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How could funds and opportunities created through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal help rebuild and strengthen existing infrastructure for a more sustainable and just future? How will the impacts of the pandemic change how we plan and utilize downtowns?

Guests Jeff Levine and Chris Rhie (MCP '14, SM '14) join hosts Tiffany Ferguson (MCP '18) and Samra Lakew (MCP '20) to discuss the implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal.

Levine, AICP, has been involved with land use planning on the local and regional level for 25 years. He is interested in how to apply best practices in theory and research in local municipal settings. His research interests are in the areas where public finance, private equity, and land use planning intersect, as well as how transportation, housing and sustainability interact in small- to mid-sized cities and regions.

Rhie is an urban sustainability consultant and former Associate Principal at Buro Happold. His professional experiences include "the world’s first local climate action plan aligned with the Paris Agreement, the boldest and most inclusive regional sustainability plan in the nation, and New York City’s forthcoming environmental justice report."

Season two of the Planning Ideas that Matter (PITM) podcast examines how the global COVID-19 pandemic has re-shaped the field of urban planning, changed our thinking about interventions, and what ought to be? Members of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP) faculty as well as MIT alumnae/i who work in specific domains of urban planning join our alumnae hosts to explore.

PITM is produced by DUSP and Dave Lishansky of David Benjamin Sound through the generous support from Bemis Funding and Dean of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, Hashim Sarkis.

Guests Gabriella Carolini and Darryle Ulama (MCP '21) join hosts Tiffany Ferguson (MCP '18) and Samra Lakew (MCP '20) to discuss the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal. The Infrastructure Deal is designed to deliver clean water to all American families, extend and update broadband networks, repair and modernize roads and bridges to adapt to the climate crisis, improve mobility options, upgrade our energy infrastructure to be more reliable and renewable, and address risks such as acute climate events, cyber-attacks, and a legacy of anthropogenic degradation of the environment. How will this "once in a generation investment" be spent and can we incorporate justice and equity as key elements in the implementation of the deal? What lessons can we glean from previous infrastructure investments, such as the New Deal, to build a more sustainable and equitable future?

The second season of the Planning Ideas that Matter (PITM) podcast explores how has the global COVID-19 pandemic shaped the field of urban planning? Each episode draws upon interviews with DUSP faculty and recent MIT alumnae/i.

PITM is produced by DUSP and Dave Lishansky of David Benjamin Sound through the generous support from Bemis Funding and Dean of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, Hashim Sarkis. Our theme song was written and performed by the DUSP alumni band, Eminent Domain.

Great resignation, working remotely, essential work and essential workers - the landscape of employment, labor, economics, and finance shifted dramatically during the COVID 19 pandemic. Seen through that lens, what might we infer about trajectory of the future of work?

Guests Jason Jackson (PhD '13) and Carolyn Weng Yang (MCP '20) join hosts Tiffany Ferguson (MCP '18) and Samra Lakew (MCP '20) to discuss the historical foundations that scaffolded into shapes witnessed during the pandemic and what these trends imply about the future.

Season two of the Planning Ideas that Matter (PITM) podcast examines how the global COVID-19 pandemic has re-shaped the field of urban planning, changed our thinking about interventions, and what ought to be? Members of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP) faculty as well as MIT alumnae/i who work in specific domains of urban planning join our alumnae hosts to explore.

PITM is produced by DUSP and Dave Lishansky of David Benjamin Sound through the generous support from Bemis Funding and Dean of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, Hashim Sarkis.

Guest Holly Harriel (MCP '03) and Dasjon Jordan (MCP '19) join hosts Tiffany Ferguson (MCP '18) and Samra Lakew (MCP '20) to explore how community and economic development in the pursuit of more just and equitable cities has been transformed by disruptions associated with the COVID 19 pandemic.

Season two of the Planning Ideas that Matter (PITM) podcast examines how the global COVID-19 pandemic has re-shaped the field of urban planning, changed our thinking about interventions, and what ought to be? This question is discussed with members of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP) faculty as well as MIT alumnae/i who work in specific domains of urban planning.

PITM is produced by DUSP and Dave Lishansky of David Benjamin Sound through the generous support from Bemis Funding and Dean of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, Hashim Sarkis.

DUSP's Justin Steil and Sam Jung (MCP '17) join hosts Tiffany Ferguson (MCP '18) and Samra Lakew (MCP '20) to explore the interconnectivity of environmental justice and spatial inequality.

Steil is an associate professor at DUSP whose research analyzes how power and inequality are created and contested through control over access to particular places. As a lawyer and urban planner, his scholarship disentangles how the structure of local governance and land use law interacts with housing policies to shape the spatial structure of our social world in ways that produce economic and racial inequality. He also analyzes how zoning and housing policies can be redesigned to increase equality of access to resources and advance racial justice. Recent scholarship has focused on the relationship between space, power, and inequality in three main areas: 1) environmental justice, especially the intersection of housing and climate change related disasters; 2) affordable housing and housing discrimination; and 3) local governance and land use regulation.

Jung is the Deputy Director of Inclusive Economic Development and Business Innovation at the Office of the NYC Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives. He co-leads the development of initiatives that address the racial wealth gap driven by the economic power of entrepreneurs, workers, and communities. This includes programs and policies to scale the practice of employee ownership and shared ownership models that created enduring value for communities of color. While studying at DUSP, Jung studied climate adaptation and mitigation strategies at the intersection of community and economic development, environmental policy, and urban design.

The second season of the Planning Ideas that Matter (PITM) podcast focuses on how the global COVID-19 pandemic changed and re-shaped the field of urban planning across pedagogy, research, and practice.

PITM is produced by DUSP and Dave Lishansky of David Benjamin Sound through the generous support from Bemis Funding and Dean of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, Hashim Sarkis.

How has the global COVID-19 pandemic changed the real estate industry and shifted our behavior in relation to real estate?

Hosts Tiffany Ferguson (MCP '18) and Samra Lakew (MCP '20) explore this question with DUSP's Andrea Marie Chegut and MIT alum Kayode Agbalajobi (SM '20).

Chegut was the Director and Co-Founder of the MIT Real Estate Innovation Lab, Co-Founder of MIT DesignX and Research Scientist at MIT. Her passion for creating a better world through a deeper understanding of innovation in the built environment, urban economics and real estate was reflected in her courses at MIT and her online short course, Data Science in Real Estate. She believed deeply in people, possibilities, creativity and truth.

Agbalajobi is the director of asset management at Carr Properties, a privately held real estate investment trust which owns, operates, and develops commercial properties in Washington, DC, Boston and Austin.

PITM is produced by DUSP and Dave Lishansky of David Benjamin Sound through the generous support from Bemis Funding and Dean of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, Hashim Sarkis.