Townbuilders

Aaron talks with Jim Anthony of Anthony Property Group about his experience on the front lines brokering and developing better neighborhoods. Jim talks about what he is seeing the market is looking for in both walkable projects and build-to-rent. Lastly, Jim discusses his role in facilitating a Raleigh development that may be Habitat for Humanity’s largest ever.

Aaron talks with Mike Ciriello, the Planning Director in Butner, NC about the NTBA’s Spring 2021 visioning exercises in Butner, NC, including what worked and what could be added in future offerings. Mike also talks about how difficult it is to do walkable urbanism in highly regulated Southern watersheds, and why there is such a shortage of good urbanist planning, design, and development talent.

Aaron talks with Louis Nequette of Nequette Architecture and Design, an early entrant into the build-to-rent space, where he has proven that student housing can be inspiring. Louis is one of the best New Urbanist architects practicing today, and he shares what he has learned about navigating the twin development pressures of managing project costs while creating great places.

Aaron talks with Fernando Pages Ruiz, one of the most ambitious and successful builders of true affordable housing. Fernando talks about how every stud matters, new innovations in materials, and what cities have to do to stay affordable.

Aaron talks with Monte Anderson of Options Real Estate in Dallas about his founding of the CNU spin-off Incremental Development Alliance, how he took the early steps to catalyze districts such as Bishop Arts, and why code reform should be the top priority for cities to foster local equity.

Aaron talks with Mike Hathorne of Commun1ty.one about his unique research within the Mormon (LDS) community along Utah’s Wasatch Front, showing that community and church success both correlate with diverse neighborhoods. His theory, proven by results, is that homogenous housing development makes for weaker communities, and ultimately LDS “ward collapse.” Mike parlays this belief into a strong critique of the build-to-rent development model.

Aaron talks with Brad Lonberger of Place Strategies about his experiences writing form-based codes, the unique idiosyncrasies of development in Texas, urban development in conservative metros, and a teaser for NTBA’s 2021 Fall Roundtable in Ft. Worth, TX.

Aaron talks with Bill Allison of Allison Ramsey Architect about what urbanists have to learn from third world slums, his long running relationship with Habitat for Humanity, and how builders and developers use his massive stock plan catalogue of traditional architecture to create better places.

Aaron talks with Marta Goldsmith, the Director of the Form-Based Codes Institute about the successes of form-based codes, a focal point of the NTBA’s Fall 2021 Roundtable in Ft. Worth, Texas. Marta discusses what form-based codes are, how fast they are expanding, why Euclidean rules are still the norm, and how governments are using form-based codes to return cities to traditional urbanism.

Aaron kicks off the second season of the Townbuilder’s Podcast with the newly appointed Executive Director of the Congress for the New Urbanism, Rick Cole. Rick talks about the need to engage the next generation of New Urbanist practitioners, the state of the organization, the timelessness of the Charter’s principles, and how he hopes to pivot CNU to ensure organizational success for decades to come.