Four Degrees to the Streets

Nina Simone sang, "To be young, gifted, and Black." For today's episode, we'll add one more: to be young, gifted, Black, and a planner! Nimo and Jas sat down with Kamau As-Salaam, the Assistant Director of Planning and Zoning for Henry County, Georgia, part of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area, where the population is expected to increase by 1.8 million by 2050 . Kamau participated in and facilitated...

You may remember our first in-person episode, “Where The Money Reside,” from Season 1. In it, we explained the budgeting process in local governments and briefly mentioned examples of how cities can incorporate equity into the budget process. Today, we’re following up with a deeper dive into budget equity as a tool to address historic and present inequalities throughout programs and plans that lea...

Happy Black History Month! This week, we have a special guest, Ross Murph, aka MORFBOSS, a professional genealogist born in New York with Southern roots. He uses his research to uplift people and uncover overlooked parts of history. Ross shares examples from Los Angeles, CA, and Washington, DC, to tell the history of Black and Latino land loss. According to the American Bar Association, as an...

The podcast often discusses how human activity and policies impact the natural and built environment. In today’s episode, Nimo and Jas share vital tools and resources to help you understand the environmental condition of your community and how to use the tools to make decisions in your personal life. The United States Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, is the source for most of the tools bel...

The Beyoncé Renaissance World Tour was more than ticket sales, metallic outfits, horses in outer space, and a showcase of a timeless album. In this special in-person episode , Nimo and Jas discuss the tour's impact on urban planning and local economies. The Renaissance World Tour influenced ten countries, with 56 shows in total. As the highest-grossing tour for any female artist and the highest ev...

How old were you when you discovered urban planning? Maybe it was listening to our podcast, attending a community meeting for a proposed development change, or a class you took in school. In today’s episode, Nimo and Jas interview Mr. Kevin Miles, a dynamic teacher and DEI facilitator based in Dallas, Texas. By using the Urban Land Institute’s UrbanPlan curriculum, press play to hear how he cultiv...

Happy New Year! In this special joint episode, the Four Degrees to the Streets and Urban Planning is Not Boring podcasts come together to discuss Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). Hosts Nimo, Jas, Sam, and Nat use their expertise and experience living in TODs as a backdrop to give a coast-to-coast perspective on this complex subject. Press play to hear: TOD defined as a mixed-use community that...

In this episode of the Four Degrees to the Streets podcast, hosts Nimo and Jas interview Natasha Dowell, a Loan Officer at a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) located in the Southeast US. Natasha has over a decade of public health experience and is passionate about bringing to life community development projects that advance health equity. Her public health experience covers a wid...

Hello, and welcome back to the fourth season of the Four Degrees to the Streets Podcast! We are truly grateful for your support since 2020, and we're excited to bring you something truly special this season.  In today’s episode, what if we told you that technology might not be solely to blame for why kids don't play outside anymore? What if we said that the physical design of our roadways, pa...

Season Four is almost here! In the meantime, we have a special interview to share. This July, Veronica O. Davis, PE, transportation expert and Director of Transportation and Drainage Operations for Houston, Texas*, released her book, Inclusive Transportation: A Manifesto for Repairing Divided Communities . Nimo and Jas had the pleasure of speaking with Veronica Davis about her inspiration for the...

Boy, we had a time this season! And just like that, we’re on our last episode of season three. We got to catch up with Nina Idemudia, AICP, before she presented several sessions at the American Planning Association (APA) National Planning Conference that took place April 1-4, 2023. Nina inspired Nimo and Jas in their planning careers long before this episode. She currently serves as the Chicago Re...

Earlier this month , we met with a special guest and Professional Planner, Byron Nicholas, to discuss the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, regional planning, and the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program (RCP). We discussed MPOs and USDOT funding. However, we want to dive deeper to give an overview of federal transportation authorizations and why they matter in BIL and environmental planning. BIL i...

One of President Biden's top priorities was to build better infrastructure. To start, he signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law on November 15, 2021, that allocated funding to over 350 distinct programs across more than a dozen federal departments and agencies. One may wonder how this historic $1.2 trillion investment in roads and bridges, broadband, rail and transit, clean energy, and water wil...

Thank you to all of our listeners for a powerful Black History Month focused on health and wellness. We’ve enjoyed sharing health-related content and meaningful conversations with guests. This episode is no different. We’re joined by Alicia “ACE” Easter, certified yoga and meditation instructor and master Reiki practitioner. ACE also hosts the JOY FOR LIFE Podcast that covers self-discovery, loss,...

Happy Black History Month! Places and spaces that are accessible for people to be physically active directly impact health, wellness, and quality of life, as discussed in our last episode, where we used the Atlanta Beltline as a case study. This week, the hosts are joined by the founders of Free Flo Fit , Shontia Walton and Adaeze Medani, a non-profit organization making health and fitness more af...

The World Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical, social and mental well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” To kick off our health and wellness theme for Black History Month, Nimo & Jas use the Atlanta Beltline Health Impact Assessment (HIA) as a case study. The primary goals of the Beltline include more parks, trails, transit, and redevelo...

Last season, we released an episode about how to make community engagement work for you . This week, Nimo and Jas had the opportunity to sit down with Julia (she/her), a Seattle-based community planner, to discuss the research question that she answered in a year-long project in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic: how block parties can be used as an empowerment tool to positively affect civic enga...

Happy New Year! We hope you all enjoyed the holidays. Welcome to 2023!  It’s often challenging to define urban planning when there are numerous types and approaches to planning. Although, the approach most likely to succeed includes as many elements as needed. Urban planning in local government is usually centered around a document known as a master plan, a blueprint for the future while exam...

The topic of inflation is in the news daily. As the cost of consumer goods increases, this impacts household spending and, more broadly, the cost of living. Location matters when measuring the cost of living because it is subjective, unlike inflation, which measures change over a period of time. In this episode, Nimo and Jas explore what matters most when deciding where to live and how much it cos...

Welcome to season three of the Four Degrees to the Streets Podcast! We’re excited to be back to continue delivering relatable and informative episodes this year. Make sure to watch this full recording on our YouTube channel . In this episode, Nimo & Jas break down what work, workplaces, and the workforce look like almost three years after the COVID-19 pandemic sent many industries home and out...

That’s a wrap! Thank you to all of our listeners for a great second season. We will be back for season three this fall. In this season finale, Nimo and Jas dig into emerging programs in the urban planning and development space. Specifically, the topic and pilot programs related to Universal Basic Mobility (UBM) in the transportation field and Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund launched in 2021. Arguably...

In honor of Women’s History Month, we dedicate this episode to the authentic experiences of people who identify as women in public space and the built environment. Planners of all gender identities have a responsibility to create spaces that are safe and accessible for all users. Women are often underrepresented in the fields responsible for these conditions. Such as planning, architecture, and en...

This week, Nimo and Jas sat down with Charles T. Brown, Founder and CEO of  Equitable Cities . A minority- and veteran-owned urban planning, public policy, and research firm focused at the intersection of transportation, health, and equity. Charles is internationally known for his research and advocacy on barriers to access in transportation and the built environment for racialized minorities...

“Reimagine 911.” A common call-to-action in the movement following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. Since then, many local governments have begun to assess their policing systems, gun violence, investments in public safety, and public health and human services. Traditionally, only Police and Fire/EMS have been available to respond in-person to a person in crisis on a 24/7 basis, but that is cha...

In honor of the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday earlier this month, Nimo and Jas traced the dream back to the 1960s at the height of the civil rights movement. Following the March on Washington and his famous "I Have A Dream" speech, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, authorizing the federal government to enforce desegregation and prohibit discrim...