.
#4984: Shanghai's Real vs. Romanticized Art Deco
How much of Shanghai's "Paris of the East" glamour is real, and what was lost to redevelopment?
#4975: Testing Hong Kong's Romantic Image Against Reality
Is the cinematic Hong Kong still there? We separate fantasy from fact, politics from redevelopment.
#4962: Who Decides What Goes on Jerusalem’s Lampposts?
The law is clear on illegal postering. But enforcement? That’s where it gets complicated.
#4939: How Airports and Rail Become One Network
Why Schiphol, Frankfurt, and London TfL are gold standards—and where LAX and others fall apart.
#4933: Why Bass Proof Windows Are a Lie
Why your $4,000 "soundproof" window won't stop bass — and what cities like Amsterdam and Berlin do instead.
#4924: How Tourist Traps Actually Work
Tourist traps aren't lazy restaurants — they're rational responses to broken incentives. Here's how they form and what breaks them.
#4885: Cold Sanctuaries: A Radical AC Policy for Heat Survival
What if every neighborhood had a free, permanent air-conditioned refuge? One man's radical idea for surviving extreme heat.
#4873: Screaming Toddler on a Beach: Parenting in Public Without a Net
What happens when you're stranded on a layover with a melting-down toddler and no family to help?
#4872: Can Tourism Save a City or Only Hollow It Out?
Jerusalem risks becoming a two-tier city. Barcelona and Kyoto show a better path.
#4807: What Actually Burns in Ireland vs. Israel
Same job, radically different fires. How climate and construction shape a firefighter's daily reality.
#4801: Who Decides What a Stop Sign Looks Like?
The surprising economics and design process behind the 20 million traffic signs on U.S. roads.
#4768: The Horsebarn Hill Formula: Why One Farm Becomes Iconic
Five ingredients turn a working dairy farm into a regional icon. Most overlooked sites are just one ingredient away.