Sidewalk Ballet
The Sidewalk Ballet is an ongoing conversation about cities and the people who shape them. Inspired by Jane Jacobs' phrase, it examines the rhythms of public life — how we live together, move together, remember together, and learn together. Guests discuss how communities foster wellness and education, advance sustainability and justice, and navigate the struggles of coexistence. The podcast explores how we celebrate, grieve, and contend with difference while still finding meaning in shared life.
Episodes
E24 - Local Government and The Fog of Accountability
How is your mayor doing? It sounds like a simple question. But how do we actually know which things happening in our cities deserve the credit—or the blame—of the people we elect?
Political scientist Justin de Benedictis-Kessner, author of The Fog of Accountability, joins Chip to explore why accountability in local government is so difficult: overlapping agencies and jurisdictions, limited informa
E23 Mexico City and the Labor of Public Space
Street vending is everywhere in Mexico City. It is part of the city’s economy, its culture, and the everyday experience of its public spaces. But describing that work as simply “informal” misses much of what is actually happening.
Verónica Crossa is a geographer and professor at El Colegio de México whose research examines street vending, public space, and urban life. We met in Mexico City’s Parqu
Bonus - Three Questions in Toronto - Dispatches from IDA
Recorded at the International Downtown Association Annual Conference in Toronto, this bonus episode brings together voices from downtowns across North America. Chip asks a group of downtown leaders what’s exciting them about the the field of Urban Place Management, what’s happening in their own communities—and one question chosen at random. A quick, lively snapshot of the people working every day
SMALL BLOCK - Shifting the Ground
How much of a city is the ground beneath our feet? Sidewalks, streets and plazas make up an enormous part of the urban landscape, but most of the time we barely notice them.
In this Small Block, Chelsea Ritter-Soronen explores what happens when we start paying attention. From pavement as a canvas for public art to its role in shaping the identity, comfort and climate of a city, we look at the po
E22 A Bridge in the Urban Forest with Rahul Kadri.
What does it mean to design for a city where space is scarce, change is relentless, and the people who live there are too often left out of the process?
Mumbai architect and urban designer Rahul Kadri joins The Sidewalk Ballet for a conversation about architecture as a tool for creating not just buildings, but healthier, more connected cities.
Rahul is Principal Architect and Partner at IMK Archit
E21 Democracy of Public Space - Part Two - Leaving Room
This is the story of an unfinished vision, a civic stage, and the generations of people who continue the work of becoming "We."
The Constitution begins with "We the People."
The rest of the American story is, in many ways, the unfolding of who becomes "We."
This special Sidewalk Ballet documentary explores how have our parks, streets, libraries, memorials, and public squares helped expand that ans
SMALL BLOCK - The Ice Cream Mayor
Don Lane likes ice cream.
A lot.
This July—National Ice Cream Month—the former three-time Santa Cruz mayor is taking to the road on a statewide quest to visit nearly 100 artisan ice cream shops, from San Diego to Eureka, one scoop at a time. Or probably two at a time.
But this isn't really a story about ice cream.
It's a story about citizenship, joy, and what happens when someone approaches every
E20 Democracy of Public Space - Part One - Do We Mean It?
Part One of a Two Part Documentary
The Constitution begins with "We the People." The rest of the American story is, in many ways, the unfolding of who becomes "We."
The Democracy of Public Space – Part One: Do We Mean It? traces the evolution of the National Mall from an unfinished vision into one of the world's great civic stages, culminating in Marian Anderson's historic 1939 concert at the Linc
E19 The Evolution of Business Improvement Districts - Michael Edwards in Conversation with Kathleen Rawson
For most people, the work of managing a downtown is invisible. We notice the festivals, the flower baskets, the clean sidewalks, the thriving restaurants, and the public spaces—but rarely the people whose job is to help all of those things work together.
In this episode features a conversation with two pioneers of the downtown management profession: Michael Edwards and Kathleen Rawson. They've eac
E18 Cara Courage - Placemaking, Trauma, Healing and Soup
What does a place feel like when your nervous system trusts it?
In this episode of The Sidewalk Ballet, Chip talks with placemaking researcher, author, and practitioner Cara Courage for a conversation about the evolving field of placemaking, how it is understood, misunderstood, and why it matters.
Together they explore the relationship between people and place, the stories our environments carry,
SMALL BLOCK - Chamber of Connection
For more than four hundred years, Chambers of Commerce have helped businesses thrive by bringing people together around shared interests and common goals.
But what if we applied that same idea to human connection?
In this Small Block episode, Chip talks with Charlotte Massey of the U.S. Chamber of Connection, a growing movement that treats connection as something more than a personal responsibilit
E17 The Emotion of Place - Molly Alexander
Plus - Local Sports as Community Infrastructure
What makes a place memorable?
Why do certain moments stay with us long after the details fade? And what role do emotion, ritual, joy, and belonging play in shaping the communities we care about most?
In this episode of Sidewalk Ballet, Chip explores the idea of “Return on Emotion” — the belief that some of the most important value created in cities a
SMALL BLOCK - Pico - The District Dog
In this Small Block, Chip sits down with Nolan Marshall of the Social District in downtown Los Angeles to talk about Pico — the district’s “Canine Experience Officer” and an important member of the Ambassador team.
What begins as a conversation about a dog quickly becomes something deeper: a conversation about place identity, emotional connection, and the surprisingly powerful role symbols can pla
E16 Community Safety - with Shane Zahn
Downtowns exist in tension.
Public and private. Civic and commercial. Open and managed. They are places where strangers negotiate coexistence in real time — and where questions around trust, authority, belonging, and safety become deeply visible.
In this episode, Chip sits down with Shane Zahn, Director of Community Safety for the Minneapolis Downtown Council and Downtown Improvement District, for
SMALL BLOCKS - Jane Jacobs for the Young Reader - Susan Hughes
To Celebrate Jane Jacob's Birthday, Sidewalk Ballet is launching a new series of bonus episodes that we are calling Small Blocks. Short stories about people and places that you can listen to when you just have a few minutes.
Our first Small Block comes from Susan Hughes, a Children's book writer from Toronto and her story about, well, Jane.
Susan Hughes
Kids Can Press
Valerie Boivin Illustratio
E 15 A Global Network of Local Ideas — with Anastasia Sukhoroslova
Anastasia Sukhoroslova is an urbanist focused on connecting a global community of people shaping cities. Through her platform, All Things Urban, she has built a network that brings together practitioners, thinkers, and emerging voices from around the world—creating space to share ideas, tools, and perspectives across geographies and disciplines. Her work sits at the intersection of curiosity and c
E14 tamika l. butler, Transportation, Access and Equity
In a thoughtful and deeply human conversation, tamika l. butler reflects on what it means to build systems that serve people over time. From transportation justice and community trust to the role of joy in public life, Tamika offers a powerful reminder that better systems don’t emerge overnight. They require patience, courage, and a belief that the work of making cities more equitable is always wo
E13 Retail Round-up - Michael Berne and Jaime Izurieta - with Josh Yeager
Retail is often treated as a category—something to optimize, disrupt, or replace. But long before it was an industry, exchange was one of the original reasons cities existed at all.
In this episode, we explore how retail is evolving on the ground—and why it still matters for the health of our streets and downtown districts.
Guest host Josh Yeager is joined by retail strategist Michael Berne and st
E12 Evan Weissman - Warm Cookies of the Revolution
To close out Season One of The Sidewalk Ballet, we turn to a conversation about showing up.
Across cities everywhere, civic engagement has become increasingly distant — shaped by professionalized systems, complex processes, and a sense that participation is reserved for those who already know how to navigate it. For many people, the question isn’t whether they care about their city, but whether th
E11 Breonna McCree - Transgender District
San Francisco’s Tenderloin has always been more than its headlines.
Long treated as a containment zone, it has also been a refuge — a place where marginalized communities found belonging, built culture, and made public life possible in spite of neglect, oppression and disinvestment.
In 1966, that history erupted inside a cafeteria at Turk and Taylor. The Compton’s Cafeteria Riot is often told as a
E10 Lezlie Lowe - No Place to Go!
In this episode of The Sidewalk Ballet, Chip is joined by Lezlie Lowe, journalist and author of No Place to Go, for a wide-ranging conversation about one of the most essential—and most ignored—elements of city life: public bathrooms. What begins as a seemingly simple question about access quickly unfolds into a deeper exploration of gender equity, disability access, public health, privatization, a
E09 Dr. Christine Brooks - Expressive Arts Coaching and Community Building
Dr. Christine Brooks is the founding chair of the Masters in Expressive Arts Coaching and Community Building, a new program at the California Institute of Integral Studies, that blends creativity, leadership, and social impact. With a background spanning coaching, the arts, and community practice, she and her colleagues designed the program to prepare students to meet the challenges of our time —
E08 Foresight for Cities - JT Mudge
As a new year begins, we take a moment to look at the future.
This episode features two fascinating conversations. First we talk with Futurist JT Mudge about how understanding changes helps us imagine, design, and prepare for the cities of tomorrow. Then Seattle based historian, Feliks Banel, highlights how the lense through which we imagine a future can shape the world of tomorrow.
JT Mudge is an
E07 New Year's 2026 with Josh Yeager, plus Resolutions for a more connected city
In this New Year’s episode of The Sidewalk Ballet, Chip sits down with Josh Yeager — a deeply thoughtful placemaker and one of the most generous champions of this work — to talk about what he’s seeing on the ground right now. Not in theory, but in real places, with real people.
Josh brings a wide lens shaped by years of practice and support for others doing this work, helping surface the patterns,
E06 Placemaking with Youth - Mara Mintzer and Urban Design Forum Fellows
Cities are often shaped by experts, policy, and process.
But what happens when young people are trusted to help lead the work?
In this episode of The Sidewalk Ballet, we explore what cities can become when youth are treated not as voices to consult, but as collaborators to trust.
Part One: Child-Friendly Cities, with Mara Mintzer
We begin in Boulder, Colorado with Mara Mintzer, co-founder and Exec
E05 Jay Pitter - Public Joy is as Urgent as Justice
Urban planner, author, and placemaker Jay Pitter, MES joins The Sidewalk Ballet to talk about her forthcoming book Black Public Joy: No Permit or Permission Required. Through her award-winning practice, Jay has shaped national city-building conversations and led equity-based projects across North America.
Her work begins with one radical premise: that public joy is not a luxury, but a human rig
E04 Kady Yellow - The Power of Community in Place
Kady Yellow is an international Placemaking expert who has been activating public spaces since 2010, when she first discovered the power of collaboration among governments, communities, and the cultural sector to create vibrant, people-centered cities.
In this Episode, Chip and Kady discuss her path, teachers and lessons that brought her to the work she is doing in Jacksonville, Florida, as the
E03 Project for Public Spaces at 50 and Place Governance with Nate Storring
Nate Storring is the Co-Executive Director of Project for Public Spaces, where he helps shape the organization’s strategy and leads its work in placemaking, communications, and development. Over the years, he’s been a driving force behind PPS’s publishing and research—including How to Turn a Place Around and new explorations of inclusive placemaking that expand how we think about belonging in publ
E02 Majora Carter on Talent Retention and Community Investment
Majora Carter is one of the most visionary voices in urban revitalization today. A real estate developer, strategist, and Peabody Award–winning broadcaster, she has redefined what it means for communities to shape their own futures. From her groundbreaking work in the South Bronx to her national platform as an advocate for environmental justice and economic empowerment, Majora has spent her career
E01 Revisiting Third Places with Karen Christensen
As we kick off the sidewalk ballet - a project dedicated to understanding cities and strengthening community - There is really no better place to start than at the neighborhood cafe, or the corner pub.
Karen Christensen is an author, publisher, and community leader whose work spans culture, sustainability, and the power of networks. As the founder of Berkshire Publishing Group, she has long champi
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