Unsprawling Podcast

Community-building with Community Radio (w/ Adam Kamis of CJSW)

Hazen "Biz" Ellwood is joined by Adam Kamis, Station Manager at CJSW. CJSW is Calgary’s only campus and community radio station, and a cultural institution, fostering and empowering a diversity of alternative voices across Calgary. Biz and Adam speak on the resilience of CJSW in the digital media landscape, its role in empowering alternative perspectives of Calgary, uplifting voices through volunteerism and community media, as well as the inspiration behind “The Sounds of Radiotown”. Music, journalism, and other forms of media are the engine of cultural change, with the institutions producing them their vehicles. Using these institutions as incubators for uplifting diverse perspectives isn’t inevitable. These are generous choices that community members make, creating spaces for each other to engage, uphold healthy discourse as members of our democracy, and encourage each other to communicate our perspectives to the public. The episode will broadcast on 90.9 FM within the next week as part of the station’s funding drive promotional programming. We hope that Unsprawling and our podcast will integrate as part of “Radiotown” more in the future, so stay tuned! I’m transitioning the podcast to monthly due to balancing the workload of school, but I’d be happy to accommodate more uploads if anyone is interested in researching, writing, and/or hosting alongside me. Thanks so much to the staff at CJSW for helping with the production of this video podcast, and for incubating and uplifting local talent across Calgary for decades.

The Future of Housing Advocacy in Calgary (w/ Kathryn Davies)

Last month we released a podcast with Kathryn Davies of More Neighbours Calgary, to talk about the organization, housing advocacy in Calgary, and the trajectory for both in the past and future. In this episode, we touch on the birth of More Neighbours Calgary, including the Housing Strategy decision that precluded it; the importance of positive community engagement in overcoming these political challenges; the impacts of zoning on housing affordability and availability; and the necessity for collaboration among various stakeholders for housing solutions. We touched on the experiences that Kathryn has had as a homeowner and community member in Banff Trail, one of the original testing sites for R-CG; and how those experiences helped influence her, and connect the members of More Neighbours Calgary. Just because Council passed Rezoning for Housing doesn't mean the fight for pro-housing policy is over. We could be set back to square one at any second if they choose to rescind the decision. More Neighbours Calgary is looking forward to representing the pro-housing voice in ongoing LAP's, in the City of Calgary's Zoning Bylaw engagement, in hot-button development issues around the city (like Glenmore Landing and Viscount Bennet), single-egress building code reform, and much-much more in preparation for next year's municipal election. I'm working on a video to examine the Rezoning for Housing decision and debate within the context of zoning reform past, and future. So stay tuned for more interviews in the coming months from a variety of exciting guests on this topic!

Launching the Unsprawling Forum!

Today Hazen "Bis" Ellwood is joined by Jakob, Emma, and Corbin for a chat about the new Unsprawling forum!

Benefits of Pedestrianizing 17th Ave, Banff Ave w/ Chris Chiasson, Pedestrian Advocate

Today, Hazen "Bis" Ellwood is joined by Chris Chiasson, Calgary's number one pedestrian advocate to discuss his petition to pilot a pedestrianized 17th Avenue. Banff, Canmore, and other open streets projects are also discussed.

The Green Line is Moving Forward! (ft. Willem Klumpenhouwer)

Hazen "Bis" Ellwood is joined by transit expert Willem Klumpenhouwer to discuss the recent changes to the Green Line in Calgary and what that means for the future of the project!