Best Civics Radio Network Podcasts (2025)

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184. AI enters city planning, everything changes_PX 53:15

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17d ago53:15

53:15

In this episode of PlanningXchange, we speak with Scott Matheson, Head of Planning at MyLot, an Australian AI technology company focused on simplifying the planning process for councils and communities. With a background in statutory planning across local government, consultancies, and the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning, Scott bring…

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183. Designing for Exchange: Public Markets and Civic Life_PX 1:03:05

2M ago1:03:05

1:03:05

In this episode of PlanningXchange, we speak with Professor Alfonso Morales and Edna Ely-Ledesma of the University of Wisconsin-Madson about the unique and often overlooked role of public markets in shaping vibrant, inclusive urban environments. Drawing on their research and on-the-ground experience, they share insights into how markets serve not j…

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182. Inside the Mind of a Developer: A Conversation with Max Shifman_PX 57:13

3M ago57:13

57:13

In PX130 our guest is Max Shifman, Chief Executive Officer of Intrapac Property, one of Australia's most respected private developers. Max brings a wealth of experience to the discussion, having worked across master-planned communities, regional housing projects, and complex urban redevelopments mainly along Australia’s eastern seaboard. His backgr…

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181. Charter Cities, new approach to city making in the Developing World_PX 54:05

3M ago54:05

54:05

In PX129 our guest is Jeffrey Mason of the Charter Cities Institute. Jeffrey joined CCI as a Researcher in 2019. His research interests include urban economics, structural transformation, special economic zones, and technology ecosystems. He has worked on policy advisory projects in Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, and Honduras, among other countries. Pr…

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180. Emergent Tokyo: Designing the Spontaneous City (author Jorge Almazan)_PX 58:08

4M ago58:08

58:08

In PX128 our guest is architect and author Jorge Almazan. Jorge is a Tokyo-based architect and associate professor at Keio University. He holds a degree in architecture from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and a PhD from the Tokyo Institute of Technology. His practice focuses on ecologically responsible and socially inclusive design, ranging f…

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179. Sherlock Holmes, City Making + Popular Culture_PX 50:41

5M ago50:41

50:41

In PX127 our guest is architect, former academic and author Dr Derham Groves. He studied architecture at Deakin University and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and art history at the University of Minnesota. He taught architecture at RMIT from 1985 to 1997 and the University of Melbourne from 1999 to 2019 and was a Senior Fellow in the F…

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Moms For Liberty in Las Vegas 37:15

6M ago37:15

37:15

Moms for Liberty ran three candidates for elected positions in the Las Vegas area. Two of them, Lorena Biasoti and Lydia Dominguez, won their races for Clark County School District Trustee. One, Tim Underwood, lost his bid to join the State Board of Education. We talked to Teddy Wilson, who tracks extremist groups, about who Moms for Liberty is and…

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The Law That Upended Food Carts (Unintentionally) 28:50

6M ago28:50

28:50

In 2023, the Nevada legislature passed a bill regulating sidewalk vendors. You know, the people who sell corn and shaved ice in various parks, and near your grocery store. The law, SB92, was the first ever to regulate these micro-businesses. Many of the people who run food carts are immigrants, who are reaching for the American dream. But the regul…

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Puppy Mills and Animal Overcrowding 37:00

6M ago37:00

37:00

Last summer, Henderson police went to a house to investigate a complaint from a neighbor. Police found the owners were running a puppy mill. That is, they were breeding young, female dogs and selling their pups for $2,000-$5,000. The residents had 39 dogs. 34 of them were French Bulldogs. Four of them were pregnant. There were also two horses, over…

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Introducing the Civics Radio Network 45:05

6M ago45:05

45:05

The Civics Radio Network came out of a collaboration between Carrie Kaufman and Ashton Ridley to develop programming for KUNV Radio that had to do with civics and young people. They hit upon a 2-step process: a bootcamp to teach students civics and journalism, and a podcast for them to share what they learned. Ashton and Carrie talk about the proce…

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You May Not Live in Las Vegas (Even if you live in Las Vegas) 27:48

6M ago27:48

27:48

So... Las Vegas isn't really in Las Vegas. Most people who live here don't know that. And most people who live here don't live in Las Vegas. About 650,000 people live in Las Vegas proper. That's represented by the green areas of the map above. The blue area is North Las Vegas - which is an actual city, not a description. Almost 300,000 people live …

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178. Key to the City: How Zoning Shapes the World: Sara Bronin 51:56

6M ago51:56

51:56

Our guest is Sara Bronin a Mexican-American architect and attorney whose interdisciplinary research focuses on how law and policy can foster more equitable, sustainable, well-designed, and connected places. She is the author of 'Key to the City: How Zoning Shapes Our World', and she founded and directs the National Zoning Atlas, which aims to digit…

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177. Ten years of PlanningxChange, Ai review 38:22

7M ago38:22

38:22

In this episode, Jess and Pete reflect on the tenth anniversary of the PlanningxChange podcast. This discussion occurs before an Ai review of the planningxchange podcast series. A rather indulgent episode to mark the anniversary!For podcast extra / culture corner, Jess recommends making pizzas at home with the family. Her New Year resolution is to …

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176. Creating great public toilets (new research)_PX 45:15

7M ago45:15

45:15

Katherine is a social planning practitioner with over 14 years’ experience working for a range of government and non-government organisations in Australia and the Pacific. Katherine has considerable experience in developing and implementing community plans, programs and policy to improve social inclusion and participation. Katherine was awarded the…

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175. Market solutions to the housing crisis / factoring in the burdens of regulation_PX 53:29

8M ago53:29

53:29

In PX123 our guest is Bryan Caplan. Bryan is Professor of Economics at George Mason University and a New York Times Bestselling author. We interview him about his ground breaking graphic novel ‘Build, Baby, Build - The Science and Ethics of Housing Regulation’.The book is described: 'In Build, Baby, Build: The Science and Ethics of Housing Regulati…

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174. Crime + City Planning - what works_PX 1:00:59

9M ago1:00:59

1:00:59

In PX122 our guest is Rafael Mangual a distinguished writer and researcher on crime issues in cities and regions. He is the Nick Ohnell Fellow at the Manhattan Institute (MI), a contributing editor of City Journal, and a member of the Council on Criminal Justice. His first book, Criminal (In)Justice, was released in July 2022. He has authored and c…

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173. Big leap planning systems and ways of place, Calvin Po_PX 49:30

10M ago49:30

49:30

In PX121 our guest is Calvin Po (https://www.calvinpo.com).Calvin Po is a strategic designer at Dark Matter Labs, co-leading the Radicle Civics portfolio, where he explores institutional and governance systems as sites of design. He has led projects with the Scottish Government’s Land Commission on land governance reform, the Taiwanese Government o…

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172. Innovative university and planning programs in Japan (Tokyo U)_PX 50:23

11M ago50:23

50:23

In PX120 our guest is Assistant Professor Akane Bessho, Ph.D of the Housing and Urban Analysis Laboratory, Department of Engineering, The University of Tokyo. Information about Akane’s work is at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Akane-Bessho-2and her website is: https://www.akanebessho.comAkane has a wide range of research projects and field wo…

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171. New ways of finding out community attitudes_PX 1:06:37

12M ago1:06:37

1:06:37

In PX119 our guests is Kylie Legge of Place Score (https://www.placescore.org/about-place-score/).Kylie is a leading voice in placemaking, an architecture graduate, planner, place maker, author, facilitator, curator and entrepreneur. She is founding Director of Place Partners, a multidisciplinary placemaking consultancy based in Sydney, Australia a…

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170. YIMBY Melbourne, new solutions to the housing crisis_PX 1:10:59

1y ago1:10:59

1:10:59

In PX118 our guests are Jonathan O’Brien and Jonathan Nolan of YIMBY Melbourne.Details of YIMBY Melbourne are at https://www.yimby.melbourneYIMBY Melbourne seeks a ‘People-led’ ‘Grassroots’ ‘For Housing Abundance.’ The YIMBY website states: ‘A better Melbourne is possible. A Melbourne that is affordable, liveable, and sustainable. A city that is wa…

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169. New Urbanism 2.0++ in Georgia, the Trilith Experience 1:04:16

1y ago1:04:16

1:04:16

In PX117 our guest is Rob Parker, President of Trilith Development, LLC. Rob oversees with a development team the continued growth of the Trilith Township and Film Studios. Trilith is located on the edge of Altana in Fayette County, Georgia. Trilith is in the advance guard of new urbanism practices. Details at https://www.trilith.comTrilith is a la…

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168. Planning notes and symbols; the value of academic input (Stephen Rowley)_PX 1:15:59

1y ago1:15:59

1:15:59

In PX116 our guest is Stephen Rowley. Stephen is the author of two books, ‘Movie Towns and Sitcom Suburbs: Building Hollywood’s Ideal Communities’ and ‘The Victorian Planning System: Practice, Problems and Prospects’. In February 2022 he was made of a Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia, the citation included: ‘Over the first 20 years of …

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167. Professional coaching for built environment workers_PX 51:30

1+ y ago51:30

51:30

In PX115 our guest is Liz Mackevicius. Liz is an urban planner who has taken a new role as an organisational coach for those in the built environment industry. She will be leading the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) program ‘Pathway to Lead’. Information about the program, and the link to register for the session is:https://www.planning.org.a…

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166. New Urbanism / Hampstead Montgomery AL / Anna Lowder_PX 55:00

1+ y ago55:00

55:00

In PX114, our interview guest is Anna Lowder, a co-founder and director of Hampstead, a New Urbanist community in Montgomery, Alabama, inspired by her experiences while living in London before returning to Montgomery. Established in 2008, the 416-acre master-planned residential and mixed-use development features homes, townhomes, condos, apartments…

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165. Spinners and vertiports, new elements in the 21st century city_PX 54:36

1+ y ago54:36

54:36

Episode PX113 of PlanningxChange is all about Advanced Aerial Mobility (AAM) aircraft, these are typically electric or hybrid powered, air taxis and the like. They have appeared in various science fiction films such as Blade Runner 2019 and Blade Runner 2049 (nicknamed ‘spinners’). They will soon be appearing above our cities and towns. Clem Newton…

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164. Office building to residential conversions: not so easy_PX 1:02:57

1+ y ago1:02:57

1:02:57

In PX112, our interview guest is Jessica Lee, a principal architect at Fender Katsalidis Architects (fkaustralia.com).Jessica discusses the ‘Alba’ project, the conversion of a 1970’s former office building into 150 rooms of age appropriate housing (retirement accommodation and aged care). The site is located within South Melbourne, an inner city su…

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163. Drone Delivery - Coming to a sky near you_PX 1:09:16

1+ y ago1:09:16

1:09:16

In PX111, our interview guest is Jesse Suskin, Head of Government Relations & Public Policy at Wing Aviation (https://wing.com). We talk all things drone delivery particularly the experience learnt in Logan Queensland, Australia where there has been extensive delivery operations over a lengthy time period. Wing Aviation is an offshoot of Google’s p…

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162. The Romans - city life, amongst the ancients_PX 1:09:24

1+ y ago1:09:24

1:09:24

In PX110, our interview guest is Professor Tim Parkin, we talk all things Roman, particularly their city life.Tim Parkin joined the Classics and Archaeology department at the University of Melbourne in 2018 as the inaugural Elizabeth and James Tatoulis Chair in Classics. Before this he had spent over 11 years as Professor of Ancient History at the …

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161. Return of the native: bio improvements, one lot at a time_PX 52:33

2y ago52:33

52:33

In PX109, our interview guest is Professor Douglas (Doug) Tallamy, the author of many nature books and co - founder along with Michelle Alfandari of Homegrown National Park (https://homegrownnationalpark.org). Homegrown National Parks is a grassroots call - to - action to regenerate biodiversity and ecosystem function by planting native plants and …

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160. Drug and alcohol rehabilitation: helping others help themselves_PX 1:04:54

2y ago1:04:54

1:04:54

In PX108, our interview guest is Dr Stefan Gruenert, the CEO of Odyssey House Victoria. Odyssey House Victoria is a state-wide, specialist treatment organisation dedicated to improving the lives of individuals who experience significant or long-term problems from alcohol and other drug use.Stefan describes the work of Odyssey House and the clients …

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159. Shining bright, modest and successful across cultures_PX 51:24

2y ago51:24

51:24

In PX107, our interview guest is Kate Hardwick an exceptional planning professional originally from Australia who now works in South East Asia. Kate takes the listener on a fascinating journey describing her professional career. Along the way she offers tips to those starting out and also to those seeking a new direction after a number of years in …

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158. Smart Cities Technologies - great promise (and a few concerns)_PX 50:28

2y ago50:28

50:28

In PX106, our interview guest is James Vincent who is the CTO at NCS NEXT Australia, a global digital, data and cloud services consultancy (https://www.ncs.co/en-au/next/). James is a senior people leader with 25 years’ commercial IT experience and an established authority in large-scale strategic transformation in enterprise environments and deliv…

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157. Student digs today_PX 47:35

2y ago47:35

47:35

In PX105, our interview guest is Torie Brown, Executive Director of the Student Accommodation Council. The Council was formed in 2022 by the Property Council to give a voice to the critically important purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) sector which provides homes for over 76,500 students per year, a figure that continues to grow. https://w…

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156. Libraries forever_PX 50:15

2y ago50:15

50:15

In PX104, our interview guest is Vanessa Schernickau, the Chief Executive Officer of the Geelong Regional Library Corporation (GRLC). The GRLC provides library and information services to residents and visitors across the Geelong region on behalf of five local government councils.The network consists of a central library, 18 community libraries, th…

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155. Front and centre_PX 1:00:35

2+ y ago1:00:35

1:00:35

In PX103, our interview subject is Tim Jackson, a +40 year veteran of local government in Victoria and South Australia. Tim recently retired for a second time from the paid workforce after completing his four year role as the State Government appointed Administrator at the District of Council of Coober Pedy in South Australia in February. This was …

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154. Heritage, thru a looking glass_PX 48:18

2+ y ago48:18

48:18

In this episode, PlanningxChange delves into the history of heritage conservation in Australia. James Lesh is an urban historian specialising in heritage conservation. He is interested in the potential for history and heritage to enhance cities, places and society.His latest book is Values in Cities: Urban Heritage in Twentieth-Century Australia (R…

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153. Canberra, how is the experiment going?_PX 1:07:50

2+ y ago1:07:50

1:07:50

In PX101 our guests are Natalia Weglarz and Peter Johns. Natalia is a planner at the Canberra office of WSP (www.wsp.com). She has been in Canberra for eight years, prior to that she was in Sydney and the UK. Peter Johns has lived in Canberra since the mid 1960's and has worked as a planner in Canberra over several decades.They describe the history…

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152. Live Free_PX 1:32:43

2+ y ago1:32:43

1:32:43

To celebrate our 100th episode of the PlanningxChange podcast series we re-interview four of our previous guests. We ask them about their experiences with the podcast and what has happened in their professional sphere since their earlier interview.To begin with, Jess has a brief introduction where she explains the origins of PX and the subsequent j…

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151. Next to Nature (the thrill of landscape architecture)_PX 48:55

2+ y ago48:55

48:55

In PlanningxChange episode 99 our guest is Alex Fenech, a landscape architect based in Florida. At the time we recorded the interview Alex was a Vice President at EDSA (https://www.edsaplan.com) one of America’s leading landscape and urban design firms. Alex is the past President of ALSA Florida (American Society of Landscape architects) - https://…

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150. Magic, festivals, fun, risk and culture_PX 51:33

3y ago51:33

51:33

In PlanningxChange episode 98 our guest is Tim Ellis one of the world’s leading magicians. Details about Tim are found at https://www.timellismagic.com and at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Ellis_(magician)What do magic and city planning have in common? The connection to this episode is Tim organising the Melbourne Magic Festival - MMF (https://…

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149. A painter's feelings on cities; a song for everyone_PX 57:37

3y ago57:37

57:37

In PlanningxChange episode 97 our guest is David Beaumont one of Australia's leading landscape and portrait painters. David is based in the historic seaside town of Queenscliff. From there he embarks on various solitary sojourns to the outback to immerse himself in the breadth and depth of the Australian landscape. He is also a frequent observer of…

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148. The census, counting the beat_PX 1:08:11

3y ago1:08:11

1:08:11

In PlanningxChange episode 96 our guest is Simon Kuestenmacher one of Australia’s leading demographers.Simon is a Director and Co-founder of The Demographics Group based in Melbourne, Australia.Simon holds degrees in geography from leading universities in Berlin and Melbourne and worked for several years as a business consultant with KPMG Australia…

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147. Brighter data, better cities_PX 50:29

3y ago50:29

50:29

In PlanningxChange episode 95 our guest is Lucinda Hartley. Her bio reads as follows: ‘Urban designer turned entrepreneur, Lucinda Hartley uses big data to measure the quality of life and wellbeing of neighbourhoods. She is a co-founder of Neighbourlytics, a social analytics platform which has created data for more than 500 neighbourhoods in over 1…

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146. New approaches to a very old problem_PX 1:01:02

3y ago1:01:02

1:01:02

In PlanningxChange episode 94 our guest is Laura Gannon an Associate Director at Meridan Urban with almost 20 years of experience in strategic land use planning, bushfire risk and community resilience across both the public and private sectors. Laura specialises in management consulting approaches to the integration of natural hazard risk managemen…

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145. PlanningxChange gets interviewed, about us_PX 1:01:38

3y ago1:01:38

1:01:38

In PlanningxChange 93 the tables are turned and we are interviewed. PX was a guest at the Ratio Consultant's breakfast speaker series. Colleen Peterson (PX23), the CEO of Ratio presented and asked questions. The interview reveals the formation of PX, the mechanics of how we put interviews together, what we have learnt and how we work together. A bi…

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144. Overseeing Inner City Rejuvenation - Rules of the game_PX 1:07:48

3y ago1:07:48

1:07:48

In PlanningxChange episode 92 we interview Phil Priest, Group Manager City Development at the Moreland City Council. The following is an extract from the VPELA Journal Revue of October 2021 describing Phil’s career and his recent awarding of the Paul Jerome Award for contributions to the public sector. “When planners think of Moreland Council, they…

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143. Ian Nairn reviewed with Matt Roberts - Contemplating Loss_PX 1:15:10

3+ y ago1:15:10

1:15:10

In PlanningxChange episode 91 we interview Matt Roberts about Ian Nairn, an architectural and planning critic in the UK during the 1950s - 1970s. Matt is an architectural historian and a member of the podcast team that produces About Buildings and Cities. Details are at https://aboutbuildingsandcities.org.The About Buildings and Cities podcast prod…

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142. Scott LaMont - its better together_PX 46:01

3+ y ago46:01

46:01

In PlanningxChange episode 90 we interview Scott LaMont the CEO of EDSA, an international planning and landscape architecture consultancy. Scott joined EDSA in 1996 and has been a driving force in the firm’s practice and strategic growth since. Before being named CEO, he was a Studio Leader and Principal for 12 years, instilling the firm’s ethos wi…

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141. Tested like no other: true grit_PX 1:23:48

3+ y ago1:23:48

1:23:48

PlanningxChange Episode 89, features Peter Malley. Peter is a traffic and transport engineer with over 17 years' experience consulting to numerous private and government clients in Victoria and NSW. Peter has a passion for master planning and large-scale developments where he applies a holistic transport planning approach. He has contributed expert…

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140. Experience counts - Sense & Sensibility_PX 1:10:43

3+ y ago1:10:43

1:10:43

PlanningxChange Episode 88, features Catherine Heggen, a town planner with UK and Australian experience over a 35 year career.Catherine’s career has been devoted to the provision of project based consulting advice to a wide range of private sector and government clients. Her professional capabilities and experience lie at the intersection of urban …