Building Better Cities

How San Diego rewired California housing incentives with Colin Parent

For generations, California has approached housing growth through a familiar playbook: long planning processes, neighborhood-by-neighborhood debates, and major reforms that often struggle to deliver homes at scale. But every so often, an incentive structure quietly changes the system. In this episode of Building Better Cities, we explore one of those policies: California’s Density Bonus Law [https://www.hcd.ca.gov/sites/default/files/docs/planning-and-community/density-bonus-law.pdf], and the findings from Circulate Planning and Policy [https://www.circulatesd.org/]’s new “Win-Win Bonus” report [https://assets.nationbuilder.com/circulatesd/pages/16081/attachments/original/1775797225/Win-Win_Bonus_-_FINAL_%28compressed%29.pdf?1775797225] on how this tool has become one of the state’s most effective drivers of housing production and urban development. Colin Parent [https://www.circulatesd.org/colinparent], Executive Director of Circulate Planning and Policy and a key architect of California’s expanded Bonus Law joins host Kate Gasparro to discuss Bonus Law's success. Colin previously worked under Governor Jerry Brown at the California Department of Housing and Community Development, where he helped shape statewide housing policy during a period of major change following the dissolution of redevelopment agencies. Together, Kate and Colin discuss how Bonus Law evolved from a rarely used statute into a central housing production tool, now accounting for a significant share of multifamily housing approvals in California. We also examine how San Diego became an early testing ground for reform, how local innovation scaled into state policy, and why incentive-based approaches can sometimes outperform more traditional regulatory strategies. Beyond the mechanics, this conversation explores broader questions of housing affordability, urban infrastructure, and coalition-building: what it takes to align public and private interests—and where even successful policies may still leave gaps, particularly for middle-income households. Whether you work in planning, development, public policy, or simply care about the future of housing affordability, this episode offers a behind-the-scenes look at how a local experiment became statewide policy—and what it signals for the next generation of housing and infrastructure reform. Resources: Bonus tracks- your musical experience into understanding bonus law (Circulate Planning and Policy) [https://www.circulatesd.org/bonus_tracks] California's density bonus is a 'win-win' for developers and affordable housing (Planetizen) [https://www.planetizen.com/news/2026/04/137335-report-californias-density-bonus-win-win-developers-and-affordable-housing] San Diego housing density bonus is spurring affordable units (SmartCitiesDive) [https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/san-diego-affordable-housing-density/622441/] Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2405141/fan_mail/new] Thanks for listening to Building Better Cities! If you'd like to stay connected, don't forget to Subscribe and Follow. You can find all our archived newsletters and podcasts right here [https://buildingbettercities.com/newsletter].  Want to get in touch? Just email the team at kate@buildingbettercities.com.

What makes a better city? Inside LEED’s urban framework with Dr. Vatsal Bhatt

How do you measure whether a city is actually getting better? Most people know LEED [https://www.usgbc.org/leed] as the gold standard for green buildings. But cities are more than buildings—they’re systems made up of housing, transportation, public space, infrastructure, resilience, health, and opportunity. In this episode of Building Better Cities, Kate Gasparro sits down with Dr. Vatsal Bhatt [https://www.usgbc.org/people/vatsal-bhatt/0011129534], Vice President at the U.S. Green Building Council and global lead for LEED for Cities and Communities [https://www.usgbc.org/leed/rating-systems/leed-for-cities-leed-for-communities], to explore how one of the world’s most recognized sustainability frameworks has expanded from buildings to the scale of neighborhoods, communities, and entire cities. They discuss why LEED for Cities and Communities was created, how it differs from traditional building certifications, and why an outcomes-driven, data-centered approach matters when cities are trying to balance growth, equity, climate goals, and quality of life. The conversation also explores a bigger question: do rating systems simply recognize good projects—or can they actually change how communities are planned, governed, and built? Whether you’re a developer, planner, policymaker, or someone who simply cares about the future of your community, this episode offers a fresh framework for thinking about what it really means to build better cities. Resources: St Paul's The Heights redevelopment hearns LEED Platinum precertification (REJournals) [https://rejournals.com/saint-pauls-the-heights-redevelopment-earns-leed-platinum-precertification/] onMain- Dayton's Innovation District (onMain) [https://www.google.com/search?q=onmain+dayton+leed&newwindow=1&sca_esv=666bf1fb673a79dd&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS998US1001&sxsrf=ANbL-n59wbC-qJlKb23PqwMdcV86EfRT5w:1777420300950&ei=DEjxaf_aOcaP8L0Pv_-9uA8&start=0&sa=N&sstk=Af77f_fU8FzGW-r3DUC31oSkaf55VvfyUVoXya1ReajXsDH8igG-DVloDA0wuZxSapZlRG5OaPa7k3GzUIXkusrwJisQpA-DB-ZbNDwGQA9ohGOHlVrQlAOd6o9c6Vl1NRtU&ved=2ahUKEwj_kJ7N3pGUAxXGB7wBHb9_D_c4ChDy0wN6BAgrEAQ&biw=1485&bih=952&dpr=2] The masterplan of MIND - the Milan Innovation District (Mario Cucinella Architects) [https://www.mcarchitects.it/en/projects/the-masterplan-of-mind-the-milan-innovation-district] Siemensstadt 2.0: Research and industry closely linked (Brain City Berlin) [https://braincity.berlin/en/stories/story/siemensstadt-20-research-and-industry-closely-linked] Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2405141/fan_mail/new] Thanks for listening to Building Better Cities! If you'd like to stay connected, don't forget to Subscribe and Follow. You can find all our archived newsletters and podcasts right here [https://buildingbettercities.com/newsletter].  Want to get in touch? Just email the team at kate@buildingbettercities.com.

Funding city infrastructure at the ballot box: what Nashville got right with Amanda Wall Vandegrift

Transit ballot measures are often seen as a long shot — especially when affordability is top of mind and voters are being asked to raise their own taxes. But in November 2024, 66% of Nashville voters said yes to Choose How You Move [https://transit.nashville.gov/], a half-penny sales tax funding $3.1 billion in transit expansion, sidewalk construction, and urban infrastructure improvements across Davidson County. So what made it work — and what can other cities learn heading into the 2026 midterm elections? In November 2024, sixty-six percent of Nashville voters approved Choose How You Move — a half-penny sales tax funding $3.1 billion in transit expansion, sidewalk construction, and urban infrastructure improvements across Davidson County.  So what changed? In this episode of Building Better Cities, host Kate Gasparro sits down with Amanda Wall Vandergrift [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-wall-vandegrift-17953956/], Deputy CEO of WeGo Public Transit, to unpack the specific messaging, coalition-building, and program design strategies that moved two-thirds of voters to raise their own taxes. In this episode, we discuss: * How Nashville flipped the narrative from "fix transit" to "give us more of what's already working" — and why that distinction matters * Why framing the program around sidewalks, signals, service, and safety resonated more than flashy urban development projects * The one strategic mistake Amanda sees transit agencies repeat when taking infrastructure programs to the ballot box * What cities pursuing sustainable development, urban regeneration, and voter-approved transportation investment should be doing right now ahead of November 2026 This episode is essential listening for local leaders, city planners, transit advocates, and real estate investors betting on transit-oriented infrastructure. Resources: 5 strategies to help transit ballot measures succeed (SmartCitiesDive) [https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/transit-ballot-measures-strategies/815833/] Transit Wins Big Again in Local Electrions Across America (StreetsBlog USA) [https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/transit-ballot-measures-strategies/815833/] Nashville among wave of successful 2024 transit votes nationwide (Tenessee Lookout) [https://tennesseelookout.com/2024/11/11/nashville-among-wave-of-successful-2024-transit-votes-nationwide/] 80% of Public Transit Measures Passed in 2025 Elections (Planetizen) [https://www.planetizen.com/news/2025/11/136342-80-public-transit-measures-passed-last-weeks-elections] Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2405141/fan_mail/new] Thanks for listening to Building Better Cities! If you'd like to stay connected, don't forget to Subscribe and Follow. You can find all our archived newsletters and podcasts right here [https://buildingbettercities.com/newsletter].  Want to get in touch? Just email the team at kate@buildingbettercities.com.

Part 1: Why zoning reform isn't solving the housing crisis with Yonah Freemark

Upzoning is often pitched as the silver bullet for the housing crisis — change the rules, let developers build, and supply will bring prices down. But the reality is a lot more complicated. In this episode, host Kate Gasparro sit down with Yonah Freemark [https://www.urban.org/author/yonah-freemark] to unpack what the research actually tells us about the relationship between zoning reform and housing production across U.S. cities. Yonah is a principal research associate at the Urban Institute [https://www.urban.org/], where he leads the practice area on Fair Housing, Land Use, and Transportation and directs the Land Use Lab. He holds a PhD in urban studies and master's degrees in city planning and transportation from MIT, and his research on zoning, affordable housing, and urban development has been published in the Journal of the American Planning Association, Housing Policy Debate, and Urban Affairs Review, among others. He's also the founder of The Transport Politic [https://www.thetransportpolitic.com/], one of the most widely cited independent platforms tracking transit infrastructure investment in the U.S. and globally.  In this episode, we discuss: * Why upzoning doesn't guarantee housing gets built — and the market conditions that actually drive development  * How land values absorb the gains from rezoning before construction ever happens  * The role of interest rates, developer equity, and financial feasibility in urban housing production  * Why no single land use policy will solve the housing crisis, and what a more complete urban planning toolkit looks like This is part one of a two-part series on how zoning, housing supply, and transportation infrastructure are shaping the future of American cities. In the next episode, we bring in Sam Sklar of Exasperated Infrastructure to explore how transit investment, city building, and mobility policy connect to the land use conversation. Resources: Upzoning Chicago: Impacts of a Zoning Reform on Property Values and Housing Construction (Urban Affairs Review) [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1078087418824672] Downzoning Chicago: How Local Land Use Policy has Reduced Houisng Construction and Reinforced Segregation (Urban Findings) [https://findingspress.org/article/147490-downzoning-chicago-how-local-land-use-policy-has-reduced-housing-construction-and-reinforced-segregation] America Has a Housing Shortage. Zoning Changes Near Transit Could Help. (Urban Institute) [https://apps.urban.org/features/affordable-housing-shortage-and-zoning/] Unifying Upzoning with Affordable Housing Production Strategies (Urban Institute) [https://www.urban.org/research/publication/unifying-upzoning-affordable-housing-production-strategies-report] Austin's Surge of New Housing Construction Drove Down Rents (Pew) [https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2026/03/18/austins-surge-of-new-housing-construction-drove-down-rents] Dallas in Booming- Except for its downtown (Wall Street Journal) [https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/commercial/dallas-texas-downtown-struggle-e66ce96b] Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2405141/fan_mail/new] Thanks for listening to Building Better Cities! If you'd like to stay connected, don't forget to Subscribe and Follow. You can find all our archived newsletters and podcasts right here [https://buildingbettercities.com/newsletter].  Want to get in touch? Just email the team at kate@buildingbettercities.com.

Part 2: Why transit investment is really a city building decision with Yonah Freemark and Sam Sklar

You pay rent or a mortgage every month and you know exactly what that costs. But how much are you spending just to get where you need to go? For a lot of Americans, transportation is the hidden cost of where they live — and it's a cost that's baked into the way we've built our cities. In part two of this series, Yonah Freemark [https://www.urban.org/author/yonah-freemark] of the Urban Institute [https://www.urban.org/] stays with us and we're joined by Sam Sklar [https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelbsklar/] — the writer, consultant, and advocate behind Exasperated Infrastructures [https://www.exasperatedinfrastructures.com/] — to explore the deep connection between public transit investment, urban land use policy, and how cities grow. Sam brings experience across urban planning, sustainable infrastructure consulting, and transit advocacy, and his platform has become a go-to voice on what it actually takes to build more equitable, people-centered transportation systems in American cities. In this episode, we discuss: * Why transportation infrastructure is land use — and how the space cities dedicate to roads and highways shapes what's possible for housing density, walkable communities, and sustainable urban development  * Why transit oriented development alone won't save struggling transit agencies * Our March Madness bracket of transit investments reshaping American cities  This is part two of a two-part series on how zoning reform, housing supply, and transportation infrastructure investment are shaping the future of sustainable, equitable American cities. Catch part one to hear Yonah Freemark break down why upzoning alone won't solve the housing crisis. Resources: The Bay Area Considers the Unthinkable: Life Without BART (NYTimes) [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/us/bart-bay-area-san-francisco-transit.html] The Smart Enough City (Ben Green) [https://www.benzevgreen.com/the-smart-enough-city/] Virginia DOT's Smart Scale approch to allocating tax dollars (VA DOT) [https://smartscale.virginia.gov/] Queenslink: Connecting Communities with Rails & Trails (Queenslink) [https://thequeenslink.org/] Western Avenue alders revived Chicago's BRT dream (StreetsBlog Chicago) [https://chi.streetsblog.org/2024/05/23/western-avenue-alders-revive-chicagos-brt-dream-how-can-we-stop-nimbys-from-killing-it-again] After decades of dreaming, delays, LA's Wilshire subway to Beverly Hills to open in May (LA Times) [https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-02-26/la-metro-to-open-stops-connecting-downtown-to-beverly-hills-miracle-mile] How the Interborough Express Could Transform New York (NYTimes) [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/31/nyregion/interborough-express-ibx-new-york-subway.html] Build the Roosevelt Blvd Subway (Blvd Subway) [https://blvdsubway.com/] Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2405141/fan_mail/new] Thanks for listening to Building Better Cities! If you'd like to stay connected, don't forget to Subscribe and Follow. You can find all our archived newsletters and podcasts right here [https://buildingbettercities.com/newsletter].  Want to get in touch? Just email the team at kate@buildingbettercities.com.