5 interviews from CNU that are worth a listen (plus a video)
The 25th Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) kicks off this week in Seattle. Strong Towns often uses this large convening of smart, interesting people to record interviews for our podcast. We'll likely do a few of those this year, but in the meantime, we're sharing five fantastic podcast interviews from last year's CNU. Many of the people featured below will also be making appearances in Seattle this week.
Janette Sadik-Khan
In this interview, Janette Sadik-Khan discusses her experience as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation, focusing on bottom-up action through smaller projects like plazas and bike access, instead of megaprojects that cost millions.
Lynn Richards
Lynn Richards is the President and CEO of CNU. In this conversation, Chuck Marohn and Richards discuss the strategy behind CNU24's creative, Detroit-based Congress, as well as what's currently going on in the City of Detroit. Lynn Richards also dives into the history and growth of CNU.
Chuck Marohn interviews Janette Sadik-Khan
Johnny Sanphillippo and Chuck Marohn Debate Detroit
Chuck and Strong Towns member and contributor, Johnny Sanphillippo discuss their dueling essays about Detroit. Read Chuck's initial essay, "A Promise Impossible to Keep," then check out Johnny's response, "The Doughtnut of Despair? Not Quite."
A mural in Detroit (Photo by Johnny Sanphillippo)
Andres Duany
Andres Duany is an American architect and urban planner working at the firm DPZ, a co-founder of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), and the author of several books including Suburban Nation. He's also an inspiration for Strong Towns thinking. In this interview, Chuck Marohn and Andres Duany discuss the founding and growth of the new urbanist movement, gentrification, and the future of the suburbs.
An Interview with Strong Towns All-Star Members
Chuck Marohn had the chance to interview several Strong Towns members together at CNU24 in Detroit. They share their backgrounds and how they came to be members of Strong Towns.
Live Stream from Last Year's Debate
At the 2016 CNU, Strong Towns hosted a live debate tackling two pressing, contentious topics: gentrification and autonomous cars. Debaters included Ronak Gandhi, Kristin Jeffers, Alexander Dukes, Eric Kronberg, Ian Ross, Seth Zeren and Johnny Sanphillippo. Watch the live stream below (apologies for the low quality). We'll be live streaming this year's debate as well so keep an eye on our Facebook page for that.
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If you're in the Seattle area this week, don't miss two free, public Strong Towns events happening in conjunction with CNU. Strong Towns President, Chuck Marohn, and board member John Reuter will both be hanging out in Seattle on Thursday and Friday, along with tons of Strong Towns members, so say hi if you see them!
(Top photo by Johnny Sanphillipo from CNU24 in Detroit)