Building Better Cities

Kate Gasparro - Urban Development & Sustainable Infrastructure Expert
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Cities don't just happen. They're shaped by the choices we make about housing, transportation, infrastructure, public spaces, and the communities we want to become. Yet too often, the systems we rely on make it difficult to build the places people need. Building Better Cities with Dr. Kate Gasparro goes behind the scenes with the leaders, builders, thinkers, and innovators reimagining how cities grow. Each episode explores the ideas and solutions helping create more sustainable, equitable, and thriving communities. Breaking norms. Building cities.

  1. Oct 1

    From Research to Action: Turning Evidence into Better Cities with Robert Puentes

    We have more data and research about cities than ever before—but is it actually leading to better decisions? In this episode of Building Better Cities, Kate Gasparro sits down with Robert Puentes, President and CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, to explore how research can move beyond reports and into action. Drawing on Robert’s leadership at Lincoln and his previous roles at the Brookings Institution and Eno Center for Transportation, they discuss the role independent research institutions play in shaping housing, affordability, sustainability, infrastructure, economic policies in our cities at a time when trust in institutions is being challenged. The conversation explores how cities can better connect research to implementation, the need to break down silos between housing, transportation, land use, municipal finance, and urban infrastructure, and how evidence can help us understand not only whether a policy works—but who benefits, who bears the costs, and what the long-term tradeoffs may be. And those questions aren't just for city leaders. As voters head to the polls this fall, land policy—from property taxes to housing and zoning—is appearing directly on ballots across the country. We discuss how voters, too, can seek out credible research, understand the tradeoffs behind policy proposals, and use evidence to inform their own decisions at the ballot box. For city leaders, planners, developers, policymakers, researchers, and engaged residents, this episode asks: How do we move from simply having better information to actually building better cities? And how do we build the muscle memory—in our institutions and in our communities—to make evidence a meaningful part of the decisions shaping the places we live? Resources: New Leadership for a Pivotal Moment (Lincoln Institute of Land Policy) A Good Tax: Legal and Policy Issues for the Property Tax in the US (ULI) The Biggest Tax Issues Voters will Decide in the 2026 Midterms (Forbes)

    From Research to Action: Turning Evidence into Better Cities with Robert Puentes

  2. Sep 17

    Shared Equity and a New Dream of Homeownership with Tony Pickett

    Homeownership has long been sold as a single path with a single set of rules — but what happens when that path stops working for most people? In this episode of Building Better Cities, Kate Gasparro sits down with Tony Pickett, CEO of Grounded Solutions Network, to explore how community land trusts and shared equity models are reshaping the relationship between housing, wealth, and city development. Tony's career spans public housing revitalization in Atlanta, the founding of the Atlanta Land Trust, and now a national push to bring shared equity into the mainstream of urban infrastructure and real estate. Together, Kate and Tony break down how separating land ownership from home ownership can preserve affordability for generations, why the rising age of first-time homebuyers signals a deeper crisis in city infrastructure and housing systems, and how Grounded Solutions' Homes for the Future initiative is using shared equity to compete with private equity's growing footprint in single-family rentals. This conversation is a case study in what sustainable cities actually require: not just building infrastructure, but building the financial systems that let more people benefit from it. If you care about how urban development can be more equitable without sacrificing financial viability, this episode is for you. Resources: Member Spotlight: A Neighborhood That Works—How Mueller Blends Community with Affordability (Grounded Solutions Network) Tracking Growth and Evaluating Performance of Shared Equity Homeownership Programs During Housing Market Fluctuations (Lincoln Land Policy Institute) Here's what happens when private equity buys homes in your neighborhood (Planet Money) Rethinking homeownership incentives to improve household financial security and shrink the racial wealth gap (Brookings) In just 15 years, the average U.S. homebuyer went from 39 to 59 years old (Fortune) The Wealth Gap between Homeowners and Renters Has Reached a Historic High (Urban Institute)

    Shared Equity and a New Dream of Homeownership with Tony Pickett

  3. Sep 2

    Can Opportunity Zones Reverse Neighborhood Disinvestment? (with Jimmy Atkinson)

    Neighborhoods have experienced dramatically different economic trajectories. Decades of redlining, discrimination, and disinvestment has shaped where capital flows — and once those patterns were established, they became self-reinforcing. In 2016, bipartisan lawmakers envisioned a new tool that would interrupt that cycle: Opportunity Zones. The idea was to make it more attractive for private investors to put long-term capital into economically distressed communities — and to reward investors for staying invested rather than simply flipping assets. In this episode of Building Better Cities, host Kate Gasparro sits down with Jimmy Atkinson, founder of OpportunityZones.com and author of The Opportunity Zones Playbook, to explore whether Opportunity Zones can help us build better cities — and what the tool means for the future of urban development and city infrastructure. They cover: How census tracts qualify for Opportunity Zone designationThe three-part tax mechanism driving capital into building infrastructure nationwideWhat the data does (and doesn't) tell us about resident outcomes, displacement, and gentrificationHow the new map is being drawn right now With more than $112 billion invested in Opportunity Zones since the program's inception, and a new, more targeted map about to take effect, this is a pivotal moment for anyone working in urban development, infrastructure finance, or place-based investment to understand how this tool is reshaping city infrastructure and neighborhood reinvestment. Resources: A Mission-Driven OZ Project in San Bernardino, CA (Opportunity Zones Podcast) The Impact of Opportunity Zones on Housing Supply (Economic Innovation Group) Symbol of ‘80s Greed Stands to Profit from Trump Tax Break for Poor Areas (NYTimes) Use of the Opportunity Zone Tax Incentive through 2024: An Update (U.S. Department of the Treasury) Opportunity Zones Updates (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) Opportunity Zones Research and Reports (Novogradac) Opportunity Zones by State: Current and Future Designations (OpportunityZones.com)

    Can Opportunity Zones Reverse Neighborhood Disinvestment? (with Jimmy Atkinson)

  4. Aug 20

    How Cities Shape Us: The Psychology of Place with Dr. Leidy Klotz

    What if the cities we build are also building something within us? In this episode of Building Better Cities, Kate Gasparro sits down with behavioral scientist and University of Virginia engineering professor Dr. Leidy Klotz to explore how the built environment shapes how we live, behave, connect, and feel. Drawing from his new book, In a Good Place, Leidy argues that the places around us can either support or frustrate three fundamental psychological needs: agency, competence, and connection. Together, Kate and Leidy examine how urban design and placemaking influence our everyday lives, what our investments in urban infrastructure and city development reveal about what we value, and whether the way we build cities can actually shape our culture and behavior. From public spaces and playgrounds to transportation and infrastructure, this episode asks us to reconsider what it really means to build better cities—and whether the ultimate purpose of city building is not simply what it does, but what it enables between people. Topics discussed: urban development, city development, urban infrastructure, urban design, placemaking, sustainable cities, the built environment, infrastructure development, community building, public space, human-centered design, and the psychology of place. Resources: Subtract: The Uptapped Science of Less (Dr. Leidy Klotz) Curb cuts (99% Invisible) Hierarchy of Needs: Application in Urban Design and Community-Building (Mallory Baches) Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being (Richard Ryan and Edward Deci) Why do we focus on trivial things? The Bikeshedding, explained. (The Decision Lab) Long-Term Effects of a Control-Relevant Intervention With the Institutionalized Aged (Judith Rodin and Ellen Langer)

    How Cities Shape Us: The Psychology of Place with Dr. Leidy Klotz

  5. Aug 5

    The Holy Grail of Urbanism: Land Value Tax with Greg Miller

    What if the biggest obstacle to building more housing and creating more sustainable urban development isn't zoning or financing — it's how we tax land? In this episode of Building Better Cities, host Kate Gasparro sits down with Greg Miller, founder of the Center for Land Economics, to unpack land value tax (LVT) and why it might be the missing lever for building more housing, increasing infrastructure investment, and achieving equitable community outcomes. Land is America's most valuable natural resource, worth an estimated $50 trillion — yet our current property tax system often rewards speculation over productive use. Greg and Kate dig into why vacant lots and surface parking lots in downtown corridors pay a fraction of the taxes that adjacent building tenants and businesses do, and how that imbalance shapes urban infrastructure, housing supply, and neighborhood investment. This conversation covers: What land value tax actually is — and how it differs from a standard property taxThe economics of land speculation and why it undermines sustainable citiesReal-world case studies, including Pittsburgh's decades-long experiment with split-rate taxation and a recent Spokane, Washington policy analysisThe history of Henry George and the 19th-century roots of land value tax theoryHow land value capture connects to tax increment financing (TIF), including New York City's Interborough Express (IBX) projectPractical policy levers cities and states can use to implement land value tax, from assessment reform to building exemptionsCommon misconceptions about land value tax and how to address them Whether you work in real estate, urban planning, municipal finance, or public-private partnerships, this episode offers a framework for thinking about how cities capture — and reinvest — the value they create. Resources: Pittsburgh should return to its roots in land value taxation (Pittsburgh Post Gazette) Could a LVT Fund the IBX? (Streetsblog NYC) America's land crisis is roaring back into politics (The Washington Post) Yes, a LVT is possible in Washington State (Sightline) The Hidden Costs of Tax Increment Financing (Lincoln Land Policy Institute)

    The Holy Grail of Urbanism: Land Value Tax with Greg Miller

  6. Jul 23

    The Hidden Reason Families Are Leaving Cities with Alicia Pederson

    Walk through any major American city and notice what's missing. Not coffee shops or co-working spaces — those are everywhere. What you won't see much of are children. Families with kids. People who chose the city not just for a season of life, but permanently. That absence is telling a story — and the data backs it up. Young families with children are a shrinking part of the U.S. population in major urban centers. A new Urban Institute report warns that cities that fail to retain families may face shrinking school systems, weaker tax bases, and increasing poverty concentration — while family retention can stabilize housing demand, sustain workforce pipelines, and strengthen local economies.  This isn't just a demographic footnote. It's a crisis of urban development — and it has a design dimension that too few people are talking about. In this episode, host Kate Gasparro sits down with Alicia Pederson — the Courtyard Urbanist — to explore how a century of narrow, deep-lot development has quietly made American cities hostile to families. Drawing on examples from Copenhagen, Stockholm, Berlin, and Amsterdam, Alicia makes the case for the courtyard block: a model of city infrastructure that delivers higher density, better unit design, shared green space, and the walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods that keep families in cities for the long haul. If you work in city development, urban planning, real estate, or public policy — or if you've ever wondered why American cities feel increasingly built for everyone except families — this conversation is for you. Resources: Towards a New Aesthetics of Abundance: Courtyard Urbanism (Create Streets) Young Families Are Leaving Many Large US Cities − Here’s Why That Matters (Iowa State University) This demographic shift could reshape cities, Urban Institute says (Smart Cities Dive) Cities made a bet on millennials — but forgot one key thing (Vox) The Urban Family Exodus Is a Warning for Progressives (The Atlantic) How Amsterdam is reviving the fine-grained courtyard block (Courtyard Urbanist) Illinois governor vows continued housing push as statewide zoning proposal hits a wall (Smart Cities Dive)

    The Hidden Reason Families Are Leaving Cities with Alicia Pederson

  7. Jul 8

    When Impact is the Asset: Transforming Forgotten Spaces with Lindsey Scannapieco

    In 2014, the Philadelphia school district auctioned off a shuttered vocational school in South Philly — 340,000 square feet, built like a bomb shelter. Seven developers looked at it. Some bid a dollar. Lindsey Scannapieco bid $1.75 million. That building is now Bok: home to more than 200 businesses, the majority owned by women and people of color, and one of the most celebrated adaptive reuse projects in the country. Lindsey Scannapieco is the founder of Scout, an urban design and development practice with a radically different approach to city development — she listens to buildings and lets them tell her what they want to be, treating existing urban infrastructure as an asset rather than a liability. In this episode, host Kate Gasparro and Lindsey explore the anatomy of an impact development deal versus a traditional one: structuring for public benefit, underwriting community value that takes years to materialize, and why reusing what a city already has is one of the most sustainable, resilient ways to build vibrant neighborhoods. They also talk about the five-day "funeral" Scout held for a beloved arts institution, and the lessons carrying forward into the Village of Industry and Art — born from the closure of the University of the Arts. This episode is for the real estate developers and investors who suspect impact and returns don't have to be a tradeoff — and want the evidence. It's for city and public-sector leaders wrestling with vacant institutional buildings, shuttered schools, and distressed civic assets. It's for architects, planners, and preservationists drawn to adaptive reuse. And it's for the community-minded builders, small-scale and incremental developers, and mission-driven entrepreneurs who want to create vibrant neighborhoods without pricing out the people already there. Resources: Eight Years in the Making:The Bok Building (Scout) Becoming Bok: From Decommissioned School to South Philly’s Center of Creative Cool (Philly Mag) Leaving New York to Find the American Dream in Philadelphia (NYTimes) Scout gives Philadelphia’s historic buildings a creative second life (Knight Foundation) Bok comes to Broad Street (Philadelphia Citizen)

    When Impact is the Asset: Transforming Forgotten Spaces with Lindsey Scannapieco

  8. Jun 24

    Can Impact Investing Redefine Urban Development? (with Brian Murray)

    What does it actually take to invest in a neighborhood — not just a building — and get it right? In this episode, Brian Murray, CEO and co-founder of SHIFT Capital, takes us inside 15 years of community development projects that started with a few neglected industrial buildings in Kensington, Philadelphia and evolved into a national impact investment platform. Brian shares how SHIFT's "Whole Neighborhood" approach to urban development differs from traditional real estate — pooling investors across asset types so that loss leaders, small storefronts, and anchor projects can work together as a single ecosystem. He walks through the creation of J-Centrel, a 110-unit adaptive reuse project with a built-in civic engagement program, and how its planned exit into the Kensington Corridor Trust — the country's first community-owned perpetual purpose trust — became a national model for equitable city development. We also get into the harder truths: why SHIFT's first fund wasn't a home run, why capital is difficult to raise even for low-risk affordable housing deals, and why Brian believes the impact real estate field is great at talking to each other but terrible at communicating with the communities they serve. Whether you're a developer, an urban planner, or someone who cares about sustainable cities and community-driven infrastructure, this conversation lays out what it really looks like to invest in people and place — and what it costs when you get the timing, scale, or density wrong. Resources: Creating high-opportunity neighborhoods: Lessons from HOPE VI (Brookings)The New Street Fight: how SHIFT Capital might help make Kensington a model of the right type of private investment (The Philadelphia Citizen)This Apartment Building Gives You a Break on the Rent for Volunteering (Philly Mag)Eight months after Kensington’s disaster declaration, progress is tempered by the realities of the opioid crisis (Philadelphia Inquirer)Affordable Housing and Community Developing in Impact Investing (Columbia Business School) Thanks for listening to Building Better Cities! If you'd like to stay connected, don't forget to Subscribe and Follow. You can find all our archived newsletters and podcasts right here. Want to get in touch? Just email the team at kate@buildingbettercities.com.

    Can Impact Investing Redefine Urban Development? (with Brian Murray)
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About

Cities don't just happen. They're shaped by the choices we make about housing, transportation, infrastructure, public spaces, and the communities we want to become. Yet too often, the systems we rely on make it difficult to build the places people need. Building Better Cities with Dr. Kate Gasparro goes behind the scenes with the leaders, builders, thinkers, and innovators reimagining how cities grow. Each episode explores the ideas and solutions helping create more sustainable, equitable, and thriving communities. Breaking norms. Building cities.

Information

  • Creator
    Kate Gasparro - Urban Development & Sustainable Infrastructure Expert
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    48
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Kate Gasparro - Urban Development & Sustainable Infrastructure Expert
  • Show Website
    Building Better Cities

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