About this podcast
The Reflective Urbanist is for all city-builders, from design professionals, developers, and civil servants to elected officials, interest groups, and community members. Each episode combines a story, a theory, and a lesson, bridging between ideas and practice to illuminate how things get done in the city.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 67 episodes
- #P061: Urban Growth Machine · 13 min · Season 4 Episode 61Every city wants to be somebody. A world-class destination. A sports town. An arts and culture hub. A place where everyone wants to live, work, and invest. But who decides what…
- #P060: What is Urban Design? · 16 min · Season 4 Episode 60Who gets to decide what our cities look like and how they work? Architects, planners, landscape architects, developers, elected officials, or the people who live there? The…
- #P059: The REAL six phases of a project · 13 min · Season 4 Episode 59“We’re gonna need a bigger boat.” “Game over, man!” And the timeless office classic: “I’m gonna need you to come in on Saturday.” What do these movie lines have to do with…
- #P058: Building the ship while you are sailing it · 14 min · Season 4 Episode 58A billion-dollar stadium. Twenty-seven committee members. Twelve months to get the design approved. The process for the Minnesota Vikings’ new stadium was designed to ensure…
- #P057: Back when Lou and I were designing the Salk together · 14 min · Season 4 Episode 57Peter is getting old. He knows this because he can remember when Louis Kahn, Edmund Bacon, and Oscar Stonorov were not historical figures—they were people his friends and…
- #P056: You may want to talk to your mother · 13 min · Season 4 Episode 56What does a broken arm have to do with unions? For Peter, quite a lot. This week on The Reflective Urbanist, a personal story about work, bodies, health, and the long road to…
- #P055: Welcome to d.b.a. · 13 min · Season 4 Episode 55This week on The Reflective Urbanist: a story about New York, memory, and the places that become ours. Episode music: Grasshopper Jump by Airstream Goes Without Saying by Sky…
- #P054: The Little Island - From predators to icons and their civic monuments · 12 min · Season 4 Episode 54What happens when billionaires start building our public spaces? This week on The Reflective Urbanist, Peter takes a closer look at Little Island in New York City—and the…
- #P053: GI Joe with the Kung Fu grip · 12 min · Season 4 Episode 53In this week’s episode of The Reflective Urbanist, Peter uses a scene from Trading Places—and the unforgettable “G.I. Joe with the Kung Fu Grip”—to explore career transitions…
- Season 4 Teaser · 6 min · Season 4The Reflective Urbanist is back for Season 4! This season, Peter turns his attention to the messy, fascinating world of large public projects: the politics, funding…
- #P052: Pretty good career advice · 19 min · Season 3 Episode 52What makes for a good career—and an even better life? In this thoughtful season finale, Peter explores the tension between achievement and meaning, offering practical advice and…
- #P051: Better lucky than good! · 15 min · Season 3 Episode 44Dumb luck, smart luck, the two-road chance, and the lucky find: What happens when a $400 million redevelopment plan collides with rising costs, shifting markets, and the…
- #P050: Secret Mall Apartment · 16 min · Season 3 Episode 50A hidden apartment inside a mall becomes the starting point for a deeper look at how we perceive and design space. This episode connects figure-ground theory and poché to reveal…
- #P049: A Ferrari engine ... with bicycle brakes · 15 min · Season 3 Episode 49At 57, Peter, a “problem student” discovers the truth: his brain was never broken—it was wired for something different. From ADHD to autism to dyslexia, we unpack why…
- #P048: So you're telling me there's a chance? · 14 min · Season 3 Episode 48Are entrepreneurs born or made? Drawing on research in genetics, intelligence, and personality, this episode explores the scientific roots of entrepreneurial behavior—and how…
- #P047: Welcome to the 7 1/2 floor · 14 min · Season 3 Episode 47Step off the elevator onto the 7½ floor and into the strange, unsettling world of liminal space—those in-between places that feel both familiar and deeply off. From Being John…
- #P046: Mailbag pt. 2 · 17 min · Season 3 Episode 46Mailbag Part 2 is here, and Peter is diving into your questions—from surprising choices in building materials to how port authorities really work. We’ll wrap it up with a look at…
- #P045: The Mailbag Episode pt. 1 · 14 min · Season 3 Episode 44One year in, The Reflective Urbanist opens the mailbag to unpack its journey so far—top episodes, surprising stats, and the stories that resonated most. It’s a candid look at…
- #P044: A Nation of Enemies, and why I can't stop thinking about Chile · 16 min · Season 3 Episode 43What can a military coup in Chile teach us about polarization, inequality, and the uneasy feeling that we’re becoming strangers to one another? From a chance encounter on a ferry…
- #P043: Boom and Bust · 22 min · Season 3 Episode 43Three real estate booms—the spec office surge of the 80s, the housing bubble of the 2000s, and today’s rental housing boom—shaped Peter’s career in unexpected ways. Each cycle…
