Urban Broadcast Collective

Urban Broadcast Collective
Urban Broadcast Collective

Welcome to the Urban Broadcast Collective. We are a curated network of podcast and radio shows on everything urban. And our goal is simple – to bring together all the amazing urban focused podcasts on one site. If you would like to get involved in the Urban Broadcast Collective, please contact one of our podcast producers: Natalie Osborne from Griffith University; Elizabeth Taylor from RMIT; Tony Matthews from Griffith University; Paul Maginn from the University of Western Australia; Jason Byrne from the University of Tasmania; or Dallas Rogers from the University of Sydney. So sit back and enjoy some fascinating discussions about cities and urbanism.

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

    26 MAY

    183. Designing for Exchange: Public Markets and Civic Life_PX

    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 just as commercial spaces, but as critical infrastructure for food access, social connection, and local economic resilience. We explore the history and diversity of market types across different regions, the policy frameworks that support or hinder their success, and the role markets play in community-building and placemaking. Alfonso and Edna also discuss the innovative Farm 2 Facts toolkit—a software platform they developed to help market managers collect, analyze, and visualize data on their operations. This decision-support tool empowers cities and market operators to better understand food distribution, ecosystem services, and community impact in real time icicle.osu.edudpla.wisc.edu. For more information and to explore the toolkit, visit farm2facts.org icicle.osu.edu In Podcast Extra, Alfonso recommends ‘The Cadfael Chronicles’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cadfael_Chronicles. Edna recommends ‘Conclave’ the film https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conclave_(film) Jess recommends ‘Alone Australia’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alone_Australia. Pete recommends ‘Bullet Train Explosion’ https://www.netflix.com/au/title/81629968 Podcast episode released 26 May 2025.

    1h 3m
  2. 182. Inside the Mind of a Developer: A Conversation with Max Shifman_PX

    25 APR

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

    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 background in engineering and law, combined with hands-on experience in the development sector, gives him a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing the industry today. In this episode, we explore what motivates developers, how public misconceptions impact the industry, the growing burden of red and green tape, and how political and media narratives shape outcomes on the ground. Max shares candid insights into the development process, the importance of long-term thinking, and the need for a more collaborative approach between planners, developers, and regulators. We also discuss innovation, housing affordability, the tension between idealism and pragmatism in city-making, and why Australia needs to rediscover its ambition for building new cities. In Podcast Extra / Culture Corner: * Max recommends the Netflix series Drive to Survive https://www.netflix.com/au/title/80204890, a behind-the-scenes look at the world of Formula One racing. * Cam reflects on the power and abundance of Australia's natural coastal landscapes. * Pete recommends the play Victory Over the Sun, a landmark 1913 Russian Futurist work that pushed the boundaries of theatre and art. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_over_the_Sun Episode PX130 was released on 26 April 2025. PX is proud to be a member of the Urban Broadcast Collective.

    57 min
  3. 181. Charter Cities, new approach to city making in the Developing World_PX

    31 MAR

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

    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. Prior to joining the Charter Cities Institute, Jeffrey worked as an MA Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He holds a BA in economics from the University of Maryland and an MA in economics from George Mason University. His writing has been featured in publications including City Journal, Works in Progress, Investment Monitor, Quartz Africa, and The American Mind. The Charter Cities Institute is a nonprofit dedicated to creating the ecosystem for charter cities, founded on the idea that a fresh approach was necessary to tackle humanity’s most pressing challenges, such as global poverty, climate change and rapid urbanisation. CCI believe charter cities—new cities granted a special jurisdiction to create a new governance system—are that solution. By improving governance through deep regulatory and administrative reforms, charter cities can help accelerate economic growth in developing countries and lift tens of millions of people out of poverty. Details at https://chartercitiesinstitute.org In podcast extra / culture corner, Jeff recommends the book ‘Outsourcing Empire: How Company-States Made the Modern World' by Andrew Phillips and JC Sharman https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691203515/outsourcing-empire Jess recommends the TV series Ted Lasso https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Lasso Pete recommends the book ‘The Diaries of Fred Williams 1963 - 1970’ https://www.amazon.com.au/Diaries-Fred-Williams-1963-1970/dp/0522871208 Episode PX129 was released on 31 March 2025. PX is proud to be a member of the Urban Broadcast Collective.

    54 min
  4. 180. Emergent Tokyo: Designing the Spontaneous City (author Jorge Almazan)_PX

    3 MAR

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

    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 from urban to interior projects. His built work has earned significant recognition in Japan, including the Ota City Urban Landscape First Prize (2019) and selections by the Japan Institute of Architects (2018, 2022) and the Architectural Institute of Japan (2023). Almazán's research on Tokyo has been published in numerous academic journals, and his book, Emergent Tokyo: Designing the Spontaneous City (Oro Editions, 2021), was a finalist for the 2023 Pattis Family Foundation Global Cities Book Award. ‘Emergent Tokyo: Designing the Spontaneous City’ was mentioned in a recent article in the Wall Street Journal about visiting Tokyo on a budget, using the book as a guide https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/travel/how-far-does-1-000-take-you-on-a-trip-to-tokyo-we-found-out-dd76a5af?st=TeyNL7&reflink=article_copyURL_share In podcast extra / culture corner, Jorge recommends two Netflix programs that feature Tokyo. These are ‘Midnight Diner’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Diner_(Japanese_TV_series) and ’Tokyo Swindlers’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Swindlers. Jess recommends getting back into tennis as she returns to the court. Pete recommends the ‘New Books’ podcast series https://newbooksnetwork.com. PX is proud to be a contributor to the UBC. Episode PX128 was released on 3 March 2025.

    58 min
  5. 179. Sherlock Holmes, City Making + Popular Culture_PX

    10 FEB

    179. Sherlock Holmes, City Making + Popular Culture_PX

    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 Faculty of Architecture, Building, and Planning at the University of Melbourne from 2020 to 2024. Derham is the author of many articles and books about popular culture, architecture, and design, including, Feng-Shui and Western Building Ceremonies (1991), You Bastard Moriarty (1996), Mail Art: The D-I-Y Letterbox from Workshop to Gatepost (1998), TV Houses: Television’s Influence On the Australian Home (2004), Mask: Pro Hart’s Frankenstein Monsters (2006), There’s No Place Like Holmes: Exploring Sense of Place Through Crime Fiction (2008), Victims and Villains: Barbie and Ken Meet Sherlock Holmes (2009), Anna May Wong’s Lucky Shoes: 1939 Australia Through the Eyes of an Art Deco Diva (2011), Out of the Ordinary: Popular Art, Architecture and Design (2012), Hopalong Cassidy: A Horse Opera (2017), Monkeemania in Australia: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of The Monkees’ Australian Tour in 1968 (2019), Arthur Purnell’s “Forgotten” Architecture: Canton and Cars (2020), Sherlock in the Seventies: A Wild Decade of Sherlock Holmes Films (2021), Australian Westerns in the Fifties: Kangaroo, Hopalong Cassidy on Tour, and Whiplash (2022), and Homicide on Hydra: George Johnston’s Crime Novels (2023). His latest book, Walt Disney’s Forgotten Australia: From Mickey’s Kangaroo to Outback At Ya! has been released in February 2025. Derham agrees with the Austrian architect Hans Hollein that ‘Everything is architecture,’ and the American designer Charles Eames who said, ‘Eventually everything connects—people, ideas, objects.’  Episode released 10 February 2025. PX is proud to be a contributor to the UBC.

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

    19 JAN

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

    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 digitize, demystify, and democratize information about zoning in the United States. She has advised the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Sustainable Development Code, has served on the board of Latinos in Heritage Conservation, and founded Desegregate Connecticut. Previously, she led the award-winning, unanimously adopted overhaul of the zoning code and city plan of Hartford, Connecticut. Bronin holds a juris doctor from Yale Law School, a master of science from the University of Oxford (Rhodes Scholar), as well as a B.Arch. and B.A. from the University of Texas–Austin. In the interview Sara outlines her experiences including being a Commissioner at the City of Hartford which helped shape the book and the array of issues covered in ‘Key to the City’. In podcast extra / culture corner Sara recommends ‘Climate Change and Historic Preservation ‘ (Sept 2024) https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/llglrd/2024555212/2024555212.pdf. Jess recommends the Martha Stewart documentary on Netflix (https://www.netflix.com/au/title/81479059) and Pete recommends two books and making omelettes. Episode released 19 January 2025. PX is proud to be part of the Urban Broadcasting Collective.

    52 min
  7. 176. Creating great public toilets (new research)_PX

    07/12/2024

    176. Creating great public toilets (new research)_PX

    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 2018 Rodney Warmington Churchill Fellowship to increase inclusion and accessibility in public toilets by researching taboos, design, policy and legal barriers. The Churchill Fellowship consolidated previous work with planners, institutions and community members identifying public toilets as essential to support the participation of a wide section of our communities. Photos of many toilets Katherine has visited are documented via Instagram @Public_Toilets_Anonymous. Katherine appears on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh7UQziutv8 talking about her work.  Discussion mentions the film ‘Perfect Days’ which is set amongst Tokyo’s public ‘art’ toilets (https://www.archdaily.com/1018293/perfect-days-an-ode-to-tokyos-public-toilets). Mention is also made about Singapores ‘Happy Toilet Program’ (https://www.toilet.org.sg/docs/HTPBrochure.pdf) For podcast extra / culture corner, Katherine recommendations ‘Birnam Wood’ by Eleanor Catton https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60784757-birnam-wood. She also recommends the ‘Public Toilet’ app. Jess recommends outsourcing at home in times of stress relying upon the ‘diner lady’. Pete recommends the ‘Transit maps’ app, and secondly, YouTube Premium. Audio production by Jack Bavage. Podcast released on 7 December 2024. PlanningxChange is proud to be a member of the Urban Broadcasting Collective.

    45 min

Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Welcome to the Urban Broadcast Collective. We are a curated network of podcast and radio shows on everything urban. And our goal is simple – to bring together all the amazing urban focused podcasts on one site. If you would like to get involved in the Urban Broadcast Collective, please contact one of our podcast producers: Natalie Osborne from Griffith University; Elizabeth Taylor from RMIT; Tony Matthews from Griffith University; Paul Maginn from the University of Western Australia; Jason Byrne from the University of Tasmania; or Dallas Rogers from the University of Sydney. So sit back and enjoy some fascinating discussions about cities and urbanism.

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign-in or sign-up to follow shows, save episodes and get the latest updates.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada