Sidewalk Ballet

Part One of a Two Part Documentary The Constitution begins with "We the People." The rest of the American story is, in many ways, the unfolding of who becomes "We." The Democracy of Public Space – Part One: Do We Mean It? traces the evolution of the National Mall from an unfinished vision into one of the world's great civic stages, culminating in Marian Anderson's historic 1939 concert at the Linc...

For most people, the work of managing a downtown is invisible. We notice the festivals, the flower baskets, the clean sidewalks, the thriving restaurants, and the public spaces—but rarely the people whose job is to help all of those things work together. In this episode features a conversation with two pioneers of the downtown management profession: Michael Edwards and Kathleen Rawson. They've eac...

What does a place feel like when your nervous system trusts it? In this episode of The Sidewalk Ballet, Chip talks with placemaking researcher, author, and practitioner Cara Courage for a conversation about the evolving field of placemaking, how it is understood, misunderstood, and why it matters. Together they explore the relationship between people and place, the stories our environments carry,...

For more than four hundred years, Chambers of Commerce have helped businesses thrive by bringing people together around shared interests and common goals. But what if we applied that same idea to human connection? In this Small Block episode, Chip talks with Charlotte Massey of the U.S. Chamber of Connection, a growing movement that treats connection as something more than a personal responsibilit...

Plus - Local Sports as Community Infrastructure What makes a place memorable? Why do certain moments stay with us long after the details fade? And what role do emotion, ritual, joy, and belonging play in shaping the communities we care about most? In this episode of Sidewalk Ballet, Chip explores the idea of “Return on Emotion” — the belief that some of the most important value created in cities a...

In this Small Block, Chip sits down with Nolan Marshall of the Social District in downtown Los Angeles to talk about Pico — the district’s “Canine Experience Officer” and an important member of the Ambassador team. What begins as a conversation about a dog quickly becomes something deeper: a conversation about place identity, emotional connection, and the surprisingly powerful role symbols can pla...

Downtowns exist in tension. Public and private. Civic and commercial. Open and managed. They are places where strangers negotiate coexistence in real time — and where questions around trust, authority, belonging, and safety become deeply visible. In this episode, Chip sits down with Shane Zahn, Director of Community Safety for the Minneapolis Downtown Council and Downtown Improvement District, for...

To Celebrate Jane Jacob's Birthday, Sidewalk Ballet is launching a new series of bonus episodes that we are calling Small Blocks. Short stories about people and places that you can listen to when you just have a few minutes.  Our first Small Block comes from Susan Hughes, a Children's book writer from Toronto and her story about, well, Jane.   Susan Hughes Kids Can Press Valerie Boivin Illustratio...

Anastasia Sukhoroslova is an urbanist focused on connecting a global community of people shaping cities. Through her platform, All Things Urban , she has built a network that brings together practitioners, thinkers, and emerging voices from around the world—creating space to share ideas, tools, and perspectives across geographies and disciplines. Her work sits at the intersection of curiosity and...

In a thoughtful and deeply human conversation, tamika l. butler reflects on what it means to build systems that serve people over time. From transportation justice and community trust to the role of joy in public life, Tamika offers a powerful reminder that better systems don’t emerge overnight. They require patience, courage, and a belief that the work of making cities more equitable is always wo...

Retail is often treated as a category—something to optimize, disrupt, or replace. But long before it was an industry, exchange was one of the original reasons cities existed at all. In this episode, we explore how retail is evolving on the ground—and why it still matters for the health of our streets and downtown districts. Guest host Josh Yeager is joined by retail strategist Michael Berne and st...

To close out Season One of The Sidewalk Ballet, we turn to a conversation about showing up. Across cities everywhere, civic engagement has become increasingly distant — shaped by professionalized systems, complex processes, and a sense that participation is reserved for those who already know how to navigate it. For many people, the question isn’t whether they care about their city, but whether th...

San Francisco’s Tenderloin has always been more than its headlines. Long treated as a containment zone, it has also been a refuge — a place where marginalized communities found belonging, built culture, and made public life possible in spite of neglect, oppression and disinvestment. In 1966, that history erupted inside a cafeteria at Turk and Taylor. The Compton’s Cafeteria Riot is often told as a...

In this episode of The Sidewalk Ballet, Chip is joined by Lezlie Lowe, journalist and author of No Place to Go, for a wide-ranging conversation about one of the most essential—and most ignored—elements of city life: public bathrooms. What begins as a seemingly simple question about access quickly unfolds into a deeper exploration of gender equity, disability access, public health, privatization, a...

Dr. Christine Brooks is the founding chair of the Masters in Expressive Arts Coaching and Community Building , a new program at the California Institute of Integral Studies, that blends creativity, leadership, and social impact. With a background spanning coaching, the arts, and community practice, she and her colleagues designed the program to prepare students to meet the challenges of our time —...

As a new year begins, we take a moment to look at the future. This episode features two fascinating conversations. First we talk with Futurist JT Mudge about how understanding changes helps us imagine, design, and prepare for the cities of tomorrow. Then Seattle based historian, Feliks Banel, highlights how the lense through which we imagine a future can shape the world of tomorrow. JT Mudge is an...

In this New Year’s episode of The Sidewalk Ballet, Chip sits down with Josh Yeager — a deeply thoughtful placemaker and one of the most generous champions of this work — to talk about what he’s seeing on the ground right now. Not in theory, but in real places, with real people. Josh brings a wide lens shaped by years of practice and support for others doing this work, helping surface the patterns,...

Cities are often shaped by experts, policy, and process. But what happens when young people are trusted to help lead the work? In this episode of The Sidewalk Ballet, we explore what cities can become when youth are treated not as voices to consult, but as collaborators to trust. Part One: Child-Friendly Cities, with Mara Mintzer We begin in Boulder, Colorado with Mara Mintzer, co-founder and Exec...

Urban planner, author, and placemaker Jay Pitter, MES joins The Sidewalk Ballet to talk about her forthcoming book Black Public Joy: No Permit or Permission Required. Through her award-winning practice, Jay has shaped national city-building conversations and led equity-based projects across North America. Her work begins with one radical premise: that public joy is not a luxury, but a human right....

Kady Yellow is an international Placemaking expert who has been activating public spaces since 2010, when she first discovered the power of collaboration among governments, communities, and the cultural sector to create vibrant, people-centered cities. In this Episode, Chip and Kady discuss her path, teachers and lessons that brought her to the work she is doing in Jacksonville, Florida, as the Vi...

Nate Storring is the Co-Executive Director of Project for Public Spaces, where he helps shape the organization’s strategy and leads its work in placemaking, communications, and development. Over the years, he’s been a driving force behind PPS’s publishing and research—including How to Turn a Place Around and new explorations of inclusive placemaking that expand how we think about belonging in publ...

Majora Carter is one of the most visionary voices in urban revitalization today. A real estate developer, strategist, and Peabody Award–winning broadcaster, she has redefined what it means for communities to shape their own futures. From her groundbreaking work in the South Bronx to her national platform as an advocate for environmental justice and economic empowerment, Majora has spent her career...

As we kick off the sidewalk ballet - a project dedicated to understanding cities and strengthening community - There is really no better place to start than at the neighborhood cafe, or the corner pub. Karen Christensen is an author, publisher, and community leader whose work spans culture, sustainability, and the power of networks. As the founder of Berkshire Publishing Group, she has long champi...