Diana Lind — founder & author of The New Urban Order newsletter — joins us to discuss her extensive career writing on urban planning, zoning, and American housing policy. She talks about the evolution of urbanism and architecture media, and how it has shaped public discourse surrounding growth, housing crises, and city development. The conversation reaches into her book Brave New Home, where she tackles alternatives to single-family zoning and the social implications of various housing models.
We get into the specifics of a few recently published newsletters.
We discuss:
00:00 The journey into writing about urban planning.
03:50 On the housing crisis.
05:48 The New Urban Order and writing on Substack.
07:37 The American context in urban planning.
10:41 Montana's housing reforms.
19:39 The role of language in urban policy.
21:26 Writing for different audiences.
25:45 Challenges in writing about housing.
28:49 Federal lands and housing solutions.
30:33 Challenges of single family zoning.
34:56 Alternative housing development models.
39:41 Government property conversions.
46:54 The appeal of Philadelphia.
52:46 The New Urban Order newsletter.
54:32 Favorite commute and final thoughts.
For context:
On converting public lands to housing (the referenced newsletter).
On Montana's sweeping housing reform (via Sightline Institute).
Connect with Diana: