Podcast appearances and mentions of alissa walker

Vulnerable Californians are in the crosshairs. That's one of the big takeaways from Governor Newsom's latest budget proposal -- the May Revise.Last week on this podcast, we focused on the proposal's impact on transportation, housing and climate. Today we're looking at its impact on vulnerable and low income Californians, and the news is pretty ugly.Among those likely to suffer if the Legislature doesn't make changes are low income families, senior citizens, people with disabilities, people who are unhoused, survivors of domestic violence, and foster youth, and immigrants.Our guest on this episode is Chris Hoene, executive director of the California Budget & Policy Center – a well-respected organization that does research and analysis of state policies, with an eye toward equity and impacts policies have on people who are vulnerable.Read the California Budget & Policy Center latest report here: https://calbudgetcenter.org/issues/california-budget/For more on the Los Angeles City Budget, check out this week's episode of LA Podcast, with Mike, Alissa Walker and Godfrey Plata. What's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

Los Angeles County is creating its own Department of Homeless Services – and pulling hundreds of people and hundreds of millions of dollars out of LAHSA – the joint city-county homelessness services agency.Is it a big and long overdue step to maximize taxpayer investments in solving homelessness? Or is it a rushed and divisive move that threatens recent progress in bringing our unhoused neighbors indoors?We'll discuss that with Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and with Los Angeles City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield – on this episode of What's Next, Los Angeles?Some Great LinksThis week's LA Podcast with me, Alissa Walker, Hayes Davenport and special guest co-host . . . Carla Hall, who just left her gig as the last member of the editorial board at the LA Times.LA Times: County supervisors create new homeless agency, despite warnings from L.A. mayorLAist: Head of LA homeless services resigns days after county votes to pull $350M from troubled agencyLA Public Press: Unhoused LA residents react to LAHSA's unravelingLA Times: Feds to look into potential fraud and corruption in Southern California homeless fundsWhat's Next, Los Angeles? is produced and hosted by Mike Bonin, in partnership with LA Forward.

On January 7th, the Palisades and Eaton fires erupted in Los Angeles, killing dozens of people, displacing tens of thousands, and destroying more than 15,000 structures. What will this mean for housing affordability in the already-strained region? Hannah Hennighausen joins to share her research on the 2018 Camp Fire's effect on housing prices and migration, and its lessons for LA and other cities threatened by natural disasters.Show notes:Hennighausen, H., & James, A. (2024). Catastrophic fires, human displacement, and real estate prices in California. Journal of Housing Economics, 66, 102023.Episode 85 of This American Life, “When the Beasts Come Marching In.”CAL FIRE fire hazard severity zone viewer (interactive map).99% Invisible's “Not Built For This” podcast episode on the Camp Fire's ripple effect beyond the fire's perimeter.Reporting from local journalist Alissa Walker on volunteers identifying cases of rent-gouging following the LA fires.

LA Times reporter Liam Dillon assesses the damage now that the fires are fully contained. Torched editor Alissa Walker explains how the 2028 Olympics might impede rebuilding efforts. This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Andrea Kristinsdottir, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast Support Today, Explained by becoming a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/members Flea, Chad Smith, Anthony Kiedis, and John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers perform at the LA28 Olympic Games Handover Celebration. Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LA28. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wildfires have devastated Southern California in the past week, while mainstream media has remained fairly fixated on the wealthier communities and celebrities affected. Meanwhile, the majority of lives lost were in the middle class neighborhood of Altadena, and mutual aid efforts have blossomed across the city to address those affected. This week, Jamie reaches out to writers and organizers in Los Angeles to take a closer look at who will be at the forefront of this ongoing crisis. Theo Henderson of We the Unhoused speaks to how the unhoused and newly displaced have to navigate city hostility; independent reporter Alissa Walker explores how the fires will continually affect families and the risk of holding the Olympics in LA; Sara Reyes, Maebe A. Girl, and Rachel Sanoff of SELAH talk mutual aid in a time of crisis; and Mychal Threets tells Jamie about the importance of libraries and community spaces in the wake of tragedy. Displaced Black Families Mutual Aid: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pK5omSsD4KGhjEHCVgcVw-rd4FZP9haoijEx1mSAm5c/htmlview Follow Theo Henderson and We the Unhoused here: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-we-the-unhoused-66071889/ https://x.com/TheoHen95302259 Follow Alissa Walker and Torched here:https://www.torched.la/ https://bsky.app/profile/awalkerinla.bsky.social Follow SELAH here:https://www.selahnhc.org/volunteer https://www.instagram.com/selahnhc/?hl=en Follow Mychal here: https://www.instagram.com/mychal3ts/?hl=en Tickets to The Bechdel Cast in San Francisco: https://sfsketchfest2025.sched.com/event/1rbOs Buy A Paradise Built in Hell: https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-paradise-built-in-hell-the-extraordinary-communities-that-arise-in-disaster-rebecca-solnit/11725474?gad_source=1See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, I reconnect with journalist Alissa Walker, founder of the new newsletter Torched.LA for a discussion about the forthcoming major events (Superbowl, World Cup, and Olympics) being hosted by Los Angeles in the coming years and how the region can leverage these opportunities to ensure that the citizens don't get "torched" by a legacy of debt and discrimination. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and subscribe to the podcast on your preferred listening platform. Also, don't forget to check out the Active Towns Channel for more video content.Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel):- The Torched newsletter- My first episode with Alissa- Lindsay Sturman and Livable Communities episode- Michael Schneider Streets For All episode- Investing In Place- Trust for Public Lands Park Access- 10 Minute Walk to a Park- Tim Gill Post on a De-paved PlaygroundIf you are a fan of the Active Towns Podcast, please consider supporting the effort as an Active Towns Ambassador in the following ways:1. Join our Patreon community. Contributions start at just $1 per month(Note: Patron benefits include early, ad-free access to content and a 15% discount in the Active Towns Merch Store)2. If you enjoyed this episode, you can also "leave a tip" through "Buy Me a Coffee"3. Pick up some Active Towns #StreetsAreForPeople Merch at my storeCredits:- Video and audio production by John Simmerman- Music via Epidemic SoundResources used during the production of this video:- My recording platform is Ecamm Live- Editing software Adobe Creative Cloud Suite- Equipment: Contact me for a complete listFor more information about the Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit our links below:- Active Towns Website- Active Towns on Twitter- Periodic e-NewsletterBackground:Hi Everyone! My name is John Simmerman, and I'm a health promotion and public health professional with over 30 years of experience. Over the years, my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization in how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.Since 2010,  I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be while striving to produce high-quality multimedia content to help inspire the creation of more safe and inviting, environments that promote a "Culture of Activity" for "All Ages & Abilities."The Active Towns Channel features my original video content and reflections, including a selection of podcast episodes and short films profiling the positive and inspiring efforts happening around the world as I am able to experience and document them.Thanks once again for tuning in! I hope you find this content helpful and insightful.Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2024 ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

A week after polls closed, the results of a lot of elections are becoming and apparent, and there have been some wild developments! There have been blowouts, nail-biters and big surprises, and Alissa Walker and Godfrey Plata join Mike Bonin to review and discuss it all.  The resounding victory of Measure HLA. An edge-of-your-seats finale to the Nithya Raman re-election campaign.  A huge surge for progressives in multiple races. A closely watched anti-gay campaign in Glendale. And a helluva lot more.Check the chapter markers to find the segments of the show you're most interested in.

 Lots of big news to kick off 2024. Late last week, LAPD Chief Michel Moore announced a sudden retirement, putting Mayor Karen Bass in the hotseat as she begins to choose a replacement. Meanwhile Former Sheriff Alex Villanueva denies the existence of deputy gangs while under oath.  The Supreme Court has decided to take up a draconian anti-homeless law, and people who usually call themselves progressives are hoping the right-wing court will criminalize homelessness. Meanwhile, is LA backing away from affordable housing in wealthy neighborhoods? And what is the fate of local journalism as Kevin Merida leaves the LA Times? Guest co-hosts Alissa Walker and Godfrey Plata return to the podcast and discuss it all with Mike.Chief Moore Resignation LA TIMES: LAPD Chief Michel Moore to step down at end of February ERICKA SMITH: Column: LAPD's Michel Moore is (finally) leaving. Here's what L.A. needs in a new chief LA TIMES: Detectives claim LAPD chief sought investigation of Mayor Bass over USC scholarship LASD LATIMES: Villanueva denies existence of deputy gangs as L.A. County officials seek accountability  LAIST: Former Sheriff's Deputy Convicted In Fatal Shooting of Ryan Twyman; First Such Conviction In Two Decades In LA SUPREME COURT TO HEAR HOMELESSNESS CASE LA TIMES: Supreme Court to rule on clearing homeless encampments in California and the West COURTHOUSE NEWS: Oregon city trying to take blankets, pillows from homeless loses appeal NEWSOM: Governor Newsom Statement on Court Ruling Obstructing Encampments Clearing LA Backing Away from Affordable Housing in Wealthy Areas? LAIST: Housing Advocates Sue City Of LA For Stalling Affordable Housing Near Single-Family Homes: REAL DEAL: YIMBY challenges LA's denial of affordable housing in Winnetka: OP-ED: Housing needs to go into highly resourced wealthy neighborhoods or else none of this matters: Kevin Merida Ouster NYT: Editor of The Los Angeles Times Steps Down POYNTER INSTITUTE:: Major surprise shakeup at the Los Angeles Times POLITICO: MERIDA OUT 

Elon Musk has built himself a corporate empire, but how did he do it? He's styled himself at as the cofounder of Tesla, but the real innovations came from its actual founders before he took the credit and spun a ton of deceptive tales he couldn't follow through on to boost its share price. Ultimately, his interventions have had some serious consequences. This is episode 3 of Elon Musk Unmasked, a special four-part series from Tech Won't Save Us.Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.Also mentioned in this episode:Insider senior correspondent Linette Lopez, CNBC.com journalist Lora Kolodny, Ludicrous author Edward Niedermeyer, transportation journalist Alissa Walker, and climate journalist Amy Westervelt were interviewed for this episode.Ludicrous by Edward Niedermeyer, Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance, Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson, and Road to Nowhere by Paris Marx were the books cited.Support the show

It's been 100 days since Mayor Karen Bass and the new crew of elected officials took office in the city of Los Angeles. How are they doing? I talk about that, homelessness, public safety, LA Metro, and a lot more with Alissa Walker and Scott Frazier of LA Podcast on the latest  edition of What's Next Los Angeles.Alissa is co-host of LA Podcast, and a writer for Curbed/New Yorker. Her twitter handle is @awalkerinLA. Scott is another LA Podcast host.  You can find his long form writing at his blog, Benny Wally. 

Elon Musk created The Boring Company to fix traffic, but his fantasy of underground Tesla tunnels is running on empty. Curbed's Alissa Walker and author Paris Marx explain. This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, fact-checked by Laura Bullard and Amina Al-Sadi, engineered by Paul Robert Mounsey, edited by Matt Collette, and hosted by Noel King. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained   Support Today, Explained by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fires caused by e-bike batteries are becoming all too common in the city. Ross Barkan, a contributor to New York Magazine and a columnist for Crain's, and Alissa Walker, senior reporter at Curbed talks about what lawmakers need to do to keep e-bike riders - many of whom are low-income delivery workers - safe.

The election is finally over, and the vote count continues for a couple very key races. But we know a lot about most races. What are the most important things we see in the election results? Alissa Walker and Scott Frasier of LA Podcast join Mike to hash it all out. They talk about the mayor's and supervisor's race, the significance of Villanueva's defeat, City Council results, and the growing electoral power of progressives.Alissa is co-host of LA Podcast, and a writer for Curbed/New Yorker. Her twitter handle is @awalkerinLA. Her recent article of LA Metro's transit ambassadors is here. Her article on the fight over affordable housing in Venice is here.Scott is another LA Podcast host.  You can find his long form writing at his new blog, Benny Wally, and his breakdown of election results here. His twitter handle is @safrazie. LA Podcast's recent emergency episode over the LA Fed tapes is here. It is really worth a listen.And if you're looking for them, the latest election results are here: https://results.lavote.gov

SUVs and pickup trucks are more likely than cars to strike pedestrians. Still, they account for more than 80% of new car sales in the United States, and more than half of all cars sold to police departments. With pedestrian and traffic fatalities at record highs, Alissa Walker, senior reporter at Curbed, joins us to discuss the 'SUV-ification' of America. Related: The SUV-ification of Police Fleets (Curbed)

This week we are joined by journalist Alissa Walker to talk about one of the best transit projects LA has ever built, The Orange Line! 

The beloved and prolific journalist claims the two proposed parks that would be built atop the 101 freeway are not as crazy as they appear, how the Metro tunnel through Bel Air cannot be stopped by the locals, and what she thinks about the proposed Dodger Stadium gondola.

Alissa Walker (@awalkerinLA) is a writer and podcaster based in Los Angeles who Alissa Walker is a journalist covers the challenges of getting around our cities. She has written extensively for CURBED, where she covers everything from cars to bikes to urban development, and how it impacts all of us.  We talk about why city transit is so difficult, those tunnels, silly solutions that cause officials to overlook things, planes/trains/buses, and what we can do better.https://www.curbed.com/author/alissa-walker/Recorded Feb 24, 2022Want to find the right parts for you car? Head to https://carparts.com/thesmokingtire and get 10% off a purchase of $100 or more.To get your new wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month, and get the plan shipped to your door for FREE, go to MINTMOBILE.com/tire Get some Dillon Optics sunglasses here and we'll send you a free TST shirt! 

Ameena- “La Patrona”- wears many hats - she's a rideshare driver, an accountant, and used to run her own non-emergency medical transport business. Ameena loves being her own boss, but experiences the stresses that come with the title, underscored during the pandemic when riders refuse to wear masks. Ameena's passion for her “hustle” has led her to find ways to uplift the fellow rideshare drivers in her community so they too can drive safely and on their own terms. Roundtable guests: Lewis Howes, of the School of Greatness podcast, and Alissa Walker from New York Magazine.Learn more about Lewis Howes' School of Greatness: https://lewishowes.com/ Read Alissa Walker's writing: https://www.curbed.com/author/alissa-walker/ Learn more about the Drivers Cooperative NYC: https://drivers.coop/Episode Transcript: https://app.trint.com/public/bc545da3-7fa8-4260-a1b6-0ca0e33017ee Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Potentially good news for longterm COVID-19 immunity. Pizza farms, not just a figment of my imagination, apparently they’re a real and wonderful thing. And the story of a naked mole rat named Joe who just won’t die, and what he could mean for human longevity.Links:Immunity to the Coronavirus May Persist for Years, Scientists Find (NY Times)Vaccinated COVID-19 survivors may be immune for life, according to new research (Mic)Pizza farm (Wikipedia)Pizza-shaped farm draws tourists with organic slice (USA Today)The Pizza Farm (via Web Archive)'Pizza farm' also a place to learn about organic methods (The State Journal-Register)Where to Eat Pizza on a Farm in Minnesota and Wisconsin (Eater)Where the Produce Includes Pepperoni: The Pizza Farm (NY Times)The Long, Strange Life of the World’s Oldest Naked Mole Rat (Wired)"Our definition of 'summer' will change" (Alissa Walker, Twitter)L.A. County Fair is moving from scorching September to cooler May (LA Times)Exclusive: Phil and Lil's mom Betty will be gay in new Rugrats series (A/V Club)Kottke.OrgJackson Bird on Twitter

Post credit to Alissa Walker and Wade Sutherlin, the lucky husband of Amanda Young who was my guest on episodes 172 and 173 A CONVERSATION ABOUT PERCEIVED VALUE: A customer asked a contractor friend of mine how much it would cost to do this project.  My friend gave him a proposal: $4500 The customer responded: That seems really high.  My friend asked: What do you think is a reasonable price for this job?  The customer answered: $2500 maximum My friend responded:  Ok, then I invite you to do it yourself. The customer answered: I don't know how to. My friend responded:  Alright, then how about for $2500 I'll teach you how to. So besides saving you $2000, you'll learn valuable skills that will benefit you in the future. The customer answered: Sounds good! Let’s do it!  My friend responded: Great! To get started, you are going to need some tools. You will need a chop saw, table saw, cordless drill, bit set, router, skill saw, jigsaw, tool belt, hammer, etc.. The customer answered: But I don't have any of those tools and I can't justify buying all of these for one job. My friend responded: Ok. Well then for an additional $300 I can rent my tools to you to use for this project.  The customer answered: Okay. That’s fair. My friend responded: Great! We will start the project on Monday.  The customer answered: I work Monday through Friday. I’m only available on the weekends.  My friend responded: If you want to learn from me then you will need to work when I work. This project will take 3 days so you will need to take 3 days off work.  The customer answered: That means I’m going to have to sacrifice my pay for 3 days or use my vacation time!  My friend responded: That’s true. Remember, when you do a job yourself you need to account for unproductive factors.  The customer answered: What do you mean by that?  My friend responded: Doing a job completely from start to finish includes time spent to plan the project, pick up materials, travel time, gas, set up time, clean up, and waste disposal amongst other things. That’s all in addition to the actual project itself.  And speaking of materials, that’s where we will start on Monday so I need you to meet me at the lumberyard at 6:00 am.  The customer answered: At 6 am?!! My workday doesn’t usually start until 8 am!  My friend responded: Well then you’re in luck! My plan is to start on the deck build by 8 am. But to do so we have to start at 6 am to get materials picked up, loaded, and delivered to your job site. The customer answered: You know, I’m realizing that a lot more goes into a job than what a customer sees in the finished project. Your proposal of $4500 is very reasonable. I would like you to handle the project. CONCLUSION: When you pay for a job, especially a custom job, (whether it’s a physical project or digital project) you pay not only for the material and the work to be completed. You also pay for: ✔️ Knowledge ✔️ Experience ✔️ Custom Skills ✔️ Tools ✔️ Time to plan ✔️ Time to prepare ✔️ Professionalism  ✔️ Work Ethic ✔️ Excellence  ✔️ Discipline  ✔️ Commitment  ✔️ Integrity  ✔️ Taxes ✔️ Licenses  ✔️ Sacrifices  ✔️ Liabilities  ✔️ Insurance  If you request a proposal for custom work to be done, please don’t disrespect a service provider by trying to get them to lower their prices.  If their proposal exceeds your budget, there’s nothing wrong with getting other proposals.  Just remember.. you get what you pay for. 

Cities have been trying to “solve” traffic since ancient Rome, but now more than ever, it seems like real innovation gets drowned by noise. Alissa Walker of Curbed joins Alex to talk about a handful of these “solution-oriented” municipal projects, which ones might work, what probably won't, and how autonomous vehicles might fit into the mix. Find more at noparkingpodcast.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As part of the Great Miami Tech Migration of 2021, Mayor Francis Suarez in recent weeks has initiated interstellar communication with the Imaginary Iron Man, the original Space Karen and freshly minted Richest Dude On Earth, Elon Musk, to punch a bunch of holes in our city and uh, help… traffic? Cool. We spoke with Alissa Walker from Curbed about ... Read More The post Magic City Musk (Underground) feat. Alissa Walker appeared first on Bird Road.

In our 37th episode, we chat with Alissa Walker, one of the co-hosts of the LA PODCAST, as well as editor of Curbed L.A. I ask Alissa just one miscellaneous question, followed by seven questions “in a pack.” We unfurl the pack and discuss for listeners, including about pedestrianism in L.A., the infamous Target HuskContinue reading EPISODE 37 – ALISSA WALKER, CURBED L.A. →

In our 37th episode, we chat with Alissa Walker, one of the co-hosts of the LA PODCAST, as well as editor of Curbed L.A. I ask Alissa just one miscellaneous question, followed by seven questions “in a pack.” We unfurl the pack and discuss for listeners, including about pedestrianism in L.A., the infamous Target HuskContinue reading EPISODE 37 – ALISSA WALKER, CURBED L.A. →

Paris Marx is joined by Alissa Walker to discuss how Elon Musk’s Boring Company transportation system has changed over the past few years, what his plans in Las Vegas mean for workers and transit users, and why tech companies are distracting us from a real vision of better cities.Alissa Walker is the urbanism editor at Curbed, co-host of LA Podcast, and a contributor to KCRW’s Greater LA. She recently reported on the latest updates on the Boring Company and its project in Las Vegas, and did a great breakdown of how the whole concept has evolved back in January. Follow Alissa on Twitter as @awalkerinLA.Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter.Support the show (https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus)

In this episode, we go for a virtual stroll in Los Angeles with the amazing Alissa Walker with Curbed.

In the first segment [0:59-15:52], hosts Eric Jaffe and Vanessa Quirk discuss this week's top stories: Cities face challenges putting homeless populations into hotels (Alissa Walker, Curbed) https://bit.ly/2KJ4sRL / (Sarah Holder and Kriston Capps, CityLab) https://bit.ly/2Kt9AJz 9 ways to revive transit (Eric Jaffe, Sidewalk Talk) https://bit.ly/2Kt9FNn Tech needs to enter the real world (Ben Thompson, Stratechery) https://stratechery.com/ In the second segment [16:12-22:12], the hosts interview economist Issi Romem describes the pros and cons of a new housing financing model that combines renting and buying. (NYT’s Upshot) https://nyti.ms/3bBqTDT And in the final segment [22:24-24:50], the hosts share what made them smile this week. NYC sidewalk width tool http://www.sidewalkwidths.nyc/ (Caroline Spivack, Curbed) https://bit.ly/2Ky3tUg Ukulele song captures life in quarantine (Makeshift.Macaroni, Tik Tok) https://bit.ly/2zkIgL1  

In the first segment [1:40-15:00], hosts Eric Jaffe and Vanessa Quirk discuss this week's top stories: Rent-strikes would offer relief now, but at what cost down the line? (Kriston Capps, CityLab) https://bit.ly/2ywBRfu A short history of the Census — and why this could be the U.S.’s last (Andrew Whitby, Wired) https://bit.ly/2yomeqf Covid has demonstrated just how unevenly public space is distributed (Alissa Walker, Curbed) https://bit.ly/3bNVldJ / In ode of “sociable distancing” (Michael Mehaffy, CNU) https://bit.ly/2wfpKmi In the second segment [15:25-22:25], the hosts interview reporter Gregory Scruggs about the city of Seattle, which has started using the revenues generated from its controversial soda tax to fund emergency grocery vouchers for families during the Covid-19 outbreak. (Next City) https://bit.ly/2JDcnPS And in the final segment [23:00-25:05], the hosts share what made them smile this week. A history of the Drive-Thru (Adam Chandler, Serious Eats) https://bit.ly/3aGP2J0 Lori Lightfoot memes (Susan Moskop, Chicago Tribune) https://bit.ly/2Xdb3LH

Looking at COVID=19: Flattening the curve, Washington Post designers Harry Stevens on visualizing social distancing, Alissa Walker on how dots are people, Stephen Sondheim at 90

On this special episode Kate and Doree address some of the growing concerns around coronavirus. They speak with epidemiologist Caroline Buckee about what coronavirus and COVID-19 really are and how we can be prepared without being panicked, and talk to two listeners living in Italy through the COVID-19 outbreak. Then they’re joined by Dr. Jelena Kecmanovic, Founder and Director of Arlington DC Behavior Therapy Institute, who shares some tactics and strategies for coping with anxiety and stress, and hear from Alissa Walker, Urbanism Editor at Curbed, who discusses COVID-19’s effect on homeless communities and how we can help vulnerable populations. For more information, please visit the CDC or WHO websites. To leave a voicemail for a future episode, call 781-591-0390. You can also email the podcast at forever35podcast@gmail.com.This episode is sponsored by: SIGNATURE HARDWARE - Real-life isn’t always perfect, but with Signature Hardware it is beautiful. Visit signaturehardware.com/FOREVER35 to find your style today.HYDRANT - For 25% off your first order, go to DrinkHydrant.com and enter promo code forever35 at checkout.THIRDLOVE - Get 15% off your first purchase when you go to thirdlove.com/forever.MOLEKULE - For $75 off your first order, visit molekule.com and enter FOREVER75 at checkout.RITUAL - For 10% off during your first three months visit ritual.com/FOREVER35.MASTERCLASS - Visit masterclass.com/forever35 for 15% off the Annual All-Access Pass.HELLO FRESH CANADA - For a total of $70 off your first 3 weeks of HelloFresh, go to HelloFresh.ca/forever70 and enter code forever70.Theme music by Riot. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With guest host Alissa Walker of L.A. Podcast: Barbara Kruger at Frieze Week; Destination Crenshaw; homelessness; urban design competitions, Rose Lyster on air travel; Molly Young on garbage language

Transportation, climate policy, bus stops, energy, bikes, etc.

Democratic Presidential candidates talked climate in a town hall this week. How does transportation factor into combating climate change? In the wake of several mass shootings, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is still yet to bring forward any legislation on gun control. We take a look at how President Trump may be influencing McConnell's thinking and actions. Plus, with all the yelling and shouting, what's going on with Brexit this week — and how are Brits feelings about it? Sam is joined in the studio this week by Curbed Urbanism editor Alissa Walker and producer Tom Dreisbach of NPR's Embedded podcast.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE AND FIND THE SHOWNOTES AND OTHER LINKS BY CLICKING RIGHT HERE.   Eve Picker: Hey, everyone, this is Eve Picker. If you listen to this podcast series, you're going to learn how to make some change.   Eve Picker: Hi, there. Thanks so much for joining me today for the latest episode of Impact Real Estate Investing. My guests today were John Perfitt and Jason Neville, who've come together in Los Angeles to disrupt the homeless housing market. Their award-winning first homeless project, Bungalow Gardens, not only will house homeless tenants for at least the next 15 years, but also is crowdfunding equity from everyday investors on SmallChange.com.   Eve Picker: These boys are innovating where it is hardest to innovate, so take the time and listen in. Be sure to go to EvePicker.com to find out more about John and Jason on the show notes page for this episode and be sure to sign up for my newsletter, so you can access information about impact real estate investing and get the latest news about the exciting projects on my crowdfunding platform, Small Change.   Eve Picker: Hello, Jason and John. Thank you so much for joining me today. I am really thrilled to have you here. I would love you to start by just telling our audience a little bit about your background. I know a lot about you guys, but they don't know anything at all.   John Perfitt: Great. Thanks, Eve. It's a pleasure to be part of this. I'm really excited about the prospects of crowdfunding for real estate. My name is John Perfitt, and I work with Restore Neighborhoods LA, primarily - RNLA, as it's called. We're a smaller-scale infill developer specializing in affordable housing as well as homeless housing. I've got 25 years plus of community development experience in both the public sector, as well as the private sector, as well as with nonprofit organizations. I've also worked internationally in the former Soviet Union. I've been around all parts of community development, commercial redevelopment, and affordable housing projects, both on the financing side, really all the way through the whole project lifecycle.   Eve Picker: Well, now I have to interrupt and ask what on earth you were doing in the Soviet Union?   John Perfitt: Well, I was a Peace Corps volunteer. It was right after the Soviet Union was- basically the government collapsed over there, and they "transitioned" to capitalism. I was working in a very grassroots capacity, doing small micro lending in a rural agricultural area and mostly immersing myself in local culture, which I like to do. That was in the early '90s and had an indelible mark on my paradigm, oftentimes, on community development and so forth.   Eve Picker: Cool, and what about you, Jason?   Jason Neville: My name's Jason Neville. I'm an urban planner by training, originally from New Orleans, Louisiana. My first seven years of my career were spent on the public sector side and the redevelopment agency at City of Los Angeles until it was dissolved in 2012. Then at the New Orleans Redevelopment Agency, in my hometown, for a couple of years afterwards.   Jason Neville: It was about that time that I started getting frustrated with and also aware of the opportunity to make an impact in cities outside of the public sector, sort of call it accidentally, founding a company with two buddies of mine in New Orleans to do some historic renovations and got the taste for doing real estate development and also increasing appreciation for the role that entrepreneurial, private-sector, impact-minded real estate developers can have a positive transformation in cities.   Jason Neville: I spent a couple of years in the mayor's office here in Los Angeles and worked on some of the policies and research related to accessory dwelling units. Left the mayor's office and founded a design-permit-build ADU company called Building Blocks with my business partner, John Perfitt. It was through that collaboration that we partnered up a little bit on the Bungalow Courts project, which we've been working on for the past year and a half.   Eve Picker: That's why I had invited both of you onto this podcast show, because you were working on a pretty extraordinary little project called Bungalow Courts, or Bungalow Gardens in L.A., and I wanted you to tell us a little bit about that? I'm sure you're working on other things, as well, but that's a pretty interesting project.   John Perfitt: Yeah. We have a variety of smaller scale, and when I say smaller scale, kind of up to 20-unit, kind of micro-unit, homeless housing projects in our pipeline. One of our favorites that we're working on right now is the Bungalow Gardens, as you mentioned. Jason will probably talk more about this, but Bungalow Gardens represents one of the first bungalow courts projects permitted and built in the city of Los Angeles, especially South Los Angeles, in a long time. It was a very common housing typology for a long time, 50-60 years ago, but it's really kind of ... Modern zoning code has zoned it out, if you will, of being a practical way to build housing.   John Perfitt: This is a really great project. We're highly influenced in the approach and design by Irving Gill, who I think was just a master of fusing together a very modern sensibility with a great precedent that there is for a Spanish revival in Los Angeles. What all that thinking, and wrangling, and  so forth produced was the Bungalow Gardens project, which is a really four duplexes or eight units on a kind of long and narrow sight, adjacent to a very busy street called Vermont in Los Angeles.   John Perfitt: We think it's beautiful. It's going to house, for at least 15 years, individuals experiencing homelessness. We like to refer to it as compact and dignified living. In many ways, it's a throwback, we think, very complimentary of the neighborhood; very contextual. It's a project that we just love and turned into a labor of love. To further extend it, we're attempting to raise some capital, via crowdfunding, to really make the project even that much more of an example of what can be done in the marketplace here in Los Angeles.   Eve Picker: Full disclosure, everyone, they actually have listed the project on SmallChange.com to accomplish the crowdfunding. I'm sort of fascinated ... I'm sure everyone else is, as well. If you're going to house homeless, how do you generate revenue to cover the operating expenses for a project like that?   John Perfitt: It's a great question, and I'll let Jason jump in here in a second to add to what I'm going to say, because he's actually been really the engine behind this and actually a lot of the direction that we had in going the bungalow courts direction was his idea and vision.   John Perfitt: Really, the thing that makes this possible in a lot of ways is we, unfortunately, have a housing crisis, as well as a homeless crisis in Los Angeles. Residents of Los Angeles, and of the county- both the city and county have voted to tax themselves to make capital available for building homeless housing. We were able to go in one of the programs that exists in Los Angeles; just able to go in and secure a rental subsidy from a credit tenant - namely, the County of Los Angeles - and get that commitment for up to 15 years. That really provides to the bloodline for the project, from an operations standpoint.   John Perfitt: Then there's a local, what's called a Community Development Finance Institution, or CDFI; really a community loan fund in Los Angeles that's super-aggressive, and smart, and will see these smaller projects, and see that they've secured a rental subsidy, and will land on these projects pretty aggressively. The name of that CDFI is Genesis L.A., and they've just been a tremendous partner and lender in the marketplace for many of the projects that we've worked on. I can't say enough about those folks at Genesis L.A. seeing this problem and helping to craft a solution, because it's really the rental subsidy and then the availability of this loan capital that really makes these projects possible. I don't know if you want to add anything, Jason?   Jason Neville: Yeah, I think that John explained it well, in terms of what makes it possible financially, but there's a couple other pieces to this, too, about what makes it possible, including policies. One of the new policies in the City of Los Angeles we're taking advantage of is called the Transit Oriented Communities Affordable Housing Program, which allows for parking waivers and other incentives for affordable housing projects that are built near transit, as our project is.   Jason Neville: As John was mentioning before, some of the background and history of bungalow courts is that it was a predominant form of housing in Los Angeles from the 1900s to about the 1930s, until modern zoning codes in Los Angeles began requiring parking on site, which made this particular housing typology infeasible. Now, because of the housing crisis we're experiencing and the efforts from our city planning department to address the housing crisis through innovative policies, such as TFC ordinance, we are able to build this bungalow court, which will be the first bungalow court project in Los Angeles in 70 years. So, there's a policy piece of this, as well.   Eve Picker: Be sure to go to EvePicker.com and sign up for my free educational newsletter about impact real estate investing. You'll be among the first to hear about new projects you can invest in. That's EvePicker.com. Thanks so much.   Eve Picker: Essentially, you're stepping back in time to address a very modern problem.   John Perfitt: Yeah, I always say, when we've talked about this, when you want to talk about innovation, and a lot of times, innovation is go back and look at what has worked, and then sort of synthesize that and come out with something that's unique. Yeah, we're going back to what worked a long time ago.   Eve Picker: Yes. Interesting. My second thought, first thought, I don't know, but I think about, like, eight units is not very much for a crisis, right? How do you begin to scale an idea like this, so that it really has a much larger impact?   John Perfitt: It's a great question and one that we grapple with, because the question of scale comes up all the time. We, admittedly, on this project - which we were trying to accomplish a variety of different things, including innovative financing on this - we probably left some density on the table. We could have built more. That being said, we are building other projects and have them in our pipeline that are three-four stories and 20 units on small infill sites.   John Perfitt: When we talk about scale, it's not the traditional way that developments looked at scale - large 100- to 150-unit projects, and so forth. We believe those are out there and should be done. What we're trying to facilitate, and show can be financed, and operated, and can work, and be feasible is the repetition. That would be the scale of a lot of infill sites that are either underdeveloped, or not developed at all, or obsolete uses, and so forth, throughout a county. There are many of these. What type of mechanisms can you use, and incentives can you use to do that, and then repeat it?   John Perfitt: We fully understand, and we experience that age-old sort of paradigm that lenders and developers have that the blood, sweat, and tears on  a 50-unit project is the same as 10, and so forth. We fully believe that a multifaceted approach to creating more units is going to potentially mitigate the crisis that we have going on. We are very active in sharing our information about how we do this, because we think there's a multitude of opportunities.   John Perfitt: We'd like to see other private nonprofit ... Especially the folks that are not necessarily not-for-profit ... If there is an incentive, a financial incentive, for folks and developers to build housing that we need, i.e. homeless housing, that's great, but that hasn't ...  But that hasn't- that's novel. That's different than has been done in the past. Our scale is that we want to be smarter and be able to optimize or maximize on these small sites, but be able to do it repetitively and have other people do it repetitively [cross talk]   Eve Picker: Yeah, so I'm going to put my urban-designer hat on, because the added bonus of creating a product that is an infill product is that it is a great, sustainable way to build in cities to fill small vacant sites, instead of letting them become what is oftentimes the highest and best-used parking lots, is another thing that's being solved here. Really large projects tend to take away the fabric of our cities, because they will raise a number of buildings and amalgamate lots for that efficiency and scale and, in the process, destroy the charming little neighborhoods and communities that we actually all like.   Jason Neville: Urban design is very, very important to us. We've been working with a great young architect, Studio 15, who's worked with RNLA on a couple of projects and with our ADU company, Building Blocks, on a few projects. We're really passionate about design and knew that good design would be a really important part of this project's success.   Jason Neville: When we won the Los Angeles County Housing Innovation Challenge, earlier this year, we were able to present to the county supervisors and some other VIPs, along with a couple of other winners of this grant challenge ... Those other folks were doing great work. However, their particular designs were reusing storage containers. There was a lot of sort of architectural innovation that was happening there.   Jason Neville: When we showed the renderings of our project, we got great response from everyone who was gathered there, including a supervisor, because when they saw that style, it really fit with Los Angeles's architectural trajectory and is also the scale that really fits in a lot of neighborhoods in Los Angeles; notwithstanding John's good point about leaving a little bit of density on the table in this round-   Eve Picker: Yeah, it's really lovely. I can't wait to see your next project in this little product line. I also want to know a little bit about Building Blocks and the ADU project that you're working on. Tell us a little bit about why L.A. went down the ADU path; what that means for L.A.   Jason Neville: Happy to answer that; Also, in answering this question about ADUs, I think it will also answer, Eve, your question about how you to get to scale. In Los Angeles, there's about 500,000 single-family-zoned properties. Up until about two years ago, the City of Los Angeles allowed ADUs, but due to restrictive policies, they were only producing about 150 a year.   Jason Neville: Two years ago, the state legislature adopted a statewide development standard for ADUs and compelled cities to either use those standards or create standards of their own. In doing so, that reform happened at the state level and made it easier for homeowners to build ADUs, which are accessory dwelling units; legal second units you can build on otherwise single-family-zoned properties.   Jason Neville: Production went, in just two years, from about 150 a year to about 5,000 a year, and I would not be surprised ... That was as of last year. I would not be surprised at all if, in 2019, we hit the 8,000-, or 9,000-, or 10,000-unit mark, because a) there's lots of single-family-zoned properties in Los Angeles; many of which, by the way, already have unpermitted ADUs, which are in operation. Many of the permits that are coming- part of that 5,000 number that I just mentioned is legalizations of existing ADUs and don't really constitute net new units.   Jason Neville: What happened- the trigger was the state law that allowed it. There's been, as you may have been following, in California, a lot of attention to the housing crisis and increasing attention towards solving the policy related issues at the state level, rather than at the local level, where NIMBYism and other issues can get in the way of housing production. Seeing that there was an opportunity, I approached John about starting a small company called Building Blocks, which was a design-permit-build project- excuse me, company. We just wrapped our first project about two weeks ago, and we've got two or three more in the pipeline right now.   Jason Neville: The services we provide, or we have been paid to provide ... The goal is to be an all-in-one ADU development company on behalf of other homeowners, where we provide all of the design, permitting, and construction services. John's a licensed contractor. The value-add to homeowners is that we can provide every step of the process, from A to Z, right within Building Blocks.   Eve Picker: That's pretty great. That's two really innovative products out of the two of you. Are you thinking about another one that you should tell us about?   John Perfitt: We would, but we can't. We're still too early in the determination process.   Eve Picker: Okay. Obviously, you think socially responsible real estate is necessary in today's development landscape, because that's what you're really focusing on. Are there any current trends in real estate development that interest you besides the ones that you're focused on?   John Perfitt: We're constantly thinking about a couple things. At least I am, in RNLA. This may seem small ... There's a real deficit of shade in Los Angeles, and there's a lot of literature out there, recently, about how that's a real negative thing for quality of life, believe it or not. We've figured out, or budgeted for, and are planning for more shade. We need to create shade. It doesn't have to be trees all the time, but we've sort of changed our approach on that.   John Perfitt: We also are constantly thinking about different modes of transportation because that is changing. I guess it would be- one of the trends is that building without parking is ... I've never done that before, and we're doing that routinely. That's sort of the paradigm we go in on these projects. I will say, too, the thing that I'm bullish on, and I've always said, if we can, as practitioners, come up with the right models and the right approaches, we can find the capital.   John Perfitt: That's why we're so excited about not exploring, but diving in with crowdfunding, because I think this represents an opportunity. I think there's a pent-up desire, just amongst my network and talking to folks, with people wanting to ... Especially with the problems of homelessness here in the City of Los Angeles, and other cities, and all over the country, for that matter, seeing those, I think there's just- there's a lot of potential there, and it's just a matter of connecting the dots. I don't think anything we do is just absolutely like, "Oh, that's incredible ..." We're just  figuring things out and connecting the dots.   John Perfitt: As you probably know, there are a lot of people that don't believe that this will ever amount to anything. That's the same thing with the trend that we're embracing of a building small, thinking, small - small ball, as I call it. There's a lot of people saying that's just small time. I don't want to be overly critical, but if you look at the affordable housing real estate delivery mechanism, it's largely failed, if you look at it on a macro basis, in terms of its ability to deliver units to the marketplace.   John Perfitt: We have huge crises all over in large cities. And I've been working at this for 20-25 years. It's been the same tune. Let's blow some things up. I'm hungry for, and I think Jason shares this, too,  for disruption. I don't see it- Construction's not famous for a lot of disruption. Real estate sometimes is. Affordable housing? I don't see it that often. To me, there's some room for disruption out there, and I think that's kind of one of the trends I'm seeing. I'm seeing the trends on things like crowdfunding, and otherwise, and it gets my blood flowing, because I think it's ripe for disruption.   Jason Neville: Yeah, I would echo that and just add that the partnership with a Small Change has allowed us to expose the thinking that we're doing on these projects to a wider audience and to give them some actual skin in the game, both neighbors that might be interested or folks that want to invest. That's a really exciting part, and answers ... It's part of the answer to your question about scale is prototyping this model and demonstrating that it's viable, so that it can be taken to scale by us and other developers.   Eve Picker: Yeah, I think what's happening about that listing is that the pace with which people are investing really early on, clearly a lot of people care about this crisis. The question is how can they pitch in and help? I think people really want to pitch in and help. It's really interesting. We'll see what will happen. Are you aware of any other innovation or disruption in affordable housing or homeless housing that you've seen that is of interest to you?   John Perfitt: Everybody always migrates towards different fabrication technologies, and so forth. I know there are people out there doing hard work on that. I have built, with RNLA, five or six modular projects. I'm hopeful that there is going to be a- that will be the killer app, if you will - infill environments - and in that context. I haven't seen it, and I run these things down.   John Perfitt: When people started talking about container, there was a local manufacturer in Los Angeles that I spent a lot of time with. I thought that was hopeful, because I thought the cost basis would be  low, but ... There are a lot of folks that are spending a lot of time. It's definitely, with the amount of, especially, public capital that's been put out in the marketplace for people to figure out some solutions, which I think ...   John Perfitt: Another thing I'll step back and say is one of the things I think, as a former government employee in community development, and so forth, is if you can come up with programs, especially rental subsidy programs - and that's the beauty of the one that we're using in Bungalow Gardens, is that it's basically said, okay, when you get this thing built, however you get it built, within certain parameters, the money is there.   John Perfitt: It relies on the private market, developers, funders, and so forth to figure it out and then get there. I think that's where the innovation can take place. I know there are people that are working on a lot of things. What we are concerned about, and I'm going to be real frank, is that, again, building departments, as someone that's ran a building department in the past, it's not the dominion of creative thought. It's oftentimes, and for good reasons, many times, it takes a while for innovative products to be accepted there. There's a whole process, at least in a large city like Los Angeles.   John Perfitt: We've tried to keep the technology, on terms of the building stuff, to be pretty traditional, making improvements and learning lessons about how to do it faster, and cheaper each time. But I know there's a lot of other folks, and a lot of my colleagues and friends in cities and otherwise are saying, "Why aren't you going down the modular path?" I would love to sign up ... I've spent a lot of time at the factories kind of preaching the gospel about this sort of infill market being big.   John Perfitt: I just have not seen enough proof positive to compel me, and us, to go in that direction, but I know there's a lot of thinking, and a lot of working. I'm sure you could do a whole episode, and I'm sure you will, with people that are modular builders that will refute what I'm saying. I'm speaking from empirical experience, or empirical evidence of my own personal experience in building these - I don't find them, in a compelling way, to be faster or cheaper.   Eve Picker: No, I actually have found the same thing. I have tried to go modular for a couple of projects and keep thinking about it. In the end, stick-built is cheaper. When you're really trying to get something built that is going to serve a more moderate audience, then you just really have to think about that. I think we're seeing a lot of modular products that are looking like luxury products now, because of that, and that's not really solving a problem [cross talk]   Jason Neville: -ADU example, just to validate what you're both saying ... An ADU market was created overnight throughout California without any innovation in construction technology, or finance, for that matter. It was merely allowing people to do it was the big innovation, because there was so much pent-up demand. Capital is flowing to it.   Jason Neville: There's a industry of ADU builders in Los Angeles, including some that are going to fabrication route, and there's some tech companies that are in the game; people experimenting with leasing out a home ... Companies that will lease out your garage, or master lease your garage from you, convert it to an ADU, handle the property management on behalf of the homeowner, and give the homeowner a cut of the money. After five years or so, the company walks away.   Jason Neville: There's lots of innovation happening, but the part of the problem in California, and other high growth areas of the country is housing just isn't allowed; even the housing that was allowed 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago. For example, in Los Angeles in the 1970s, we down-zoned vast portions of our city from sites that would allow four to eight units down to one unit.   Jason Neville: Ordinances like the one we're taking advantage of, the TOC ordinance, which provide a buy-right permissionless path for housing, along with the subsidies- the operating subsidies John was mentioning, along with parking reductions, along with financial innovations, like the partnership of Small Change, those are all the dots. We aren't seeing, as far as I can tell ... I think we're doing a really good job of connecting all those dots, as John said; that big-picture perspective that comes from our background in broader community development rather than narrow finance, or narrow policy-making, is allowing us to do something really innovative here as a demonstration project.   Eve Picker: Yeah, that brings to mind, I was working on projects in the early 2000s in Pittsburgh, and what ... These buildings are called flipper buildings. They're kind of the interstitial buildings in downtown Pittsburgh that are only 20-feet wide, and over 100-feet deep, and only have windows at the front, and really don't fit into any modern-day zoning or building codes. The City of Pittsburgh, eventually, as we sort of pushed forward with developing these, they did eventually come up with a over-the-counter sort of checklist for developers who wanted to work on these buildings to save them, which was a lot better than what we originally had.   Eve Picker: I think building code departments are capable of innovating; it's just it always takes someone, some initial leader in a community, pushing the envelope and saying, "We've got to do this. We've got to be able to figure out how to renovate our warehouses into lofts. We've got to build smaller buildings that are on smaller lots that are not necessarily permitted in the code." It always takes someone kicking that off, right? It's not going to happen in a vacuum.   John Perfitt: Right. I always thought when this ADU, the changes made, that it might be valuable for ... There's a lot of attention being directed at ADUs by the policymakers and local electeds, and so forth. I thought, why not come up with a pre-approved 20 x 20 garage conversion-esque model that people could ... It'd be a fast pathway; the way that, like that kind of a car port at the building department, that if you just follow this, you get it. It's really fast and easy.   Eve Picker: I think that's a great idea, yeah.   John Perfitt: I do, too, but the countervailing argument that I've experienced, as someone that is in there permitting these things and doing these things, is that just really what we've found, as much as we think our neighborhoods are similar, the conditions, when you go to these backyards are ... We toured 20 backyards, and the prototype that we use only worked in one or two scenarios-   Eve Picker: Wow.   John Perfitt: -so different because [cross talk] of the time, incrementally and organically, things have changed and created new conditions that wouldn't allow the prototypes [cross talk]   Eve Picker: Yeah, yeah, yeah-   John Perfitt: -the thinking on the prototypes is very helpful. You can leverage that into a great solution, but being able to plug and play has been a loose ...   Eve Picker: We have a listener who was dying to know what you think about community engagement tools and which you have seen that have worked. We know you're using crowdfunding as a kind of community engagement tool, but as a non-profit, I'm sure you've thought about this a lot.   John Perfitt: It's interesting. I came from meeting with a organization that works with churches that have underutilized buildings, and so forth, and wants to throw in to help with creating homeless housing. It's a very interesting thing and an interesting question. You're going to get a schizophrenic answer from me, as someone that's worked on all sides of these things.   John Perfitt: Generally, when we pursue homeless housing projects, we try to do them as completely, as Jason said, permissionless. Meaning, we're [hemming] to the zoning code; we're using the incentives. There's a very vocal and, probably with a legitimate point - needing information and good information - but a vocal minority in Los Angeles that could be agitated very easily during the course of an approval process on homeless housing, so we try to avoid public hearings, whenever we can, because this has happened. This is someone that has been on the sponsor side with a project and someone that's been on a neighborhood council.   John Perfitt: We are absolutely willing to talk to anybody and show them probably too much in terms of what the project- under the hood. When we can hem to the code, and not have to do and have public hearings, we won't do it. I don't do that to try to be deceptive in any way. We believe in our product; we believe- we've all voted on this, not only with the zoning code, but we voted in terms- to tax ourselves to fund this. We've already kind of voted, and we're going to move forward on these projects.   John Perfitt: That being said, we are going to go door to door near the Bungalow Gardens project talking to neighbors about the opportunities that this project represents. We have no problem doing that, but we generally avoid - and this is the dirty little secret ... It's really, really, really painstaking in many large cities, especially in California, to entitle a project, even if it's a good project that people want. If you want to go through a protracted zone change or an environmental impact report, and so forth, you're looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars and potential vocal minority killing the project.   John Perfitt: My long-winded sort of schizophrenic answer is were strategic about this, but when we can avoid the retread, if you will - this re-discussing these projects that we've all voted on already - we're going to go forth, because the problem here is production. It's disappointing for me, as a resident of the city, that works here, and lives here, and has dug in here ... When the first few larger-scale homeless housing projects got funding and got- were up for their [inaudible] decisions, and they've got shot down because of a vocal minority.   John Perfitt: There's probably never a good place for a homeless housing project in the eyes of some people, but we like to engage, when we can, when it's appropriate, and strategic, and otherwise, and provide tons of information that is authentic. We don't spin. We know lie. We tell it ... We're probably too honest on a lot of these projects, but when we can avoid that vocal [cross talk]   Eve Picker: Yeah, yeah, yeah-   Jason Neville: -agitating, we will.   Eve Picker: I think Deborah will appreciate that answer, and I do, too, because not many people will actually be honest about that. I've worked in community development myself, and it's extremely difficult. Part of the problem, I think, is that when you're working in an underserved neighborhood, or for an underserved group of people that are often working three jobs to put food on the table, they can't show up to community meetings. They don't have the time to show up at the community meetings, nor do they necessarily have access to the internet or anything else that we expect of everyone to stay informed. You end up with a lopsided group of people.   John Perfitt: Let me add one thing, Eve, if I can, too ... I've talked a lot on this, sorry-   Eve Picker: No, that's okay.   John Perfitt: -there's a straight-up economic reason. It costs money to do outreach. You have to pay people to go out there and do it, oftentimes. The large tax credit projects or other projects that developers do, they've got a team of professionals that go out there and do it. If you're trying to build for $175,000 - $200,000 per unit, which is half the cost of traditional affordable housing, you can't afford it. You don't have the luxury of hiring a public relations firm.   John Perfitt: You can do meetings, but it's going to be me or Jason, on a Saturday, going out there telling you the way it is. That's how we do it. Everybody wants to throw around - my advocate friends and otherwise - that community outreach, community outreach ... I'm down with it. I think it's great, but there's a cost to it. There's a cost to that to the project that has to be borne by the project, and that's another thing that people don't talk about.   Eve Picker: But I think the difference is that you two have the community in mind with what you're doing. Other small developers may not. I think that developers are a really dirty word in this country at the moment, because they are the word that's linked to gentrification.   John Perfitt: Right.   Eve Picker: I think that's why there's so much emphasis on community engagement, but it's so difficult to get it to work, as you shared. Anyway, that's a really tough subject, so I'm going to move away from that [cross talk]   Jason Neville: Eve, you reminded me of something that Andrés Duany said at the Congress for New Urbanism Conference that I went to in Detroit, where I met you and heard from Small Change for the first time, which is that one of the things he said in his keynote was part of the reason people don't want to see development is because development has been so bad in the past-   Eve Picker: Yes.   Jason Neville: -and part of changing the story is to do good development. I think I speak for John here, too; the project that we're delivering is going to be beautiful. It's going to have rooftop solar. It's going to have- it's completely 100-percent accessible for folks with disabilities, so people who have wheelchairs will have full mobility in the units. There will be fire retention gardens in the front to address the city's stormwater management goals, while providing beautiful landscaping. There's rooftop solar.   Jason Neville: It's going to be something that I- this is going to be probably the proudest project I've worked on to date, and I can't wait to show anyone from the community, or elected officials, or anybody else this project. I think that kind of sets- I think that tells people something about the quality of design that we are achieving.   Eve Picker: Yes, that's really great. I have a wrap-up question, and that is: where do you think the future of real estate impact investing lies?   John Perfitt: It's a really good question, and I'm bullish on the ability of smaller-scale projects to be able to raise good sums of money. I'm not an expert on where it's come over the last three or four years, and I know there are a lot of startup things that had to be sorted out, with the cost and otherwise.   John Perfitt: But I've always believed in it the same way that I believe in ... This is what's different, and it's hard to convince people in the marketplace. You go to conferences on affordable housing, and other wise, and, in addition to talking about innovation, people always say, "Oh, there's gotta be more money. Just throw more money at stuff ..." My thing is there's other sources of money out there other than the traditional shrinking ones that are out there, and this represents one.   John Perfitt: If we can prove this equation works ... When I talk about equation, I've been saying this for a long time, that there's got to be a way to reduce costs, streamline the capital stack, and deliver this in a different way. There's an equation that works, and this represents, to me, a way. It doesn't have to be traditional affordable housing. It could be people that are building units in lower-income areas, or straight affordable, and naturally occurring affordable. I think there's a lot of applications. We've got one narrow application of it right here, but to me, it's unbelievable.   John Perfitt: Also, it kind of connects ... What's beautiful about these offerings is that you can just immediately refer someone over, and they can look at it for five minutes and go, "Oh! I get what you're doing! Oh, by the way, I can get involved! By the way [cross talk] this is great. I know someone that's interested."   John Perfitt: That, I'm bullish on. I've been wanting to do this for a while, as I mentioned earlier. I'm bullish because I think there are people out there that once they see that someone has proven that this can work, and it can be ... This is cliché in my world to say, 'double bottom line,' but on our project, if people are making a return and we're achieving a social objective, social policy [cross talk]   Eve Picker: Yeah, that's pretty good.   John Perfitt: That's one of those things, in grad school, they throw around - the double bottom line, and all that stuff - or in annual reports. Well, this ... We're doing it now on a small scale. That begs the question of scale and otherwise that you asked earlier. I'm bullish, Eve; I'm bullish because it's really- it's micro, but the reach is ... The thing that's amazing. It goes down to 81st and Vermont, this project, but the reach is endless. My relatives [cross talk] the world, or their friends of friends of friends of friends of friends could invest in this.   Eve Picker: Yeah.   Jason Neville: John and I both had ... John and I both worked - although we didn't know each other at the time - at the Los Angeles Redevelopment Agency until it dissolved in 2012. When it went away, California lost a really big source of affordable housing funding that was funding this mainstream, somewhat sclerotic affordable housing industry that John was describing earlier.   Jason Neville: I, too, am bullish and think that, as those sources of- traditional sources go away, and as public budgets shrink, and as people realize that the cost to deliver affordable housing is way higher than it ought to be ... I mean, $400,000 to $700,000 per unit to build an affordable housing unit in California is insane. We're doing it for-   John Perfitt: A lot less.   Jason Neville: A lot, a lot less. We're providing value to [cross talk]   Eve Picker: Yes.   Jason Neville: -investing, including the public sector. John, and I, I think part of what makes us good collaborators is ... Well, I'll speak for myself, here. I sort of see myself, first, as a city making intellectual or thinker around these issues. The way that I go about trying to prove some of my thoughts around it is by doing projects. Bungalow Gardens and the ADU projects are definitely me reverse engineering what I think needs to happen in cities and deciding that execution of these projects is how we get there.   Jason Neville: One anecdote to quickly share is that I was talking with the with Chris Redfearn, who runs the USC real estate program or used to. We were talking about how you could create new models in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods where prices are increasing to give neighbors a stake in the project, a literal stake in the project, so that, a) they are more likely to support new projects in their neighborhood, and b) they can benefit from the economic upside of real estate development in their neighborhood. We talked about that about three years ago, and at the time, it just seemed like two people wondering about how things might work. Small Change is giving us that opportunity to do it.   Eve Picker: Well, you know, the way you've verbalized your projects is exactly the way I think about Small Change. I'm reverse engineering a solution around those funds drying up, because my projects, although non-profit when I built them, relied on funds that the Urban Redevelopment Authority had at the time. Those funds gradually dried up, and loan-to-values got lower.   Eve Picker: All of those things kind of made the business of building projects that are impactful and not just financially driven really difficult. My ultimate dream for Small Change is that we can fund projects like yours, or we can help you find- connect you with people who want to help you. That would be a fantastic solution, wouldn't it?   Jason Neville: Absolutely.   Eve Picker: We're just starting, so ... Well, I have three sign-off questions I ask everyone, because I want to see what everyone ... Everyone thinks differently about this. The first is what's the key factor that makes a real estate project impactful for you?   John Perfitt: To me, if people can view it as ... It's really a positive externality, if it really is viewed as an asset to the neighborhood, irrespective of its use or otherwise. It can have staying power and can have positive externality. I think that's what's really, really ...   Eve Picker: How about you, Jason?   Jason Neville: I agree with that. There's a conversation that one of my favorite voices in urbanism, Alissa Walker, here in Los Angeles, was posing a question recently online. What's a project in Los Angeles that people are excited about after it got built that they were welcomed and thought this really made the neighborhood better? I thought that was a great question to ask. I feel like, to answer your question, a project is impactful, if you can point to it and other people will look at it and say, "I want that in my neighborhood." [cross talk]   Eve Picker: So, it's something that makes a place better. Yep. Yeah.   Jason Neville: -real estate ... We have a problem in the real estate industry; even saying 'the real estate industry' sounds bad to a lot of people. I'm interested in changing the game, because every house that anyone lives in, any office that someone works in, any place you go to was built by developers at some point ... I like to think of real estate as you get a little piece of the city to build. It's our responsibility to build it well and build it enduring as a piece of this broader city.   Jason Neville: Also, one other thing that with our particular project is we are hopefully making a ... Although it's only eight units, we're helping put a dent in a very, very serious problem/crisis here around homelessness. I'm very interested, and I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm looking forward to meeting some of the folks that are living there and finding out how their lives were changed and, if it works, share those stories to other folks in the city - residents and officials - to demonstrate how these smaller-scale projects are making an impact, in the positive impact on the neighborhood and in the lives of the people who are living there.   Eve Picker: That actually segues right into the second question, which is what's the one thing in real estate development that you would change to improve buildings and physical places in the country?   John Perfitt: I think flexibility, and this has to do with building code, zoning code, and lenders. One of the things that has been liberating of working on the small-scale and otherwise is that we're able to find a place where there is flexibility, so we can think about different ways of solving problems. The zoning code ... When I've worked on the city side and we put in place what, here in California, we call specific plans, I was always arguing for how can we set forth code that is smart and will yield what we want to build, but gets flexibility, because we just cannot predict the future, in terms of the way things are going to go and the technologies that are going to emerge. Flexibility is something I think that is really helpful. That gets back to what I said about rental subsidies. People say, "Here's your rental subsidy. You have the flexibility now to figure out what's the best way to get from here to there."   Eve Picker: Yeah, that's an interesting answer. What about you, Jason?   Jason Neville: Well, my answer to that question has evolved over time, and has tracked my migration from different facets of urban planning and development. Five, or six, or seven, or 10 years ago, I would've said what we need is really robust urban design guidelines to ensure that these horrible developers everywhere are contributing to our neighborhood.   Jason Neville: Being on the side of enforcing design guidelines, I found myself in awkward situations, where we had folks who were trying to do- developers and their architects trying to do a really beautiful, interesting projects that weren't allowed [cross talk] weren't foreseen by the developers of those design guidelines.   Jason Neville: Today, my answer is we need a level of public-minded, public-spirited developers in the real estate industry who are modeling good behavior for everybody else and that are passionate about it. I would like to think that John and I are two of those people. If we can make it work financially, then that is something that will make it ... I think a lot of developers don't particularly care about the design, per se. They're looking at other aspects of it, and that's fine. If we can model a particular typology that makes financial sense, that helps scale it, that helps bring capital to it, and that helps make the city better.   Eve Picker: The final question is that you're using crowdfunding for this project, and other than raising money, how do you think crowdfunding might benefit you as real estate developers?   John Perfitt: I think actually it's going to add an element of exposure, which is not just spin. This is a real project. The reach of that, it could help with people seeing a new model, new methodology. It's also going to inject a certain element of discipline. We want to show this, and it's very public, if this works, and we want to make sure that all of our objectives for development, as well as profitability and otherwise, are met because we're pledging this.   John Perfitt: We know crowdfunding is an equity or an investment that people could lose, but we're not going to allow that to happen. Two things. There's a there's a new exposure, a heightened level of a different way of approaching it and doing things. Then there's a discipline injected into this that I think is really energizing for me [cross talk]   Jason Neville: I agree with everything John said and would just add that one of my lessons learned from the ADU experience over the past couple of years is that one of the big opponents of ADUs, initially, when the city was trying to pass [its own] ordinance was homeowners who had fears, amorphous fears, about density, and parking, and everything else.   Jason Neville: When the law was passed that allowed homeowners to do it, homeowners became- are now some of the strongest advocates for ADUs, because they are, in a sense, the developers. The miracle, in my opinion, about the ADU legislation as it turned one of the biggest opponents of a particular form of housing into some of its strongest advocates. It was transformational in that regard. I think crowdfunding can do something along the same lines.   Jason Neville: I know people that would never have the means to invest in regular traditional real estate development, or they would be scared, but this project- like the ones that we're doing, they can put in low amounts, and have a little piece of it, and get exposure to it, and be bought into this idea that great architecture and great real estate development can make cities better and be a part of it. I see it as a as kind of marketing, so to speak, for good real estate development [cross talk] upside, yeah.   Eve Picker: Yeah. Well, thank you, guys. I've really enjoyed the conversation, and I am really excited about the current project that's live on Small Change. Also, I'm excited to hear about the next thing that you're working on. I'm going to be the first to know, right?   John Perfitt: Of course, we're very bullish. You're doing great work. Small Change is doing great work, which is badly needed and has the potential to be very disruptive. I think that's just fantastic [cross talk]   Eve Picker: That was the other thing I wanted to add to your comment. Disruption and change is really hard, and it takes a long time. It takes early adopters or early disruptors like you and perhaps me to kick something off and then be patient, while people get used to the idea. It takes a while. Most people don't like that sort of change and come to it slowly. I'm married to one of them, so  I appreciate it. Okay, well, thank you very much.   John Perfitt: Thank you, Eve.   Jason Neville: Thank you, Eve.   Eve Picker: Thank you.   John Perfitt: All the best.   Eve Picker: What a great conversation that was with John Perfitt, and Jason Neville. John and Jason are tackling many problems with just one little project. Not only will that project serve homeless persons by providing them with compact and dignified living, but they are stepping back in time to a housing typology that died in the 1950s - the bungalow court - to solve a modern-day problem.   You can find out more about impact real estate investing and access the show notes for today's episode at my website, EvePicker.com. While you're there, sign up to my newsletter to find out more about how to make money in real estate while building better cities. Thank you so much for spending your time with me today, and thanks to Jason and John. We'll talk again soon, but for now, this is Eve Picker signing off to go make some change.  

How can we fight a War on Cars when cars might be turning into the last bastion of affordable housing in many cities and suburbs? In this episode, we talk about how the crises in transportation, housing and climate are converging in California parking lots — some of which are becoming de facto communities. Stepping in to help us understand what's going on in the Golden State is Alissa Walker, who writes for Curbed LA and cohosts LA Podcast. Support The War on Cars on Patreon and receive stickers, T-shirts, exclusive access to special audio content and more. Buy an official War on Cars T-shirt at Cotton Bureau. Rate and review The War On Cars on iTunes. Show Notes: Alissa Walker drills down on SB50 and other (so-far failed) legislation to address California's twin crises of transportation and housing. Follow her on Twitter for all the latest on LA's streets. Mark Horvath talks to people who have become homeless on his YouTube channel, Invisible People (his interview with Conrad, a veteran living in an LA parking lot, is here). You can find out more about him and support his work on his Patreon page. Safe Parking LA advocates for the interests of people who have become homeless and are living in their cars. The Public Policy Institute of California has a snapshot of the state's growing homelessness problem. In this NPR story, you'll hear from a California woman who is leasing a car through Uber so she can have a place to live. 99 Percent Invisible did an episode about the dream (or nightmare) of vertical trailer park living in Ready Player One. Henry Grabar writes about the “I've got mine” worldview of America's gerontocracy for Slate.

Episode 28. Greg Lindsay chats with Curbed's Urbanism Editor Alissa Walker about changing behavior and moving beyond cars. Greg and Alissa take a deep dive into the Los Angeles mobility scene, from walkable urbanism, micromobility options and dedicated bus lanes to congestion pricing and SB 50.

Episode 28. Greg Lindsay chats with Curbed's Urbanism Editor Alissa Walker about changing behavior and moving beyond cars. Greg and Alissa take a deep dive into the Los Angeles mobility scene, from walkable urbanism, micromobility options and dedicated bus lanes to congestion pricing and SB 50.

From Curbed: Alissa Walker connects people with where they live through writing, speaking, and walking. As the urbanism editor at Curbed, she authors the column Word on the Street, highlighting the pioneering transit, clever civic design, and game-changing policy affecting our cities. Alissa on Curbed The Midnight Charette is now The Second Studio. SUBSCRIBE  • Apple Podcasts  • YouTube  • Spotify CONNECT  • Website: www.secondstudiopod.com • Instagram • Facebook • Twitter  • Call or text questions to 213-222-6950 SUPPORT Leave a review :) EPISODE CATEGORIES  •  Interviews: Interviews with industry leaders.   •  After Hours (AH): Casual conversations about everyday life.  •  Design Reviews: Reviews of creative projects and buildings.  •  Fellow Designer: Tips for designers.

Negin begins a much needed a holiday break in this episode featuring an cast of Fake The Nation All Stars. Negin is joined by Catie Lazarus, Benari Poulten, Carolyn Castiglia, Sydnee Washington, and Alissa Walker to talk about the beautifully complicated subject of having, raising, and genetically modifying children.This episode is sponsored by G.H. Mumm (www.ghmummvictory.com), Living Proof (www.livingproof.com/FAKE code: FAKE), and Blinkist (www.blinkist.com/FAKE).

Catie Lazarus (Employee of The Month) and Alissa Walker (Curbed, LA Podcast) join Negin to discuss a truly terrible week and how much the current political climate has to do with it (spoiler: a lot). Then, they discuss whether or not stories like Trump’s threat of ending birthright citizenship are just noise that don’t even merit reporting. Finally, with the midterms around the corner, the trio discuss a New York Times piece on how to turn someone into a voter.This episopde is sponsored by Vistaprint (www.vistaprint.com code: FAKE), Care/Of (www.takecareof.com code: FAKE) and Away (www.awaytravel.com/FAKE code: FAKE).

Journalist Alissa Walker is fully invested in her city, and you can be too! On today's show, we're talking about taking the first steps toward making a meaningful connection with your city. Also, Jeff and Alissa chat about looking good on a bike, the need to end car culture in Los Angeles, and whether she's running in 2020. New to the show? Check out the podcast archives for interviews with Rhea Butcher, Jake Weisman, Sara Benincasa, and MORE!                    Wanna support the show? Throw down your best review and star rating to help spread the word! We're also on Twitter at (@exitstrategypod) or available by email at exitstrategypod@gmail.com Communicate with the show! Prove people really read episode descriptions!

Alissa Walker – urbanism editor at Curbed – discusses how you can create change by documenting your city, including how to find your voice, choose your platform, and get people behind your ideas. 

A first of its kind for Gimme Shelter: A crossover episode! Matt and Liam join comedy writer and all around smart guy Hayes Davenport, Curbed editor Alissa Walker, and housing guru Scott Frazier of L.A. Podcast to talk about the intersection of state and local housing policy in L.A. If you're interested in good local news podcasts, you should subscribe to them: https://lapodcast.simplecast.fm/

Alissa Walker returns! More shady LAPD and Sheriff's Department stories, like five of them! Another bike lane in danger in Silver Lake! Wasted tax incentives for downtown hotels! The president wants to cut 200,000 LA jobs and clear-cut the Los Padres National forest! And our biggest Prop, Lock and Drop It ever: Prop 5 (really Prop 13)!

ALISSA WALKER returns to talk about Proud Boys in Atwater Village, two wild LA Times lawsuits, another lawsuit in Santa Monica over its elections, California reaching its 2020 emissions goals four years early, ants, and the first two propositions on the state ballot for November.

Alissa Walker (@awalkerinLA) from Curbed.LA joins us at Ground Game HQ for a wide ranging discussion about the state of the city, the future of transportation, and how to make development more transparent. Curbed is part of a growing movement for more local coverage. As Los Angeles journalism is roiled by buyouts, union busting, and cuts to staff more nimble organizations are establishing themselves as more than niche sources. Curbed has been especially committed to tracking development across the city and showing how effective this can be in setting the narrative. You can check out more coverage from Curbed: https://la.curbed.com/ And for their Beginner's Guide to LA: https://la.curbed.com/2018/6/21/17456050/guide-la-tips-moving-renting-homes

Alissa Walker is the urbanism editor at Curbed where she writes about cities, infrastructure, transportation, and policy. Before that, she was the urbanism editor at Gizmodo and has written extensively about design, cities, and architecture for places like Design Observer, Dwell, Fast Company, the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times. In this episode, Alissa and I talk about the differences between writing about designed objects and writing about the city, the role of the critic, and how she writes about government, policy, and transportation through the lens of design.

Huge get: the great ALISSA WALKER, Urbanism editor at Curbed, joins for the entire episode as a third host. Scott and Hayes talk to her about the Bird scooters reproducing across the city, LA's disappearing tree canopy, and why Silver Lake is fighting real hard to save a gas station.

Urban journalist and advocate Alissa Walker abandoned her car ten years ago in favor of a pedestrian lifestyle, a move which led to an expansive career as an urbanist and urban advocate that coincides with watershed moments in online journalism and the urban renaissance. What sets Alissa apart, though, is her dedication to online discourse and general optimism about how we can solve our urban issues set her apart. In a time where tribalism reigns, Alissa welcomes the immediacy of online engagement with people of differing opinions “because it only makes me want to find even better solutions to problems.” Listen to Alissa talk about her journalistic practice dedicated to “looking at LA problems and trying to figure out how we can solve problems in a way that help the most people, whether it's homelessness or transportation or housing or trying to get a ferry running in Santa Monica Bay” and how she “welcome[s] people to challenge my ideas, to tell me that I'm wrong, because it only makes me want to find even better solutions to problems.” For links to some of the things we talked about, check out the showpage.

If you're from any part of America besides Los Angeles, you've probably dissed the California city at one point or another. It's full of smog, traffic and vain movie stars, right? But that narrative misses out on so much of what L.A. has to offer. Not only is the city an exciting and rewarding place to live for many people, it's also, surprisingly, a great place to raise a family and — believe it or not — a good place to walk and bike. Alissa Walker is living proof of this. She's the Urbanism Editor for Curbed and a long-time resident of Los Angeles. She's made the city work for her and actually says that walking or biking is often easier than driving in her neighborhood. When she realized this a few years back, she ditched her car and has been enjoying bus rides, bike rides and walks with her family ever since. She's also watched the city around her change as investments in public space, walking, biking and transit grow. Alissa's hopeful that cities like hers will continue to figure out ways to welcome and accommodate families.  This thoughtful and fun conversation with Alissa Walker will challenge your Los Angeles stereotypes and help you think about what it means to build a family- and woman-friendly city.

Alissa Walker on how walking changes your relationship to everything — time and the rhythms of your day, your community, and your creativity.

Curbed's L.A.-based Urbanism editor, Alissa Walker, joins the Appeal hosts to talk infrastructure and the election, living car-free in the car-loving City of Angels, and the future of transportation in the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Colin Marshall sits down in Silver Lake with Alissa Walker, writer on urban design, architecture, and the cityscape — especially Los Angeles' — for publications like GOOD, Dwell, the LA Weekly, and more. She also associate-produces KCRW's DnA: Design and Architecture. They discuss Sunset Triangle Plaza, the area of reclaimed street where they sit, and what it says about the Angeleno "mind shift" toward getting out of the car; how many small, cheap improvements can alter the urban experience in the same way as a few large, expensive ones; her friends' lingering fear of getting "all sweaty" while riding bicycles, buses, and trains; the complacency Los Angeles instilled in its residents in the seventies, eighties, and even nineties; increasing the "stumble upon" factor in a large, spread-out city; her experience building a more accurate narrative of Los Angeles, a city that hasn't done much to brand itself lately, than the ones in the New York Times; the urban projects that work in this city and the ones, like a "living wall" being torn down right behind them, that don't; Los Angeles' tendency to create spaces in which to compress and imitate itself; the lack of markers, literally and figuratively, to show you "where the stuff is"; learning and showing Los Angeles through its architecture, and other works of public design more interesting than the artisanal chairs so popular last decade; her part in the GOOD Ideas for Cities project, especially when it went to her native St. Louis, and how it got her thinking about the possibilities of American cities; and her recommendations on how best to keep your eyes on the streets in Los Angeles.

Alissa Walker discusses her experience in advertising, her love affair with LA and of course, gelato.