New City

Kurtis Chen

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DESIGN

I'm a student of architecture. I've been trained to think of cities in plan, section and scale. Things you draw on a piece of paper. In this podcast, I'm ignoring all that, and examining a city I thought I knew by listening to people's stories. I discover a new city.

12/12/2020

A Call with Paige Agnew

Paige Agnew is the City of Kingston's Commissioner of Community Services. Before that, she was the city's Chief Planner. I speak with Paige about the city from a leader's perspective, and how Kingston might look in the future.

28 min
12/12/2020

Downtown 2.0

"Kingston has the most restaurants per capita in Canada," is frequently quoted. While it's hard to determine if that's still true (it isn't), there is certainly an incredible array of local businesses in the city's downtown, many of which have endured decades. In this episode, I speak with Cyndy Gibson, an established downtown entrepreneur who has weathered the rise and fall of mom-and-pop more than once.

19 min
12/12/2020

What's an Island?

A farm, a rural island, and an urban downtown. Would you believe me if I said it was all walkable, in the same walk? David Rappaport is a computer science professor at Queen's University who found home in a place that feels familiar and impossible at the same time.

23 min
12/12/2020

Suburbs Make Good Recording Studios

Devon Runions lives in a classic mid-century suburb in the west end of Kingston. As a musician, the separation of detached single family housing makes for a convenient recording environment, even if it can get a little lonely sometimes.

17 min
12/12/2020

Yes In My Front Yard

This episode, I visit Greg Tilson, a musician and community organizer. He lives in one of the most interesting neighbourhoods in Kingston, right on the edge of the city's downtown: Skeleton Park. The neighbourhood is remarkable for its scale and heritage—the houses are tiny and packed closely together on confusingly tangled streets and laneways. And out of this remarkable built fabric there is an even more remarkable sense of community where the arts and co-operative placemaking have flourished.

25 min
11/12/2020

Neighbourhood as a Park

Jonathan Barton lives in one of the lowest density neighbourhoods in Kingston—Reddendale. In this inaugural episode, we explore the experience of growing up in a suburb that is more park than house, and how natural features in the landscape can turn into playgrounds and infrastructure.

22 min

6 Episodes

I'm a student of architecture. I've been trained to think of cities in plan, section and scale. Things you draw on a piece of paper. In this podcast, I'm ignoring all that, and examining a city I thought I knew by listening to people's stories. I discover a new city.

Creator

Kurtis Chen
Years Active

2K
Episodes

6
Rating

Clean

New City

Episodes

A Call with Paige Agnew

Downtown 2.0

What's an Island?

Suburbs Make Good Recording Studios

Yes In My Front Yard

Neighbourhood as a Park

About

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