How have youth organizations in disinvested neighborhoods reinvigorated models of democratic citizenship and collective life? Can the exercise of collective agency in the physical space of “the commons” provide young people with the practical skills to engage with today’s economic, racial, and ecological crises? Dr. Sharon Egretta Sutton’s newest and sixth book, Pedagogy of a Beloved Commons: Pursuing Democracy's Promise Through Place-Based Activism, makes that case and we discuss her research on how urban design and urban designers can empower the disenfranchised.

As urban population growth across the globe continues to sprawl outwards, how do we promote healthier development patterns in diverse economies and cultures? With a particular focus on corridors, Peter Calthorpe presents the strategies he developed in association with the World Bank to address the three dominant types of sprawl: high-income sprawl as found in the US, low-income sprawl as found in Mexico, and high-density sprawl as found in China. A prolific author, visionary urban designer, and impactful advocate for linking sustainable growth and policy, Peter Calthorpe delivered this year’s Georgia Tech TSW Lecture, followed by a conversation with Professor Ellen Dunham-Jones.

Episode 35_Gil Penalosa