Better Planners Podcast
Brought to you by the Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association (OAPA), Better Planners is a podcast that delves into in-depth conversations around relevant and timely stories that surround the urban planning realm including the ground-level work of planners, community development advocates, and allied professions. With an emphasis on amplifying the voices and stories of marginalized communities. The episodes will be a resource and guide to provide insights into planning related topics people face on a daily basis that may be inspiring, challenging, questioning, and/or innovative. This podcast is intended for urban, regional, and rural community planners. Or you could be a community advocate, student, newcomer, or seasoned professional, this podcast series will have something for everyone! So join us as we all become better planners! Instagram: @betterplanners
Episodes
24 episodes
Stories and Advice from Planners Across Oregon
Welcome to another episode of the Better Planners Podcast! This time Mary is joined by four other planners who also happen to be our podcast volunteers! They bring stories and advice from all across Oregon with various backgrounds and expertise...
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52:00
Orchestrating the Vibes - Planning like an Artist
In this episode, Mary and Shelley interview planner and artist: Miguel Vazquez! He is a FAICP planner who likes to mix the worlds of art and planning together. We discuss how to think like an artist to become a better planner and why that is im...
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42:41
Hands-On Play as Community Engagement
The Better Planners Podcast is back for 2025! In this episode, Shelley and Mary interview James Rojas and John Kamp to talk about their new book, Dream Play Build: Hands On Community Engagement for Enduring Places and Spaces.They talk e...
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49:29
Pocket Park Ep: Pacific Northwest High Speed Rail
Welcome to another installment of a pocket park episode! In this one, Mary and Shelley discuss all things high speed rail, including the new federal funding to study a potential high speed rail line in the Pacific Northwest. What are the exciti...
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26:18
Pocket Park Ep: Offshore Wind Energy in Oregon?
Shelley and Mary have a second pocket park episode for you all! This one is a shorter episode on a very interesting topic: Offshore Wind Energy. Is there going to be one along the Oregon coast? We talk about how this federal project got to this...
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27:15
The State of Housing and Oregon's Communities Respond
We have a longer episode for you all this time, but it's a good one! In this episode we discuss the state of housing: how did we get here, what does the future hold, and we interview a few interesting projects happening in Oregon as they try fi...
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1:25:24
Planning Workplace Dynamics
Shelley, Mary, and special guest Kristy Kilbourne, are back with a great episode discussing various issues that come up in the Planning Department or Planning Office and those workplace dynamics at play. This episode actually came ...
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1:06:21
Urban Planning and Neurodiversity
Shelley and Mary are back for another fascinating discussion around urban planning and neurodiversity. In this episode they interview Dr. Gala Korniyenko, who received her PhD at The Ohio State University. Her research explores the nexus of urb...
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49:54
Pocket Park Ep: A RLUIPA Case in Oregon
Welcome to the first Pocket Park Episode! These episodes are shorter and focus on current events, stories, studies, etc, that are happening right now in the world. In this episode, Shelley and Mary, focus on a case in Brookings, Or...
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22:00
State Housing Policy in Oregon and the 2024 Legislative Session
Welcome back to Better Planners podcast in 2024! We're starting the year off with a big one on state housing policy in Oregon, what to expect for the 2024 legislative session, and how planners and other allied professions can participate in the...
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55:13
The Taylor Swift Transit Effect
Shelley and Mary are back for another interesting episode on the the “Taylor Swift Transit Effect.” We discuss interesting stats and facts from this phenomenon, some criticisms to looking at this event as a decider on changes for transit, and f...
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43:37
The 15-Minute City Conspiracy Theory
We're back!! Shelley and Mary are back in full force with a new episode all about the 15-Minute City Conspiracy Theory. We'll dive into the details surrounding the 15-Minute City theory and the conspiracy theories surrounding it, i...
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43:24
Meet the New Hosts & Our Hottest City Planning Takes
In the first episode of Season 2, you'll get to know a little bit more about the new hosts: Mary & Shelley! They'll provide information on how they got interested in city planning, what to expect with the new season, how to be involved, and...
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33:35
Better Planners Podcast Trailer
Welcome to the Better Planners Podcast brought to you by the Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association! Better Planners is a podcast that aims to highlight and facilitate real stories about real solutions from the ground-...
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2:21
"Perspectives on Planning from a 50 Year Career" with Adrian Freund, FAICP
[OLD PODCAST EPISODE] Adrian Freund visits the mobile studio to discuss environmental justice, hazard mitigation, and disaster recovery planning. A pillar of the hazard mitigation planning community, Adrian is an AICP Fellow with almost five de...
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47:24
"Urbanism Next - new mobility and emerging technologies" with Becky Steckler, AICP
[OLD PODCAST EPISODE] Will and Chris chat with Becky Steckler as she discusses new mobility, emerging technologies, and building the places you really want to live. Becky serves as the Urbanism Next program director for the University of Ore...
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41:28
“Master Planned Communities (Designing with Nature for Community Well-being)” with Steve Nygren
[OLD PODCAST EPISODE] Steve Nygren joins the PWP mobile studio to talk about master planning for community wellness. Steve is the founder and CEO of Serenbe, a wellness community created as a model to demonstrate that preserving 70% of green sp...
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1:18:30
“Planning for Smaller Communities in Oregon” with Nick Snead, AICP and Dustin Nilsen, AICP
[OLD PODCAST EPISODE] Nick Snead AICP, the Community Development Director at the City of Madras, OR, and Dustin Nilsen AICP, the Planning Director of Hood River, OR, join the PWP mobile studio to share lessons learned from planning in smaller, ...
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1:21:40
“Planning for Wildfire” with Molly Mowery, AICP and Will Smith
[OLD PODCAST EPISODE] Molly Mowery, AICP and Guest/Host Will Smith join Pints With Planners to discuss “Planning for Wildfire”. With changing climate dynamics and the expansion of the built environment into natural wildfire areas, community dev...
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1:05:24
“Sustainable Urban and Regional Development” with Kale Roberts and Peter Ulrich
[OLD PODCAST EPISODE] Kale Roberts and Peter Ulrich stop by the Pints With Planners’ mobile studio to chat about “Sustainable Urban and Regional Development”. In a wide ranging conversation, Kale and Peter present methods for promoting su...
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1:00:40
“Post-Conflict / Post-Disaster Recovery Planning” with Shipra Narang Suri
[OLD PODCAST EPISODE] Shipra Narang Suri, the current Coordinator of the Urban Planning and Design Branch at UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme), joins PWP for a conversation on “Post-Conflict / Post-Disaster Recovery Planni...
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54:43
“Creating Memorable Community Spaces, Part II” – Cynthia Bowen
[OLD PODCAST EPISODE] For this episode of PWP, Cynthia Bowen, the current (at the time of recording) President of the American Planning Association (APA), joins us for a conversation on “Creating Memorable Community Spaces.” During the second e...
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1:06:54