Ep. 97: Single-Stair Buildings and Eco-D...

North American buildings are built different — literally. Councilmember Jesse Zwick explains how the organization behind our unusual standards is built to fail, and he makes the case for a new approach. This is part 3 of our series on misaligned incentives in housing policy. Show ... Show More

Elevators in the U.S. and Canada cost 3–5 times as much as elevators in other high-income countries. Stephen Smith explains why and how our well-intentioned elevator standards make cities less safe and accessible. This is part two of our series on misaligned incentives in housing ... Show More

Housing vouchers provide critical assistance to low-income renters, but roughly 40% of vouchers go unused, in part due to difficulty finding landlords to accept them. Vincent Reina shares findings from a pilot program that instead gives cash assistance directly to tenants.Abstrac ... Show More

Bjarke Ingels is the number 1 architect in the world. His buildings are taking the world by storm with their fearless disregard for the conventions and norms of our dull cities. Bjarke's buildings are both fun and immensely practical. By when the greatest in his field is thinking ... Show More

This week, we're digging into The B1M's recent video "Why New York’s Leaning Skyscrapers Don’t Fall Over". Together, we're dissecting one of NYC's most unusual towers... two skyscrapers that lean into each other - because they have to. This is the story behind the American Copper ... Show More

This week, we're digging into The B1M's recent video "Why No One Wants This London Skyscraper". We're keeping it local, and looking further into the battle to build Western Europe's tallest new skyscraper - 'One Undershaft' in the City of London. This episode is sponsored by Trim ... Show More

Le Corbusier (born Charles-Édouard Jeanneret) was a pioneer of modern architecture whose ideas reshaped our urban landscapes. A Swiss-born, French-naturalized architect, designer, and urban planner, Le Corbusier championed a new vision for living in the 20th century. His philosop ... Show More

Bruce O'Neill's Underground: Dreams and Degradations in Bucharest (U Pennsylvania Press, 2024) gets to the bottom of the twenty-first-century city, literally. Underground moves beneath Romania’s capital, Bucharest, to examine how the demands of global accumulation have extended u ... Show More

Bruce O'Neill's Underground: Dreams and Degradations in Bucharest (U Pennsylvania Press, 2024) gets to the bottom of the twenty-first-century city, literally. Underground moves beneath Romania’s capital, Bucharest, to examine how the demands of global accumulation have extended u ... Show More

The Eiffel Tower was by far the largest structure built for the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris. Eiffel was an entrepreneur and he had two engineers working with him to plan the iron tower, but not everyone was on board with the design. Audiences today may be surprised to hear that ma ... Show More

In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss the article “Toward a New Way of Educating City Builders” by Seth Zeren, a founding member of Strong Towns. They discuss the many different disciplines that are responsible for shaping the built environmen ... Show More

Why are European cities charming and American cities often so charmless? Simple, says urbanist Alain Bertaud: most American cities are zoned for single-family housing. The result is not enough customers within walking distance of a business, and not enough parking for the custome ... Show More

Architect and building tech innovator Doris Sung presents a compelling vision for reimagining building facades as active contributors to urban life and public health. Showcasing innovative technologies — like buildings that filter particulates out of the air and facades that reac ... Show More