Constantinople was probably the best fortified city in the medieval world. But it had one weak spot. To the north of the city lay the Golden Horn, the wide estuary that was blocked to enemy ships by a great iron chain. The Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II pondered long and hard how to break into the Golden Horn. Then he came up with an extraordinary idea.
Please take a look at my website nickholmesauthor.com where you can download a free copy of The Byzantine World War, my book that describes the origins of the First Crusade.
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.
S2 Ep 19. A tricky design challenge solved! All thanks to the scaly skin of the pangolin. Scales cover its body in an overlapping pattern, providing both flexibility and armour against attack. Architects copied this to create a glass roof for a famous British railway station, which meant the structure could fit into an oddly shaped location.
Let us know what you think. #30Animals
Get in touch: www.bbcworldservice.com/30animals
With over 100,000 Turkish soldiers facing them, the 7,000 or so defenders of Constantinople awaited the first attack. All they could do was to hope and pray for a miracle.
Please take a look at my website nickholmesauthor.com where you can download a free copy of The Byzantine World War, my book that describes the origins of the First Crusade.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is the former governor of California and one of America's most influential green voices. He's also one of the biggest movie stars in the world and a big fan of the innovators, activists and entrepreneurs featured in the previous 39 episodes of this series. In this final programme, the Terminator star discusses his favourite ideas from the series with Tom Heap and looks forward to the crucial climate change talks in Glasgow in November.
Apple has always maintained it knows what’s best for its customers. But now governments and developers are trying to change the way Apple runs its highly profitable iPhone App Store. What happens if Apple can no longer hold its tight grip on the iPhone and the way we interact with the world?
Bennington. Spring, 1983-Spring, 1985. Bret lives The Rules of Attraction, then sells Less Than Zero. Bret befriends David Lipsky, then be-enemies David Lipsky.
Women have been making cider and brandy for centuries - so where are they in the history books? A look at who gets written into and out of history through the lens of one of the most enduring apple brandy cocktails of all time, the Jack Rose.
In ancient times making alcohol was seen as a mystic art, something done to commune with the divine and heal the sick. In colonial America, it was done to preserve surplus harvests and keep produce from going to waste. In each case, and every millennium in between, the work was done by women. Now we see alcohol as a male-dominated field, both when it comes to producing and serving. By looking at the Jack Rose, which has changed in its own way over the years, Greg and his co-host Jess look at how women were written out of the story and how they could be written back.
Our guests on this episode are Dr. Nicola Nice of the Women’s Cocktail Collective, Diane Flynt of Foggy Ridge Cider in Virginia, Jen Querbes of Brandy St. Louise, and Lisa Laird Dunn, a ninth-generation apple brandy distiller from New Jersey. And you can find more amazing music from Jess, who wrote the music for and performed the eua de vie recipe here!
The books referenced on this show were Imbibe by David Wondrich, Meehan’s Bartending Guide by Jim Meehan, and Jones Complete Bar Guide by Stan Jones.
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Please SUBSCRIBE and RATE the show if you can. Join us every two weeks as we talk about history's favorite drinks and how what we drink shapes history. To see what's coming next follow Greg on instagram @100ProofGreg. #drinkinghistory
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Tom Heap discovers fresh ways to quantify greenhouse gas emissions with help from satellites, artificial intelligence and former US Vice President Al Gore.
Emissions data from companies and countries can be inaccurate, incomplete or sometimes just plain deceitful. The team at Climate TRACE, led by Al Gore, have devised innovative ways to calculate accurate emissions data from power stations, factories, ships and even planes. That data can be used to reveal unexpected sources of carbon dioxide and methane and to provide independent figures for international negotiations on climate change.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
Researcher: Sarah Goodman
Produced in association with the Royal Geographical Society. Special thanks for this episode to Professor Raphael Heffron from the University of Dundee and Professor Paul Palmer from the University of Edinburgh. Image courtesy of Transition Zero.