What exactly is a food forest? I wanted to find out more so I visited the Winslow Food Forest located on the border of Milwaukie and Portland, Ore. I visited in the fall, and even then, the place was thriving with herbs, the last of the summe

Episode 14: For the love of beer (and community): Hops On Lots Pittsburgh

Sep 23rd, 2017 22m 51s

Hops on Lots Pittsburgh, a Pittsburgh organization grows hops on vacant lots across the city and gives back to the community.

Episode 13: 168 LAT

Aug 30th, 2017 14m 51s

The podcast about cities, architecture, nature, and the built environment.

Episode 12: Building communities through breweries: An interview with SUM Design

Jun 29th, 2017 22m 6s

The first time I visited Ex Novo, a brewery in Portland, Oregon, I was struck by its design. It felt…designed. It wasn’t a cold space with some chairs and stuff thrown together. There was some thought put into it. From where we sat, we could

Episode 11: We can make our cities better with placemaking, incrementally

Jun 1st, 2017 11m 26s

So, how is the DNA of a place defined? Is it the architecture? Is it the cool, hip shops? Park benches? It’s some of that – but it’s way more. What exactly is placemaking? This episode we’re speaking with Daniel Hintz, Founder and Chief Experie

Episode 10: Bourbon and buildings: An interview with John Patrick Winberry, UP studio

May 8th, 2017 18m 34s

What do design, branding, good bourbon, and a Norwegian architect firm have in common? It’s the thread to this episode’s interview with John Patrick Winberry, founding partner, chief wrangler, and architect at the UP studio. UP is a small, nimb

Episode Nine: Agriculture meets architecture: It's called Agritecture

Feb 25th, 2017 15m 56s

You’ve heard of agriculture – and urban ag, or growing food in cities. And then there’s architecture. And then, there’s agritecture. Wait, agritecture? Yep. The brains behind the concept is Henry Gordon-Smithlaunched agritcture.com a few years

Episode Eight: Defining the suburbs

Feb 6th, 2017 27m 18s

For many, the suburbs are an easy target. For good reason. Many of the homes are ugly and out of scale. They promote sprawl and auto dependence thereby increasing obesity. They use tons of energy and are a huge drain on a city’s infrastructure.

Episode Seven: The Fair-Haired Dumbbell

Jan 1st, 2017 48m 53s

I first learned about developer Kevin Cavenaugh’s work years ago when I was managing editor of a building trade magazine that focused on development, building techniques, and exciting topics like cemeticious siding and decking materials. (Kiddi

Episode Six: Walking in the city

Dec 7th, 2016 35m 17s

There are three questions on Max Grinnell’s website that ask: How do cities work? Why are people both fascinated and repelled by cities? How can we improve cities? (Hint: It's not through ye olde fudge shoppes or super-precious cupcake sto

Episode Five: Growing food in the city

Nov 5th, 2016 19m 2s

Urban farms, or, farming in the city, on rooftops, vacant lots, front yards. I've alway been intrigued with farming in the city and the potential there to feed its people. A couple years ago I read Jennifer Cockrall King's book "Food and The

Episode Four: Randy Simes, Urban Cincy

Oct 12th, 2016 35m 19s

For more than a year I’ve been obsessed with Cincinnati, Ohio. While doing research on old churches being retrofitted as brewpubs, I stumbled across Taft’s Ale House in Cincinnati’s Over the Rhine neighborhood. From there, I went deep. The arch

Episode three: Architecture, blogging and old buildings

Sep 17th, 2016 44m 33s

This episode I’m speaking with Brian Libby, a journalist and critic living in Portland, Oregon. Among the magazines and newspapers he has contributed to include The New York Times, The Atlantic, Dwell, CityLab, Metropolis, and Architectural Rec

Episode two: Modular architecture meets music

Aug 22nd, 2016 32m 22s

This show I speak with Aaron Holm. He’s the CEO of Blokable. The company manufactures “high-performance modular building assemblies that are easily customizable, with technology and energy efficiency built in.” You might think that a 30-minute

Episode one: Downtown LA and its unwritten history

Aug 10th, 2016 40m 6s

Episode one: Downtown LA and its unwritten history: Our guest is Kim Cooper. Kim edited Scram magazine in the early 90s up to the mid 2000s and co-edited the anthologies Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth and Lost in the Grooves. Nowadays, K

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