Category Archives: Historic Preservation

Robert Stark talks to Greg Johnson about the Alt Left Dilemma

aesthetics, Alternative Left, Alternative Right, American Culture, Architecture, Art, Art Deco, Basic Income, Berkeley, Blade Runner, Cities, Conservatives, Consumerism, Cultural Marxism, Culture, Cyberpunk, David Lynch, demographics, Dune, Dystopia, Economics, Environment, Eugenics, Film, Film Noire, Frank Lloyd Wright, Futurism, Greg Johnson, Historic Preservation, Immigration, Italian Futurism, J. R. R. Tolkien, Lafayette CA, Leftism, materialism, Mid-Century Modern, Middle Class, Neon, New York, Nietzsche, overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Philosophy, Pilleater, Rabbit, Retro Futurism, San Francisco, Skyscrapers, SWPL, Utopia, Wealth, Wyndham Lewis, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark, co-host Pilleater, and AltLeft blogger Rabbit talk to Counter-Currents editor Greg Johnson.

Topics:

The Concept of the Left Wing of the Alt Right; The Alt Left
Greg Johnson’s essay on SWPL Identity and Rabbit’s Alt Left Manifesto
Millennial Woes’ talk with Rabbit and Greg Johnson about the Alt Left
The 60’s Left Counter-Culture as a fusion of Tolkien and Marcuse, and the need to reclaim the positive attributes of the left, such as ecology, historic preservation, and anti-consumerism
The Alt Left dilemma identifying with SWPL Culture, and urban aesthetics, while supporting forms of identitarianism that often lack strong aesthetic visions
The lack of cultural sophistication among conservatives, and the left’s monopoly on cultural institutions
Suburbia as a by product of the middle class being cleansed out of cities, and the need to sustain a strong urban middle class
Affordable family formation
The Basic income, how it should be implemented, and who it should favor
Putting caps on high incomes with the exception of artist and inventors
The Nietzschean concept of the artist as the ruler
The conservative outlook that judges people on their material wealth over their aesthetic taste, and creative potential
Overpopulation, and how the ideal is to have immigration reduction with a stable or slowly rising birthrate
Greg’s experience living in San Francisco and Berkeley, San Francisco as a SWPL Utopia, and the aesthetic and ecological attributes of the region
The Transamerica Pyramid and Embarcadero Center in San Francisco
Rabbit’s interest in Mid-Century Space Age aesthetics, and his observations going to Mid-Century Modern home tours
Frank Lloyd Wright
Art Deco, which was a heroic vision of the future with respect for tradition; Art Deco in New York and San Francisco
Film noir, and the Blade Runner
David Lynch’s Archeo-Futurist aesthetic in Dune, and ruin porn
The tradition of right wing modernism; Italian Futurism which captured the vitality, optimism, and new possibilities created by technology
The concept of degenerate art, distinguishing between modernism and postmodernism
Defining what is degenerate; Robert and Pilleater’s show on Avant Garde Film

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Robert Stark interviews Constantin von Hoffmeister

aesthetics, Alicia Silverstone, Architecture, Art, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Bauhaus, Brutalism, Cities, Communism, Constantin von Hoffmeister, Culture, Cyberpunk, Dada, Donald Trump, Eurasianism, Europe, European Nationalism, Futurism, Germany, Globalization, Historic Preservation, History, India, Islam, Islamization, Israel, Italian Futurism, John C. Portman Jr, Julius Evola, Las Vegas, Le Corbusier, London, Mid-Century Modern, Middle East, Moscow, National Bolshevism, National Futurism, Nationalism, Neoliberalism, Paris, Philosophy, Pilleater, Poetry, Political Correctness, Politics, Rabbit, Retro Futurism, Russia, Saddam Hussein, Saudi Arabia, Science, Skyscrapers, Soviet Union, Space Travel, Urbanism

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark, co-host Pilleater, and Rabbit talk to Constantin von Hoffmeister. He is an advocate of National Futurism and blogs at Oge Noct

Topics:

Constantin’s National Futurist Manifesto
How Futusim captures the Faustian Promethean nature of Western Man
Taking a materialistic over spiritual outlook toward identity
The Italian Futurist who wanted to re-create the glory of Rome in a futurist setting
The Dada movement, and Constantin’s flirtation with the concept of National Dadaism
The concept of Eurosiberia and Imperium Europa
National Bolshevism, Eurasianism, and Aleksandr Dugin
The European Migrant Crisis, and why Constantin is pessimistic about his home country Germany’s future
Why Constantin views Islamization as Europe’s primary threat, but America as a rival
How the election of Trump has improved Constantin’s view toward America
Constantin’s support for Israel and Secular Arab Nationalism as a bulwark against Radical Islam
The Cultural effects of Communism on East Germany and Eastern Europe
The Faustian Imperial Nature of Brutalist Architecture
Le Corbusier’s Plan To Overhaul Paris
Using Le Corbusier’s ideas to redevelop decaying suburbs into garden cities
The glitzy Neo-Brutalist Architecture of John C. Portman Jr, and his inspiration from the Champs-Élysées
London’s Architecture, Ernő Goldfinger’s Brutalist towers, Centre Point, and the BT Tower
The Bauhaus White City in Tel Aviv, Israel
Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Mid-century modern
The Palace of the Soviets proposal in Moscow
The Russian Futurist movement
1970s Soviet futurism
New Arbat and Cyberpunk in Moscow
Constantin’s experience in India, and Le Corbusier’s Chandigarh, India
Constantin’s Poetry

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Robert Stark interviews Robert Brenner about his Gritty Old Time Square Tours

1970's, aesthetics, Architecture, Art Deco, Blade Runner, Cities, Crime, Film, Film Noire, Futurism, gentrification, Historic Preservation, History, Jamie Gillis, John C. Portman Jr, Midnight Cowboy, Neon, New York, Peter Sotos, Pilleater, Pornography, Prostitution, Robert Brenner, San Francisco, Skyscrapers, Taxi Driver, The Porn Industry, Thomas Rinaldi, Time Square, Travel, Urbanism, Zoning

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater interview Robert Brenner. Robert is a writer, critic, satirist, futurist, urbanist, and porkatarian. His work has appeared in the Huffington Post, New York Magazine, Salon, the Barnes & Noble Review, Medium, Different Truths, Antiserious, and Theory In Action. He is a graduate of the Writers’ Institute at CUNY.

Topics:

Robert Brenner’s Gritty Old Times Square tours, which are offered on Saturday’s once a Month, hosted by Untapped Cities
Adult Entertainment is the focus of the tours, but they also cover the general history of Time Square
The remnants of seedy Time Square, including The Playpen, and the Show World Center on Eighth Avenue
Robert Brenner’s experience in Time Square as a youth in the 70’s
That era of Time Square portrayed in the Films Taxi Driver and Midnight Cowboy
The gentrification of Time Square in the 90’s, and how the area went from an interesting but dangerous area to a safe and boring one
The Deuce on 42nd Street, which was the center of adult entertainment in the 70’s
The Porn Industry in Time Square, and premier of 70’s porn films such as Behind the Green Door and Deep Throat that paved the way for the future of the pornographic industry, spawning many different adult sites, live cam sites, and even the Babestation blog.
Robert Brenner’s point that every city needs a Red Light District
Peter Sotos’s Pure Filth about the pornographer Jamie Gillis
San Francisco’s Tenderloin, where Robert Brenner lived in the early 80’s, and Robert Stark’s observations from his trip to the San Francisco Bay Area
The decline of neon signage in favor of LED, Robert Stark’s interview with Thomas Rinaldi of New York Neon, and the company LET THERE BE NEON! which restores old signs
The history of the Broadway Theater District, the New Amsterdam Theatre, and the defunct Paramount Theatre
The closing of Carnegie Deli and Maxie’s Delicatessen
The Bond Clothing Store Signs in Times Square
The John Portman designed Marriott Marquis in Time Square
The Tour of the Remnants of Penn Station, and plans for Moynihan Station inspired by the old Penn Station
New York Skyscrapers


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Robert Stark interviews Lynn Zook

aesthetics, Architecture, Cities, Culture, Gambling, Historic Preservation, History, Las Vegas, Lynn Zook, Mass Transit, Mid-Century Modern, Neon, Skyscrapers

It is no secret that gambling has come a long way since the 1930s. You wouldn’t have found people playing casino games on sites like find fair casinos back in the day. But of course, times change and nothing stays the same.

Online gambling and websites such as www.norgescasino.com/ have completely changed the betting landscape. But what was really going on behind the scenes in some of the iconic Las Vegas casinos back in the day? Lynn Zook runs the website Classic Las Vegas, and Produced an hour-long, first person narrative documentary on the history of Las Vegas entitled “The Story of Classic Las Vegas.” Of course, the story of these classic casinos lives on today through modern gaming sites like vera john slots where the classic games one would expect to see in the various casinos of Vegas are there for all to enjoy.

Topics include:

Lynn’s nostalgia for Vintage Vegas, as a Las Vegas native growing up in the 60’s and early 70’s
Lynn’s new book Gambling on a Dream: The Classic Las Vegas Strip 1930-1955 about the first ten hotels including El Rancho Vegas, Hotel Last Frontier, Flamingo Hotel, Thunderbird Hotel, Wilbur Clark’s Desert Inn, Sahara Hotel, Sands Hotel, Royal Nevada Hotel, The Riviera, and the Dunes Hotel
Lynn’s next book will cover the years 1956-1973, up to the original MGM Grand
The destruction of the Las Vegas Strip’s original Casinos started in the 90’s with the demolition of the Dunes and The Sands
The Flamingo, Tropicana, and Circus Circus are the last remaining of the historic casinos on the strip, and the most in danger of demolition. The legacy of the classic casinos will live on in online casino phone games that are rapidly replacing the big names of yesteryear.
The recent demolition of the Riviera, how it was the strip’s first highrise, and how it was known for performers such as Liberace
Riviera sign’s going to the Neon Museum including the original marque by Marge Williams and the signage from the 80’s renovation
Steve Wynn requested removal of the New Frontier’s neon marquee
The history of Caesars Palace
The importance of historical preservation, and how Las Vegas lacks any significant historic preservation laws
The Las Vegas Neon Museum, which preserves historic signs
Fremont Street in Downtown Lass Vegas, which still retains much of the original casino’s, which will be the topic of Lynn’s third book
The El Cortez Downtown as the best example of a successful renovation of an old casino
The sense of intimacy in the original casinos
How Las Vegas was America’s first 24 hour city
How changing taste in entertainment shaped Las Vegas’s changing landscape
The mid-century car culture, and how it shaped the Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Monorail
The Decline in Neon and replacement by bland LED signage
How the Paris built in 1999, and the Polo Towers also built in the 90’s, are the best examples of the most recent hotels using neon
The Somerset Shopping Center and The Bonanza Gift Shop
Locally oriented casino’s including Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall and Gold Strike Hotel and Gambling Hall
The McCarran Airport’s Mid Century Space Age Terminal


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Robert Stark interviews Charles Marohn from Strong Towns

Architecture, Charles Marohn, Cities, Economics, Environment, Historic Preservation, income inequality, Los Angeles, Mass Transit, Nassim Taleb, New Urbanism, New York, Pilleater, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Strong Towns, Suburbia, Urbanism, Wealth, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to Charles Marohn. Charles is a Professional Engineer (PE) licensed in the State of Minnesota and a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). Chuck is the Founder and President of Strong Towns. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Technology and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute.

Topics:

How Charles’s background in urban planning exposed him to the problems of sprawl development
Charles’s books Thoughts on Building Strong Towns, Volume 1 & Volume II
The fiscal unsustainability of sprawl development
Charles’ point that the key factor in urbanism is Incremental Development
Charles’s point that cities must be viewed as ecosystems
The “build it they will come” fallacy, and how traditionally massive infrastructure projects were designed to serve existing population centers(ex.Roman Aqueducts)
How pre-automobile cities tend to be the most viable
Nassim Taleb’s Antifragile theory, and how it relates to urbanism
The Density Question, Charles point that density should neither be fetishized nor seen as inherently bad, but must take into account incremental development
How cities such as New York and San Francisco have value independent of their economies, while places like the Silicon Valley would become unviable if their industries collapsed
Zoning laws and land use regulations
The movement to Retrofit Suburbia, how it’s a step in the right direction, but has it’s limitations
How cities will contract in the future, with people living in both cities and towns, but that it’s the space in between that’s unviable
Micro Apartments
Political divides, and how when it comes to planning issues on a local level, people tend to be more pragmatic than dogmatic
The Public vs. Private sector role in infrastructure, and how Charles’s point that things that are high risk should be in the private sector, and low risk in the public sector(ex. Wall Street baillouts)
The role of the government in historic preservation and protecting the environment
Housing and affordable family formation


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Robert Stark talks about his trip to LA

1980's, aesthetics, Alternative Left, American Culture, Architecture, Art Deco, Beverly Hills, California, Charles Lincoln, Cities, Class, Culture, demographics, Diversity, Futurism, gentrification, Hipsters, Historic Preservation, History, Hollywood, Homosexuality, Immigration, income inequality, John C. Portman Jr, Los Angeles, Malls, Mass Transit, materialism, Mid-Century Modern, Middle Class, Neon, Photography, Pilleater, Rabbit, Retro Futurism, Skyscrapers, Suburbia, SWPL, Travel, Urbanism, Vaporwave

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark joined with co-host Pilleater, Rabbit, and Charles Edward Lincoln, talk about his recent trip to his hometown LA

Topics include:

The Hollywood imagery and outsider stereotypes of LA
The history of LA
How LA’s urban core is spread out over a large geographic area from Santa Monica on the Coast to Downtown LA
Robert’s disclaimer that the photos capture the best of LA, but that most of the spaces in between are unappealing due to the cities sprawl
LA’s transit system
South Central LA
West Hollywood, and Rabbit’s experience living there
Downtown LA, the gentrification of the historic core, the grittiness and vintage signage of Broadway, and the Serial Killers Who Haunted The Cecil Hotel
Downtown LA’s architecture including John Portman’s Bonaventure Hotel, and the the 80’s Art Deco revival Home Savings Building where Charles Lincoln worked
Beverly Hills, the 80’s futurist Rodeo Collection, the “Vaporwave” Roman Fountain , and the the 70 futurist/late modernist Roxbury Plaza
Century City, which originally had a 60’s futurist aesthetic, was the the film location of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, and the Century City Mall
1980’s Malls including the Beverly Center(Original image), Westside Pavilion, which reminds Pilleater of the game Myst, and the renovation of those malls which ruined their aesthetic
Historic preservation trends starting with demolition of the Art Deco Richfield Tower in Downtown LA, to the lack of preservation for 80’s architecture today
New architecture inspired by past styles including the new Streamline Moderne Under construction Beverly Hilton tower, 70’s futurist inspired renderings for skyscrapers, and Rabbit’s observation that many apartments are being retrofited in mid-century modern styles
Santa Monica, the waterfront, architecture including the Art Deco Clock Tower, and Santa Monica NIMBY Restriction on heights
The Interactive Cafe, which is one of the last surviving independent businesses in downtown Santa Monica, and Pilleater’s point that it has a Cyberpunk aesthetic
The high cost of housing in LA, even in unappealing areas
The San Fernando Valley, which was traditionally home to LA’s middle class
Demographic trends, the destruction of the white middle class, gentrification of the urban core, and new suburban ghettos in the desert
Rabbit’s point about SWPLs he met in LA who look down on the suburban middle class
The Alt Left dilemma between identifying with SWPL Culture, and urbanist aesthetics, and supporting white middle class identitarianism, which often lacks strong aesthetic visions

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Robert Stark talks about his trip to the San Francisco Bay Area

1980's, aesthetics, Alex von Goldstein, Alternative Right, American Culture, Anatoly Karlin, Architecture, Asian Culture, Berkeley, California, Consumerism, Crime, Culture, decentralization, demographics, Diversity, Environment, Futurism, Gender, gentrification, Grow SF, Historic Preservation, Immigration, John C. Portman Jr, Lafayette CA, Laura Foote Clark, localism, Los Angeles, Mass Transit, Mount Diablo, Neon, New Urbanism, overdevelopment, Photography, Police, Political Correctness, Rabbit, Race Relations, Radical Center, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Silicon Valley, Skyscrapers, Suburbia, Travel, Urbanism, Vaporwave, Walnut Creek CA

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Robert Stark, joined with Rabbit, and Alex von Goldstein talk about his recent trip to the SF Bay Area

Topics include:

Robert’s departing point Santa Barbara, which is a nice laid back coastal town, but under the cultural influence of LA
Robert Stark’s podcast with Bay Area Guy about his last trip to SF
Robert met up with Bay Area Guy and Anatoly Karlin in Berkeley
How like Robert, Alex, and Rabbit, Bay Area Guy and Anatoly Karlin exist on the periphery of the Alt-Right(ex.The Radical Center, Alt Left)
The Cultural Leftist legacy of Berkeley, and how Anatoly Karlin spoke at Richard Spencer’s event at UC Berkeley
How places that are politically correct often produce interesting dissident thinkers
How Berkeley is on a scale similar to European cities(ex. small, compact, dense and walkable)
How transplants often adopt the stereotypes of cities
Demographic trends in the Bay Area, how the traditional white middle class is being pushed out, but also working class Blacks and Hispanics are being priced out through gentrification
Asian culture and immigration in the Bay Area, and Asian Majority Cities, including Daly City, where Robert stayed
The seedy Tenderloin District, urban grittiness, and how it reminded Robert of the film Taxi Driver
The film Dirty Harry
The BART(Bay Area Rapid Transit) System, which has a 70’s futurist aesthetic, and has had issue with crime
The film Fruitvale Station about a Police incident on BART in Oakland
The 70’s futurist Embarcadero Center, designed by architect John Portman, and the importance of having urban oasis’s
How the Silicon Valley is a bland suburban region, which demonstrates that technology has limitation without culture and aesthetics
The Shortage Of Women In Silicon Valley
How the area where the tech elite lives has wilderness preserves, in contrast with their support for mass immigration
How the Bay Area has done a better job at Wilderness Conservation than Southern California
Robert’s observation’s about where to build in the Bay Area in response to his interview with Laura Foote Clark of Grow SF
How San Francisco has it’s own unique Aesthetic, and is the most scenic American City
How San Francisco is on a high level aesthetically, but the dominant culture is consumerism mixed in with some cultural leftist views
Robert stayed in Walnut Creek, which is a mid-century car oriented suburb in the process of being retrofited into a walkablle New Urbanist community
Walnut Creek aslo has BART access, and owns more open space per capita than any other community in California
80’s Vaporwave Architecture in Walnut Creek, how historic preservation has neglected 80’s Kitsch, and the occultist origins of Kek in California 80’s culture
Nearby Lafayette, which is an idyllic semi rural town, with quick BART access to the city(the best of both worlds for those who can afford it)
The San Francisco Bay Area Renters’ Federation lawsuit against Lafayette, and the debate regarding development and diversity
Whether the Bay Area should be it’s own separate country, state, or broken up into a bunch of small independent city states

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Robert Stark interviews James Howard Kunstler

aesthetics, Alex von Goldstein, American Culture, Architecture, Banking, Consumerism, Corporations, Culture, decentralization, Donald Trump, Dystopia, Economics, Environment, Futurism, Globalization, Historic Preservation, History, Immigration, James Howard Kunstler, Literature, localism, Mass Transit, Mid-Century Modern, New Urbanism, New York, overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Peak Oil, Rabbit, Skyscrapers, Suburbia, Urbanism, Wall Street, Water, Zoning

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Robert Stark, Rabbit, and Alex von Goldstein talk to writer and social critic, James Howard Kunstler

Topics include:

The history of suburbia
James’ theory of history that things happen because they seem like a good idea at the time
How our auto oriented petroleum based society is unsustainable
How bad urban planing has negative psychological and cultural implications
The role of zoning laws, and how zoning can both encourage and prevent suburban sprawl
The future of suburbia, how some will be retrofitted into walkalble communities, while others will be abandoned
The New Urbanist Movement
Mass immigration and overpopulation
Why James does not view skyscrapers and hyper density as viable alternatives to suburbia
Robert’s point that tall structures can have aesthetic value, and how James acknowledges that the early wave of skyscrapers(ex. Singer Building, Woolworth Building, Manhattan Municipal Building) were beautiful structures but historical flukes
How European cities provide the ideal model for urbanism
Examples of sustainable American cities include Portland, Oregon, Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia
Mass Transit, and why James favors investing in existing rail infrastrusture over new high speed rail
The Streetcar suburb, and how they provide a model for New Urbanism
James’ point that even with alternative energy and technological innovation, we still have to downsize and localize our society and economy
How peak oil will lead to economic and political decentralization
How Peak Oil will make Globalization unsustainable
The future of China and the Arab Gulf States
Pre-War Japan as the best example of an advanced civilization without industrialization
The scarcity of water in the future, and how the inland water system will regain it’s value
Historic Preservation, how the movement was started in the 1960’s in response to the demolition of Pennsylvania Station in NYC, and the debate about what should be preserved
Rabbit makes the case for mid century modern
Capital scarcities in the future, and how mass development is dependent upon the financial system
James’ four book series set in a post economic collapse America, the World Made by Hand


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Robert Stark interviews Laura Foote Clark of Grow SF

aesthetics, Architecture, California, Cities, Economics, Environment, Grow SF, Historic Preservation, income inequality, Krishan Madan, Laura Foote Clark, Mass Transit, Millennials, New Urbanism, Rabbit, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Skyscrapers, Suburbia, Urbanism, Zoning

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Robert Stark joined with Rabbit and Krishan Madan interview Laura Foote Clark. Laura is the president of GrowSF, which advocates for affordable and market rate housing in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Topics include:

The Bay Area’s lack of affordable housing
How the housing crisis particularly effects millennials
How integrated public transit provides better access to affordable housing
The severity of the housing crisis, and how a massive increase in housing is needed just to sustain current demands
The miss conception that there is no space to grow in San Francisco, and the twitter series wasteOfUrbanSpace
Mega Developments in the Bay Area, and Laura’s point that focusing on specific projects can distract from the overall housing shortage
Where to build new housing
SF grants density bonuses to affordable housing developments
Micro Apartments
What Silicon Valley Would Look Like if Tech Companies Built Themselves Cities
Laura’s point that if the Silicon Valley became a more urban environment it would ease the demand for housing in San Francisco
The role that suburbs play in the Bay Area’s housing shortage
How the lack of new housing in cities encourages suburban sprawl
The trend in preference for urban over suburban living among millennials
How Environmental organizations such as the Sierra Club are divided on the housing issue
Bay Area’s Greenbelt Alliance and New Urbanism
California Proposition 13
Proposition C: San Francisco Affordable Housing
Rent Control
Why Laura would like to see a unified zoning plan for the Bay Area
Whether there is a limit on how many people the Bay Area can accommodate
How the housing issue is the main political divide in the Bay Area
Krishan’s point that tax cuts effect the rich, welfare the poor, but housing can be the political issue of the middle class
The importance of getting involved in local politics


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Robert Stark interviews Adam Hengels about Market Urbanism

Adam Hengels, aesthetics, Architecture, Chicago, Cities, Economics, education, Environment, Historic Preservation, income inequality, Los Angeles, Market Urbanism, Mass Transit, New Urbanism, New York, Phoenix, Rabbit, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Skyscrapers, Suburbia, Urbanism, Zoning

Adam Hengels

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Rabbit talk to Adam Hengels.

Adam is SVP and Director of Development of PAD, a real estate development start-up that builds communities for young professionals.  PAD’s developments will feature micro-apartments and other product innovations.

From Mega-Projects to Micro-Apartments, Adam has brought his development expertise to several high profile projects such as the $5B Barclays Center Arena and Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, New York .  Adam earned his Masters in Real Estate Development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and has a BS and MS in Structural Engineering.

Adam is passionate about urbanism, and is known as a pioneer in the Market Urbanism movement.  His mission is to improve the urban experience, and overcoming obstacles that prevent aspiring city dwellers from living where they want.  He considers the conventional apartment layout to be stale.  Product innovations such as micro-apartments are a key part of the next wave in urbanism.

Topics include:

Why Adam advocates for the liberalization of zoning laws
The debate between absolute private property rights vs. the argument that regulations are necessary to prevent landowners from harming their communities
Zoning laws that contribute to suburban sprawl(ex. parking requirements, limits on density in suburbs, and government subsidies of roads and highways)
Retrofitting Suburbia
How demographic and economic changes are leading to the decline of suburbia
How to attract middle class families back to cities by improving education and increasing housing supply
New Urbanism
How zoning laws can prevent bad developments, but can also lead to increases in costs of living
Whether zoning laws are necessary to preserve the aesthetic and historic character of cities
How original mixed use communities declined due to zoning regulation and the rise of the automobile
Robert Stark’s point that even though he supports historic preservation and wilderness conservation, he acknowledges that many zoning laws have negative affects on cities and encourage sprawl
How the Lack of New Housing On The Westside of LA Is Causing Gentrification Of East And South LA
Height limit restrictions in cities
Minimum lot size requirements, and how they stifle creativity in urbanism
Whether highrises can provide housing for the middle class, and Adam’s point that new highrises are expensive but over time they decline in cost and eases the overall demand for housing
Whether mass transit can function in a free market, and how New York City’s Subway System started out as private, and Tokyo’s Subway System is semi private
Transit-oriented development
Adam’s development of micro apartments and how they can address the housing crisis for young people
How zoning laws make it difficult to create micro apartments
The role that Zoning and Urban planning plays in income inequality

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