Episode 14: For the love of beer (and community): Hops On Lots Pittsburgh
Release Date: 09/23/2017
Episode 15: Winslow Food Forest: Growing food in the city
Built Blocks
What exactly is a food forest? I wanted to find out more so I visited the Winslow Food Forest located on the border of Milwaukie and Portland, Ore. I visited in the fall, and even then, the place was thriving with herbs, the last of the summer crops, and other late fall crops. After the tour, I sat down with Melissa Cullen, co-owner of the farm with her husband, Teague, and chatted about how they got the farm, what the challenges are, and how others can start their own food forests. For more info on Winslow,
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Episode 14: For the love of beer (and community): Hops On Lots Pittsburgh
Built Blocks
Hops on Lots Pittsburgh, a Pittsburgh organization grows hops on vacant lots across the city and gives back to the community.
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Episode 13: 168 LAT
Built Blocks
The podcast about cities, architecture, nature, and the built environment.
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Episode 12: Building communities through breweries: An interview with SUM Design
Built Blocks
The first time I visited Ex Novo, a brewery in Portland, Oregon, I was struck by its design. It felt…designed. It wasn’t a cold space with some chairs and stuff thrown together. There was some thought put into it. From where we sat, we could see the brew tanks, bar action, interesting lighting, the space flowed so…design. The next day I hopped online and did a search to see if it was the IPA talking or if there was a design firm behind it. Sure enough. That’s where I found the website for Sum Design Studio. I emailed them and started a conversation with principal Matthew...
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Episode 11: We can make our cities better with placemaking, incrementally
Built Blocks
So, how is the DNA of a place defined? Is it the architecture? Is it the cool, hip shops? Park benches? It’s some of that – but it’s way more. What exactly is placemaking? This episode we’re speaking with Daniel Hintz, Founder and Chief Experience Architect for . His company helps towns, cities, developers, and Main streets discover their own DNA of Place™. (That’s trademarked by the way so don’t use it.) Hintz explains how he works with towns to discover what their own DNA is. It's more than data. It's exploring. It's asking questions. It's being authentic. And, it doesn't take...
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Episode 10: Bourbon and buildings: An interview with John Patrick Winberry, UP studio
Built Blocks
What do design, branding, good bourbon, and a Norwegian architect firm have in common? It’s the thread to this episode’s interview with John Patrick Winberry, founding partner, chief wrangler, and architect at the UP is a small, nimble boutique Architecture, Interior, and Brand Design firm that believes all disciplines can live together within a given project. If you’re a client, you get the design, but maybe you need signage, a new brand, or marketing to go with that new building. That’s where UP comes in. That belief of a turnkey solution makes for an interesting conversation. At...
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Episode Nine: Agriculture meets architecture: It's called Agritecture
Built Blocks
You’ve heard of agriculture – and urban ag, or growing food in cities. And then there’s architecture. And then, there’s agritecture. Wait, agritecture? Yep. The brains behind the concept is Henry Gordon-Smithlaunched agritcture.com a few years back as a blog to help promote the fact, that yes, you can grow food in the cities, and look cool doing it. The blog then turned into something even bigger. Much bigger. It's expanded into news updates on actual projects, analysis about BIA trends, guest posts, and reporting on emerging technologies. And intense workshops. At these workshops,...
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Episode Eight: Defining the suburbs
Built Blocks
For many, the suburbs are an easy target. For good reason. Many of the homes are ugly and out of scale. They promote sprawl and auto dependence thereby increasing obesity. They use tons of energy and are a huge drain on a city’s infrastructure. They wipe out farmland. And to many, they’re just boring. I love the back to the city movement. I love that cities are thriving, reemerging and have found new life – coming back from the abandonment following the decades after World War 2 when the burbs were created. However, with urbanists declaring the suburbs as dead, where are many young...
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Episode Seven: The Fair-Haired Dumbbell
Built Blocks
I first learned about developer Kevin Cavenaugh’s work years ago when I was managing editor of a building trade magazine that focused on development, building techniques, and exciting topics like cemeticious siding and decking materials. (Kidding aside, I loved every minute of it.) His project was – at the time – revolutionary here in Portland. With its garage door windows and boxy exteriors– now commonplace – and small footprint of space, the project helped elevate an entire neighborhood. Other projects soon followed, some smaller, some larger all under his company name, ....
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Episode Six: Walking in the city
Built Blocks
There are three questions on Max Grinnell’s that ask: How do cities work? Why are people both fascinated and repelled by cities? How can we improve cities? (Hint: It's not through ye olde fudge shoppes or super-precious cupcake stores.) However, Grinnell, this episode's guest, has some answers. As an urbanologist, geographer, historian, and professor, Grinnell is an expert on urban design, planning, public art, the creative economy, and the history of cities. He’s written books about cities, designed and taught courses on urban studies, community development, geography, planning...
info_outlineThis episode's guest, Pete Bell from Hops on Lots Pittsburgh (HOLP), calls it "the wall."
Sure, it's a wall. But it's a wall—with hops growing up it, grown by the organization and volunteers.
It was created in 2016 when the Stanton Heights Community contacted HOLP to grow hops to cover up the unsightly retaining wall along Stanton Avenue.
The hops were harvested and used to fresh hop a beer brewed by Roundabout Brewery. The result was Stanton Hops, a truly local beer, brewed to benefit the community. To celebrate Stanton Hops, a release party was held at the brewery. Proceeds of the beer benefited the Stanton Heights Community, who also got to name the beer.
And that's awesome.
Listen how the group (Pete and his partners Joe and Phoebe) is now growing on other sites across Pittsburgh, looking for new land to grown on, challenges (not everyone loves hops or beer—think about the children!) and how you might be able to do something like this in your own city or town.