Booked on Planning

In an era where stories of triumph and redemption often stem from unlikely beginnings, "The Lost and The Found: A True Story of Homelessness, Found Family, and Second Chances" presents a poignant narrative that resonates deeply with its audience. Authored by Kevin Fagan, the tale unfolds with an exploration of the human spirit's indomitable will to find belonging and transformation...

This episode delves into the intricate world of limited equity cooperatives, social narratives, and the constantly evolving landscape of housing in America with Jonathan Tarleton, exploring his book "Homes for Living: The Fight for Social Housing and a New American Commons." Tarleton begins by describing the concept of limited equity co-ops, which function as a form of de-commodified hou...

Historic preservation is a field dedicated to safeguarding our cultural heritage, but the stability of jobs within this sector often hinges on government involvement. According to author Jeremy Wells, nearly three-quarters of all jobs in historic preservation are fundamentally designed to meet the needs of local, state, and federal government. This statistic underscores the dependence of the indus...

In this episode architect and author Amy Hetletvedt discusses her thought-provoking book, "Preserving With Purpose: Re-Imagining Buildings for Community Benefit." This conversation delves into innovative approaches to historical preservation, particularly around the idea of reimagining how communities can benefit from existing structures. A number of the book’s case studies are discussed...

In our latest episode we interview zoning attorney and author Donald Elliott about his book An Even Better Way to Zone: Achieving More Affordable, Equitable, and Sustainable Communities. Elliott’s work comes alongside other recent zoning books covered on the show, including M. Nolan Gray's Arbitrary Lines (arguing for getting rid of zoning) and Sarah Bronin’s Key to the City, his approach ali...

There’s regionalism as we all learned in planning school led by Louis Mumford at the Regional Planning Association of America (RPAA) and then there’s southern regionalism that Howard W. Odum and his Institute for Research in Social Science (IRSS) led from the University of North Carolina. The history of the southern regionalists was largely overlooked until Stephen Ramos published “Folk Engineerin...

Planning for the future can feel overwhelming, yet essential. The American Planning Association’s (APA) 2026 Trend Report offers planners foresight into upcoming trends that could shape our world. In our latest episode, we talked with Petra Hurtado, APA’s Chief Foresight and Knowledge Officer, to delve into these trends. Now in it’s fifth year (coincidentally…or not….this was our 100th episode in...

In the latest episode of the Booked On Planning podcast, hosts Stephanie Rouse and Jennifer Hiatt sat down with author and developer Jamie Madden to discuss his new book, Bittersweet Lane: Creating Home(s) in the American Affordable Housing Crisis . Part memoir and part educational guide, the book offers a rare look at the housing crisis from someone who grew up in affordable housing and now spend...

Progressivism struggles with a never ending pendulum swing between Jeffersonian and Hamiltonian impulses, bringing us to our current problem of inaction. Author Mark Dunkelman in his book, "Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress—and How to Bring It Back", explains the origins of American progressivism as a response to the upheaval created by railroads and national-scale economic power, o...

In this episode of Booked on Planning, we dive into a conversation with Zahra Ebrahim, author of 'Messy Cities: Why We Can't Plan Everything.' Ibrahim discusses the inspiration and collaborative effort behind her book, a collection of 42 essays that challenge the traditional notions of urban order and highlight the benefits of urban 'messiness'. The episode explores themes...

A road that was never built still managed to hollow out a neighborhood. We sit down with historian Emily Lieb to unpack how Baltimore’s “Road to Nowhere” took shape on paper, and why that was enough to destabilize Rosemont—a Black middle-class community of sturdy daylight rowhouses—through years of uncertainty, disinvestment, and policy misfires. This conversation isn’t just about Baltimore. It’s...

Streets can be good friends or quiet bullies. We talk with author and planner Bruce Appleyard about Livable Streets 2.0 and how design choices—lane widths, speeds, buffers, sidewalks, and bike protection—shape safety, community bonds, and the energy we feel the moment our feet touch the curb. Bruce shares the personal story behind the book’s legacy and why traffic’s “invisible harms” still fractur...

What if city design could prevent harm before it happens—and even lift our sense of purpose? We sat down with architect and planner Phillip Tabb to explore spiritual wellness as a practical, universal lens for shaping healthier streets, homes, and public spaces. Phill draws a clear line between spirituality and religion to focus on experiences we all share: safety, serenity, awe, belonging, and me...

Climate action isn’t only written in federal legislation or international agreements. It’s shaped block by block through local land use law—where homes are built, how streets connect, what landscapes we preserve, and which energy systems we permit. In this episode, we chatted with Professor John Nolan to unpack the “land use wedge,” a practical way cities can influence up to 75 percent of CO2 emis...

Forget the shiny renderings—our path to climate-ready cities starts with what already stands. We talked with architect and preservationist Carl Elefante, author of Going for Zero: Decarbonizing the Built Environment on the Path to Our Urban Future, to explore how City 3.0 can emerge by reusing buildings, redesigning streets, and resetting our standards of care. Carl breaks down Modern City 1.0 and...

What if the United States didn’t just build too many highways—but built a funding machine that makes it hard to stop? We sit down with Erick Guerra, author of Overbuilt: The High Costs and Low Rewards of U.S. Highway Construction, to unpack why capacity keeps growing, congestion doesn’t ease, and budgets bend under the weight of perpetual reconstruction. We trace the policy DNA from ISTEA through...

What if the biggest public space in your city isn’t a park—it’s the street right outside your door? We sit down with author and planner‑geographer David Prytherch to rethink roads as social infrastructure and unpack why “complete streets” is only the starting line. From the rapid legal and engineering turn that handed streets to cars a century ago to the community‑led experiments that reclaimed as...

Ever wonder why a “simple” parking spot can decide what gets built on your block, how long your commute takes, or whether your favorite cafe survives? We sit down with Henry Grabar, author of Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World, for a live episode recording that reveals how curb space, parking minimums, and meter policy quietly shape housing, transit, local business, and city budgets. H...

What happens when cities eliminate parking requirements? When curbside parking is priced at market rates? When parking revenue stays in the neighborhood instead of disappearing into general funds? These questions form the core of Donald Shoup's revolutionary approach to urban parking policy, explored in depth through Daniel Baldwin Hess's new book "The Shoup Doctrine." Bringing...

Housing affects every aspect of our lives, yet few of us truly understand the complex systems that determine where and how we live. In this eye-opening conversation with Dr. Andrew Carswell, co-editor of "Introduction to Housing, Third Edition," we explore the fascinating evolution of housing markets and what the future might hold. Carswell reveals how the timing of each edition coincide...

The racial wealth gap in Washington DC isn't what you think it is. While conventional wisdom suggests Black families couldn't access homeownership due to racist housing practices, author Tanya Maria Golash-Boza reveals a more complex and troubling reality. Drawing from her personal experience growing up in DC's Petworth neighborhood as one of the few white children in a predominantl...

What happens when you win a "free house" in one of America's most complicated real estate markets? Author Anne Elizabeth Moore pulls back the curtain on her experience receiving a donated house in Detroit through a writer's residency program that promised to solve her housing concerns while supporting her creative work. The dream quickly unravels as Moore discovers her "fr...

What makes our neighborhoods feel like home isn't just the buildings that surround us but the countless human connections that happen within them. Author Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani spent decades exploring this phenomenon by asking residents to guide her through their neighborhoods, showing her the places that matter most in their daily lives. Her approach revealed something profound: places we...

The ground beneath our cities is shifting—literally in coastal areas facing sea level rise, but also conceptually as we grapple with what urbanism means in an era of profound environmental, technological, and social transformation.  Stephanie Wakefield's provocative exploration of Miami as a laboratory for climate adaptation challenges us to completely rethink how we imagine urban futures. Mo...

Resilience is much more than just bouncing back after a disaster. Over the past decade, as climate impacts have intensified, our understanding of what makes communities truly resilient has evolved dramatically. In this conversation with Laurie Mazur, editor of Island Press's "Resilience Matters: 10 Years of Transformative Thinking," we explore how climate resilience has transformed...