City Dweller

Kevin O'Neil is a retired journalist who loves exploring Chicago on foot. In 2020, he moved to McKinley Park on Chicago's Southwest Side. Prior to that, Kevin lived for many years in Rogers Park on Chicago's Far North Side.

Josh Val Martin is a tour guide, and he writes for theater and television. Josh runs Free Manchester Walking Tours , and he and his other tour guides provide a daily free walking tour of Manchester.

Joe Schwieterman is a Professor at DePaul University in the School for Public Service, Department of Public Policy, and Sustainable Urban Development​ program and Director of DePaul’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development , which promotes effective urban planning. He is an expert in the fields of public policy, transportation and urban planning, and is the author of numerous books and pe...

Reece is the creator and host of RMTransit, a YouTube channel focused on transit, infrastructure, and development around the world. He lives without a car and relies on public transportation and walking for almost all of his trips.

Paul is a lifelong Londoner and the head of London Greeters , one of more than 130 greeter organizations around the world that offer visitors free private walks with a local. London Greeters was born out of a desire to build on the legacy of the 2012 Olympics. Their greeters are volunteers who share their love of London with visitors.

Karl Florczak is a proud Manucunian who will gladly tell you why Manchester is a great place to live. He is also a big fan of trains and public transportation. If you’re a regular viewer of Geoff Marshall’s YouTube channel, you will recognize Karl from his appearance in several videos as Geoff’s “Northern Correspondent.”

Urmee Dasgupta grew up in Bangladesh and moved to Winnipeg, the city that she still calls home, to pursue a Master's Degree. She enjoys music, particularly the blues, and appreciates Winnipeg’s active music scene. Urmee is passionate about travelling to experience new places and to learn about different cultures.

Jasmine and Patrick are the Montreal-based creators of Oh the Urbanity , a YouTube channel about cities and urbanism. They traverse cities by foot, bike, and public transit and aim to make informative and entertaining videos combining streetscapes and demographic data.

Ron Swinson is the President of Peach Properties, a real estate development firm located in Columbia, South Carolina. His firm was responsible for restoring the Equitable Arcade, a shopping arcade built in 1912 by a group of businessmen in Columbia including Edwin Wales Robertson, a prominent banker and developer.

In this episode, I talk with a panel of three people involved in historic preservation in Columbia, South Carolina. Janie Campbell is a Preservation Consultant at the law firm Rogers Lewis Jackson Mann & Quinn. Meg Syms is the Marketing Director for the architecture firm Garvin Design Group. John Sherrer is the Director of Preservation at Historic Columbia , a non-profit organization that pres...

Tom Babin is the creator of the YouTube channel Shifter and the author of Frostbike: The Joy, Pain and Numbness of Winter Cycling, an exploration of getting around on two wheels throughout the year. His work is committed to furthering the conversation about the ways bicycles can make our lives better, for smart and thoughtful people who care about urban transportation and the future of city life.

Emily Talen is an urban planner who directs the Urbanism Lab at the University of Chicago. The Urbanism Lab studies the built environment and its meaning and impact. Its research focuses on social, cultural, and political movements aimed at improving the quality of the built environment. Of particular interest is the notion of sustainable urbanism and the ability of cities to be places of vibrancy...

Natalie Dalea is a Creative Writing Fellow who is working on a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Minnesota with a focus on creative nonfiction writing. She also worked as an intern for Curious City , a podcast from Chicago Public Media that answers questions about Chicago, the surrounding region, and its people.

Mary Wisniewski has 32 years of experience as a reporter in Chicago, most recently as transportation columnist for the Chicago Tribune. "Algren: A Life," her biography of Chicago writer Nelson Algren, won the Society of Midland Authors 2017 award for best biography and the Chicago Writers Association award for best non-fiction. Mary has taught creative writing at the Newberry Library and creative...

Angel Montalvo is the Manager of the city of Chicago SAFE Ambassadors Program . SAFE stands for Streets Are For Everybody. Their mission is to educate and encourage bicyclists and pedestrians in order to make Chicago a safer place for active transportation. Angel has worked for and managed this program for the past 10 years, and he has worked in transportation since he was 16. He is a a proud husb...

Jennifer Lizak is passionate about supporting the cultural community in Chicago, particularly in the areas of music, community radio, literacy, and education. She is also concerned about social justice, especially in the areas of healthcare, civil rights and economic equality. Jennifer is the Coordinator of Special Projects for Cultural and Civic Engagement at the Chicago Public Library where she...

Robbie Ellis is a presenter and producer for Chicago's classical music station, WFMT . He’s been a teaching artist with The Second City , Chicago Opera Theater , and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra ; and he’s composed and MC’d musical comedy concerts for the Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago and Fourth Coast Ensemble . He is a music director for comedy theater, works as an event MC around town, and perf...

Genna Contino is a graduate of the University of South Carolina who reports on local government for the Charlotte Observer . She has also covered gentrification and affordable housing for the Greenville News and growth and development for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. As part of her reporting on public transportation in Charlotte, Genna attempted the challenge of going car-free in Charlotte for...

Joel Muller is a Psychologist who grew up in Australia before moving to the United States when he was in high school. He lived and worked in New Orleans prior to relocating to Chicago.

Rick Harnish co-founded the High Speed Rail Alliance in 1993 and has been its Executive Director since 2001. The Alliance builds the political will for systemic change by advocating for integrated rail and transit networks connected by 200+ mph high-speed lines. By connecting cities, towns and airports, the high-speed trains will dramatically expand economic opportunities and slash carbon emission...

Ben Adams grew up in the Elmwood Park neighborhood of Columbia, South Carolina. As a child, he couldn't wait to move to a larger city. Ben went to college in Washington, DC and then moved to New York City. During visits back to Columbia, he was impressed by the revitalization happening in Columbia's downtown. Eventually, Ben decided to move back to Columbia to pursue his dream of opening a booksto...

Rachel Hyman moved to Chicago to attend the University of Chicago and has continued to live in Chicago after graduation. She is the founder of Anthology of Chicago , a project that has collected poetry, fiction and nonfiction about Chicago neighborhoods. Rachel has also hosted a reading series called Welcome to the Neighborhood in collaboration with Paul Dailing , the creator of 1,001 Chicago Afte...

Nathan grew up in the London Borough of Lewisham. As a child, he developed an interest in public transportation. This led him to start the YouTube channel NetworkNathan . He is currently a student at the University of Leeds where he is pursuing a BA in Geography with Transport Studies .

Joanna Moncrieff is a native Londoner who loves to share her knowledge of the city's history as well as its best historic pubs, hidden gardens, unusual museums, quirky shops, and other lesser known treasures. She has been leading guided walks in the City of Westminster, the West End, Clerkenwell, and Islington since 2009. Joanna also leads walks closer to where she lives in Walthamstow and Chingfo...

Laura grew up in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and now lives in Chicago's Rogers Park Neighborhood. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Music from Ripon College and a Master's Degree in Music Business from Columbia College Chicago. Laura is the Marketing Manager for the Concert Management Office at Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music. Bienen hosts a variety of concerts including student and facul...