Urban Design
194 episodes · Page 2 of 9
#5595: Roman Roads Still Running Under Modern Cities
The Aqua Virgo still pours into the Trevi Fountain. The Cloaca Maxima still drains central Rome. What keeps ancient infrastructure alive?
#5566: Venice: The City That Was a Supply Chain
Venice wasn't romantic — it was a logistics problem with a paint job. How a lagoon empire survived 1,100 years.
#5502: Clifford Hutsell and the Storybook Houses of Dallas
A listener's childhood mystery: who designed those fantastical Lakewood houses? The answer leads to Storybook architecture.
#5494: How Ancient Jerusalem Outgrew Its Own Walls
Jerusalem's Old City walls are Ottoman, not ancient — and the original city sits outside them. Tracing 4,000 years of expansion and contraction.
#5395: Six Colors, One Hospital Corridor
A pediatric ward's six-color corridor system reveals what good interface design looks like when people are scared and lost.
#5367: Circling the ER: Driving When You Can't Stop
What do you do when the destination has no parking and a sick passenger in the seat? A holding pattern for city streets.
#5344: Ironworking: From Rivet Gangs to Rebar Crews
Ironworking is older than the skyscraper it built. Rivet gangs, Mohawk crews, and why Israel's cranes hide the trade.
#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.
#5316: Living in a Building That Pretends to Be Full
The lobby is lit, the desk is staffed, the elevators run — but almost nobody lives there. What happens when a building performs occupancy?
#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.
#5275: Reading a Supplier in 20 Minutes
How does a two-person firm vet a supplier without a procurement team? Walk in, watch the workshop, read the room.
#5185: Why One Border Becomes Three Fences
What border fences are actually built for — and why a steel barrier that took years to engineer was cut through in minutes.
#5147: Tents vs Container Cities: Rethinking Disaster Housing
Why do disasters still end in tent cities when foldable container homes and container cities already exist?
#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?
#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.
#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.
#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.
#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.
#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.