This week on Below the Radar, our host Am Johal is joined by Jorge Amigo, the head of cultural programming at the Vancouver Public Library. Together they discuss the power of library public programs, some of Jorge’s past public projects, as well as how the urban design of Vancouver relates to social isolation, and potential paths towards cultivating more friendships.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/215-jorge-amigo.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/215-jorge-amigo.html

Resources:
Vancouver Public Library Program: https://www.vpl.ca/programs-events 
Be my Amigo: https://vancouversun.com/life/relationships/be-my-amigo-determined-to-make-vancovuer-a-friendlier-city
On Civil Society: https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/programs-and-classes/featured/on-civil-society.jsp
Opera Adventures: https://www.vancouveropera.ca/press-release/vancouver-opera-and-vancouver-public-library-launch-opera-adventures/
Uplift Asian: https://www.vpl.ca/program/uplift-asian
VLACC: https://vlacc.ca/

Bio:
Jorge Amigo grew up in Mexico City and moved to Vancouver in 2007, where he studied an undergrad and masters in political science at the University of British Columbia. He started his career working in brand and digital strategy for non-profits and Canadian startups, including as Director of Engagement for Canada’s National Observer. In 2018, he moved to Toronto to produce cultural events for the Toronto Public Library, where he curated the popular #OnCivilSociety series, hosting conversations on the most pressing social and political issues of our time, as well as programming dozens of literary programs. Jorge is now the Head of Cultural Programming for the Vancouver Public Library, where he is responsible for arts and culture events, and spends his days excited about reimagining how we use library spaces. He speaks four languages, and would probably enjoy chatting with you in at least one of them. 

Cite this episode:
Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “Episode name.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, May 23, 2023. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/215-jorge-amigo.html.

Public Collisions — with Jorge Amigo

Beatrice and Jules speak with Mariame Kaba and Melissa Gira Grant about the importance of understanding the library as a site of political contestation and a rare expression of the commons in contemporary US life, and how left organizers are fighting back against right wing attacks on public space. 

Transcript: https://www.deathpanel.net/transcripts/library-mariame-kaba-melissa-gira-grant

Join up with For the People: A Leftist Library Project here:
https://www.librariesforthepeople.org/

And find the latest updates here: 
https://librariesforthepeople.substack.com/p/library-solidarity-with-palestine

Read Melissa’s piece, “Librarians Didn’t Sign Up to Be Queer Activists—but This Year, They Are” here:
https://newrepublic.com/article/175567/librarians-new-queer-front-lines

Referenced in this episode:

“The Prison in Twelve Landscapes,” directed by Brett Story (2016)
https://www.prisonlandscapes.com/

“The People and the Library: Reflections on Grass-Roots Efforts to Preserve and Expand the Library As a Commons” here: https://justseeds.org/the-people-and-the-library-reflections-on-grass-roots-efforts-to-preserve-and-expand-the-library-as-a-commons/

Find our book Health Communism here: www.versobooks.com/books/4081-health-communism

Pre-order Jules' new book here:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/733966/a-short-history-of-trans-misogyny-by-jules-gill-peterson/

Death Panel merch here (patrons get a discount code): www.deathpanel.net/merch

As always, support Death Panel at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod

Death Panel

Death Panel 473 Taking Back the Library w/ Mariame Kaba & Melissa Gira Grant (11/09/23)

Become a patron

Taking Back the Library w/ Mariame Kaba & Melissa Gira Grant (11/09/23)

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks about improving equity in urban park systems with Norma García-González, the director of the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation, and Catherine Nagel, the executive director of the City Parks Alliance. García-González discusses how data and community engagement have helped Los Angeles County increase the accessibility and quality of its urban park system. Nagel discusses similar efforts in other cities to create equitable urban park systems and the social, environmental, and economic value of parks in urban areas.

References and recommendations:

“Los Angeles Countywide Comprehensive Parks & Recreation Needs Assessment” by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation; https://lacountyparkneeds.org/final-report/

“Parks Needs Assessment Plus” by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation; https://lacountyparkneeds.org/pnaplus-report/

People, Parks, and Power: A National Initiative for Green Space, Health Equity, and Racial Justice from Prevention Institute; https://preventioninstitute.org/projects/people-parks-and-power

“Park Equity, Life Expectancy, and Power Building” by Prevention Institute; https://coeh.ph.ucla.edu/park-equity-life-expectancy-and-power-building/

“The association of green space, tree canopy and parks with life expectancy in neighborhoods of Los Angeles” by Rachel Connolly, Jonah Lipsitt, Manal Aboelata, Elva Yañez, Jasneet Bains, and Michael Jerrett; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412023000582

“Sacred Nature: Restoring Our Ancient Bond with the Natural World” by Karen Armstrong; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/671038/sacred-nature-by-karen-armstrong/

Creating an Equitable Urban Park System, with Norma García-González and Catherine Nagel

NL- In de podcastreeks Living City Ville Salon praat Brussels minister Elke Van den Brandt met een inspirerende gast over de stad, de publieke ruimte en hoe verandering eruitziet. 
 FR- Dans la série de podcasts Living City Ville Salon, la ministre bruxelloise Elke Van den Brandt s'entretient avec un invité inspirant au sujet de la ville, de l'espace public et de ce à quoi ressemble le changement. 
 EN- In the podcast series Living City Ville Salon, Brussels Minister Elke Van den Brandt talks to an inspiring guest about the city, public space and what change looks like.

Living City Ville Salon - épisode 1 ( Rob Hopkins)

NACHBARSCHAFTSPERSPEKTIVEN

STATION 1 VITAMIN B_NACHBARSCHAFTSPERSPEKTIVEN

With the change of the seasons, we talk about different kinds of renewal.

First, Senior Editor John Lorinc talks about the special Spacing investigation into the cyber attack on the Toronto Public Library that shut the service down for months. How did it happen, and how do we make sure our public institutions are hacker-proof?

And, the latest Spacing Magazine issue is on shelves now. As a preview, we share the full conversation with Toronto Public Space Committee organizer Cara Chellew (available in the issue as a Q&A) about the need for new Toronto street furniture: garbage bins that work, bus shelters that actually provide shelter, and places for people to sit.

Episode 77: Spring cleaning in Toronto

Beatrice speaks with Tracy Rosenthal about the pending Supreme Court ruling that could dramatically strip the rights of unhoused people in the US, how politicians frequently invoke a rhetoric of “care” to promote expansions of the carceral system, and how the laws at the center of this Supreme Court case are the same being used to police and sweep solidarity encampments across the US.

Transcript: https://www.deathpanel.net/transcripts/carewashing

Read Tracy's piece, "The New Sundown Towns," here: https://newrepublic.com/article/181036/new-sundown-towns-grants-pass-v-johnson

Find our book Health Communism here: www.versobooks.com/books/4081-health-communism

Find Jules' new book, A Short History of Trans Misogyny, here:
https://www.versobooks.com/products/3054-a-short-history-of-trans-misogyny

Death Panel merch here (patrons get a discount code): www.deathpanel.net/merch

As always, support Death Panel at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod

Death Panel 514 Carewashing and the Right to Public Space w/ Tracy Rosenthal (05/09/24)

Carewashing and the Right to Public Space w/ Tracy Rosenthal (05/09/24)

This audio clip is part of the observations | 49m2, year 8, summer 2024 | of artist Qiaochu Guo.

The project 49m² is a long-term experimental inquiry into the position of art in public space.

Witte Rook is a platform for research, experimentation, and reflection in the field of visual arts. The program is based on providing time, space, and context through long-term projects in which the artist’s voice is central. … we start from our local environment, such as the history of the city and region, heritage, public space, and the communities, residents, and users who are part of it. … with a focus on digital storytelling and hybrid residency projects that explore what the artist-in-residence (AiR) of the future can be.

49m² | 新录音 137

49m² | 新录音 138

49m² | 新录音 139

49m² | 新录音 140

49m² | 新录音 144

49m² | 新录音 145

The Lower East Side Skatepark ("L.E.S.") set a precedent for skatepark construction across the boroughs of New York City after it opened on Go Skateboarding Day 2012. Describing it as the "civic centre" of NYC's skate scene, journalist Ian Browning explored how it came to be and where skateparks sit within the ecosystem of New York's municipality, in a Quartersnacks story that coincided with the tenth anniversary of L.E.S. published in 2022. On our first Skate Bylines podcast, Ian shared how the story came together and we explored how New York's significance to skate culture grew exponentially over the past decade.

Hosted and edited by Farran Golding
Photography by Christian Kerr

Timestamps and show notes:

00:00 Welcome to Skate Bylines
00:46 Introduction to the episode
2:20 First visits to L.E.S. Skatepark
3:56 The opening and significance of L.E.S. Skatepark
5:24 The original incarnation of the L.E.S. Skatepark
6:45 What makes a good skatepark?
7:55 Interlude: Gangs of New York
8:24 History of the L.E.S. neighbourhood
9:40 Ian’s story and the differences between parks and spots
11:58 Learning etiquette through environment  
12:55 The geography of New York’s historic skateboarding hubs
15:00 New York’s increased significance
17:54 Park space in New York City
19:42 Communicating with the Parks Department
21:45 "A series of Hail Mary's"
22:11 Ian and Quartersnacks
23:26 Pitching the story
24:28 J. Jonah Jameson, pt. i
24:47 The editorial process
25:30 J. Jonah Jameson, pt. ii
25:43 Journalism school and skateboarding journalism
26:39 Finding the through line
29:57 Outro

The Civic Center of New York City Skateboarding with Ian Browning

As this year comes to a close, we’re releasing a Best of 2024 series—by no means objective, and making plenty of tough decisions to leave a few favorites out. Each of these will also be posted in the public feed. We’ll be back early in the new year with new episodes.

Original description: Beatrice speaks with Tracy Rosenthal about the pending Supreme Court ruling that could dramatically strip the rights of unhoused people in the US, how politicians frequently invoke a rhetoric of “care” to promote expansions of the carceral system, and how the laws at the center of this Supreme Court case are the same being used to police and sweep solidarity encampments across the US.

Transcript: https://www.deathpanel.net/transcripts/carewashing

Read Tracy's piece, "The New Sundown Towns," here: https://newrepublic.com/article/181036/new-sundown-towns-grants-pass-v-johnson

And find Abolish Rent here: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2443-abolish-rent

This episode was originally released on May 9, 2024.

Find our book Health Communism here: www.versobooks.com/books/4081-health-communism

Find Jules' new book, A Short History of Trans Misogyny, here:
https://www.versobooks.com/products/3054-a-short-history-of-trans-misogyny

As always, support Death Panel at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod

Best of 2024: Carewashing and the Right to Public Space w/ Tracy Rosenthal

Is there such a thing as a perfect bench?

Get in touch with us on contact@public-retreat.com (and mark topic of mail with "The Perfect Bench project") – with information on where to find the perfect bench, and why the bench in question is in fact the perfect bench. Attatch a photo or a drawing of the bench, as well as precise location!

"CAN YOU HELP US FIND THE PERFECT BENCH?!"

P. 14 PUBLIC RETREAT Explorer

The Perfect Bench?!

Short excerpt of live session at HLADINY event in Barrandov Bazen. Shluk, Oct 2023.

HLADINY

Cities across the US are rethinking streets, going beyond sidewalks and bike lanes to welcome nonmotorists to share the roadway. David L. Prytherch traces the historical evolution of America’s streets and explores contemporary movements to retake them from cars for diverse forms of mobility and community life. Can we design more just streets? Here, Pryterch gets into it with Mimi Sheller and Peter Norton.



David Prytherch is professor of geography at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He is author of Reclaiming the Road: Mobility Justice beyond Complete Streets; Law, Engineering, and the American Right-of-Way: Imagining a More Just Street; and coeditor of Transport, Mobility, and the Production of Urban Space. 

Mimi Sheller is Dean of The Global School at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Sheller is founding co-editor of the journal Mobilities, founding co-director of the Centre for Mobilities at Lancaster University, England, and past president of the International Association for the History of Transport, Traffic and Mobility. Sheller is author of Mobility Justice: The Politics of Movement in an Age of Extremes.

Peter Norton is associate professor of history in the Department of Engineering and Society at the University of Virginia. He is author of Fighting Traffic: The Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City and Autonorama: The Illustory Promise of High-Tech Driving.




REFERENCES:
John Urry
The Death and Life of Great American Cities / Jane Jacobs
People for Mobility Justice
Robert Moses
Complete Streets
The Untokening
Kimberly Crenshaw



Praise for the book:
How are cities across the United States reclaiming their streets as more equitable and diverse public spaces for everyone? Reclaiming the Road combines the history of urban planning and street design standards with theoretical insights about mobility politics and struggles for access and equity. Reporting from the front lines of recent post-pandemic physical and cultural transformations of public space in nine major American cities, David L. Prytherch raises profound questions about what streets are for and how they might be equitably shared. The result is a fresh, hopeful vision for intersectional mobility justice and public placemaking.
—Mimi Sheller, author of Mobility Justice: The Politics of Movement in an Age of Extremes

David L. Prytherch gives a crisp, clear, and accessible narrative of the movement to reclaim public streets after one hundred years of domination by private automobile interests. He touches on many of the key players in this epic struggle, from traffic engineers to complete streets and mobility justice advocacy. Steering us through the politics of streets during the Covid-19 pandemic and recovery, this is a refreshingly innovative and optimistic book for anyone concerned about our urban mobility future.
—Jason Henderson, coauthor of Street Fights in Copenhagen: Bicycle and Car Politics in a Green Mobility City



Reclaiming the Road: Mobility Justice beyond Complete Streets by David L. Prytherch is available from University of Minnesota Press.





Can we design better public streets?

Chase Abramson (MURP Candidate, 2027) interviews Community Planner Christopher Pina (City of Los Angeles, California). Podcast for URP 5120 Planning Ideas and Actions (Fall 2025). Department of Urban and Regional Planning, College of Environmental Design, Cal Poly Pomona.

Interview with Christopher Pina by Chase Abramson

SHLUK is a noise trio dedicated to site-specific interventions and live performance. Their proposal of deep recording is usually presented in multichannel arrangements and unconventional systems of amplification. They are interested in sound and its vibrations beyond human perception, as a collective effort to understand sound as an ecologic marker, and its impact on human relationships.

Learning by podcasting. A repository for planner's ideas and actions in pursuit of social-spatial justice. Planner interviews by MURP students. URP, ENV, CPP.

Amplifying ideas that fly below the radar. We talk environmental and social justice, arts, culture, community-building and urban issues with featured guests.

This podcast is produced by SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement as a part of our Knowledge Democracy Project @ 312 Main — encouraging the meaningful exchange of ideas and information across communities.

Hosted and currently produced by:
Am Johal
Joey Malbon
Julia Aoki
Kathy Feng
Samantha Walters

Visit our website for archived audio and video recordings of our public events: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/library.html

Spacing Radio is the voice of Spacing, Canada's leading publication on urbanism. 

Politics, culture, and public policy from the left. Stay alive another week.

w/ Beatrice Adler-Bolton, Artie Vierkant, Phil Rocco and Jules Gill-Peterson. 

https://www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod

Resources Radio is a weekly podcast by Resources for the Future. Each week we talk to leading experts about climate change, electricity, ecosystems, and more, making the latest research accessible to everyone.

New tracks tagged #Public Space