S2 Ep 20. How a sea creature can help us see more of our universe. A lobster’s eyes have evolved to spot food and potential threats in murky conditions at the bottom of the ocean. Scientists have copied their structure to create a new X-ray telescope that can be used to see into the dark expanse of space.
Recordings of pulsars courtesy of The University of Manchester/Jodrell Bank.
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2,500 years ago, the Greek philosopher Zeno posed a question. If you want wanted to travel from one place to another, you first have to go half the distance, then you have to go half the distance again, and then again. You can do this infinitely and never reach your goal. This was one of the first paradoxes known to history. Since then, there have been many many others, which often leave people scratching their heads.
62 miles north of Los Angeles in the city of Palmdale, California, lies one of the most secretive aircraft design and production centers in the world: Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Program. From this location, some of the most famous and important military aircraft in the 20th and 21st centuries were created….and they are still working on new aircraft today.
The process of real estate development is critical to urban life. Without it, we’d have no homes, no stores, no community centers. But development isn’t working for everyone. All too often, new projects advance without sufficient concern for affordability, economic opportunity, or long-term vibrancy.
But as Sidewalk Labs' Head of Urban Development Alison Novak tells us, 2020 made a lot of people pause and ask: “What am I doing, and how am I impacting the world?” Real estate developers are no exception. Today, the industry is at a tipping point, and many developers are asking themselves how they can do better — while still making money.
This season of City of the Future will be all about the ideas and innovations that could lead to more equitable development. But before we can understand how development could become more inclusive in the future, we have to understand how it works today. So, in this bonus episode, Alison helps us dig into the financials, the planning documents, and beyond. Join us for some Development 101.
In this episode:
[0:01 - 5:49] We meet with Sidewalk’s Head of Urban Development, Alison Novak, a long-time affordable housing developer at a project she once worked on in Prospect Lefferts Garden, Brooklyn. And we learn why, when it comes to community engagement, development can be fraught.
[5:50 - 13:00] Alison gives us the breakdown of a development project, from how developers determine their pro forma, to when and how they refine the architectural design, to the risks involved in creating and getting approval for planning documents.
[13:01 - 17:00] Alison describes the beginning of a shift toward more inclusive development happening in the industry, and why this matters now more than ever.
City of the Future is hosted by Eric Jaffe and Vanessa Quirk, and produced by Guglielmo Mattioli. Story editing by Rough Cut Collective and Benjamin Walker. Mix is by Andrew Callaway. Art is by Tim Kau. Our music is composed by Adaam James Levin-Areddy of Lost Amsterdam. Special thanks to Alison Novak, Jesse Shapins, and Chrystal Dean.
In 1605, members of the Catholic resistance in England hatched a plot that would have completely changed the political landscape of the country. They wanted to blow up the entire parliament and the king on November 5, which they thought would return a Catholic monarch to the throne. The plotters got caught, and their demise has been celebrated for the last 400 years. Learn more about Guy Fawkes, the Gunpowder Plot.
There was a time when the kind of music you listened to could fully define the kind of lifestyle you led, says Dawnie Walton, author of The Final Revival of Opal and Nev. It's less restricting now, but your taste in music can still say quite a bit about who you are. In her book and in Tiphanie Yanique's novel Monster in the Middle, music plays at the center of its characters' stories, as they wrestle with figuring out who they are in their relationships, with significant others and their families. NPR's Scott Simon talks with each author about it in today's episode.
