#11 Thomas Dougherty: Infill Development; Smaller Scale & Vibrancy; Humanism The Building Culture Podcast

Today, I have friend and colleague Thomas Dougherty on the podcast. Last year Tom joined the Building Culture team as our lead Urban Designer. He studied architecture and urban design at Notre Dame and focused on inner block development and has become known as the "alley-guy" for his expertise in creating spaces in these areas.

It's a great conversation focused on the centralization of capital in real estate and how that affects decision making, how we prioritize profits over people and most importantly what we can do differently to try and solve these issues. We chat about smaller scale development and the creation of smaller grained places that are essential for vibrant communities, as well as how our current infrastructure is unsustainable financially and how we will see the effects in the next few decades. We discuss infill development, local investment and rethinking the way we raise capital, and finally we dive into the potential for infill development like creating streets as spaces that can really create beautiful, wonderful places. People really can be enriching forces on our built environment and are capable of immense good and immense beauty- hope you enjoy the conversation!

TAKEAWAYS
- The centralization of capital in real estate development leads to
decisions that prioritize maximum returns over human flourishing.
- Smaller-scale development and the creation of smaller grained places are essential for building vibrant communities.
- Current infrastructure is unsustainable and requires financial
innovation to address its high costs.
- Financing new urbanist projects is challenging due to the changing
landscape of real estate finance.
- Infill development offers opportunities for incremental growth and the revitalization of existing communities.
- Local investment empowers individuals and strengthens communities.
- Capital plays a significant role in shaping development and should be aligned with the values of creating human-scaled places.
- Recognizing the potential of infill development and building streets
as public spaces can create inviting and reflective environments.

REFERENCES
https://ioncommunity.com/

CONNECT WITH THOMAS DOUGHERTY
https://www.innerblock.org/about

CONNECT WITH BUILDING CULTURE
https://www.buildingculture.com/
https://www.instagram.com/buildingculture/
https://twitter.com/build_culture
https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-tunnell-2a41894a/
https://www.facebook.com/BuildCulture/
https://www.tiktok.com/@buildingculture


CONNECT WITH AUSTIN TUNNELL
https://www.instagram.com/austintunnell/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-tunnell-2a41894a/
https://twitter.com/AustinTunnell
https://linktr.ee/austintunnell
https://playbook.buildingculture.com/p/ready-fire-aim

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction and Background
01:04 Becoming Known as the Alley Guy
05:01 The Concept of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)
07:08 The Potential of Alleys for ADUs
09:05 The American Alley Hidden Resource
12:26 The Impact of Experiencing Human Scale
19:34 Reimagining Suburbs as Villages and Market Towns
30:04 The Limitations of Subdivisions
33:37 The Importance of Language and Advocacy
38:32 Empowering Individuals in Shaping the Built Environment
39:31 The Centralization of Capital
41:25 The Importance of Small-Scale Development
43:20 The Unsustainability of Current Infrastructure
45:52 The Need for Financial Innovation
47:23 The Difficulty of Financing New Urbanist Projects
50:15 The Potential of Infill Development
52:20 The Power of Local Investment
55:51 The Role of Capital in Development
57:19 Recognizing the Opportunities in Infill Development
59:52 Building Streets as Public Spaces