PlanningxChange 121: Calvin Po - new ways of thinking and doing
Release Date: 09/10/2024
PlanningxChange 133: Five Decades in City Planning: A Conversation with Peter O’Leary
Planning XChange
In this episode of PlanningXchange, we speak with Peter O’Leary, whose planning career spans an impressive five decades. Peter began his journey in the mid-1970s as a cadet in local government, rising through the ranks to senior management. He later moved into the private sector before serving over 11 years as a Tribunal Member at VCAT, where he presided over a broad range of planning matters. Following his time on the bench, Peter returned to consultancy, specialising in mediation and dispute resolution. We explore each phase of his remarkable career, drawing on his insights into what...
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PlanningxChange 132: How AI Is Transforming City Planning - with Scott Matheson
Planning XChange
In this episode of PlanningXchange, we speak with Scott Matheson, Head of Planning at MyLot, an Australian AI technology company focused on simplifying the planning process for councils and communities. With a background in statutory planning across local government, consultancies, and the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning, Scott brings both practical experience and a forward-thinking approach to the role of technology in urban planning. We explore Scott’s journey from traditional regulatory planning into the dynamic world of AI, discussing how MyLot is transforming development...
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PlanningxChange 131: Alfonso Morales + Edna Ely-Ledesma: Public Markets
Planning XChange
In this episode of PlanningXchange, we speak with Professor Alfonso Morales and Edna Ely-Ledesma of the University of Wisconsin-Madson about the unique and often overlooked role of public markets in shaping vibrant, inclusive urban environments. Drawing on their research and on-the-ground experience, they share insights into how markets serve not just as commercial spaces, but as critical infrastructure for food access, social connection, and local economic resilience. We explore the history and diversity of market types across different regions, the policy frameworks that support or...
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PlanningxChange 130 - Inside the Mind of a Developer: A Conversation with Max Shifman
Planning XChange
In PX130 our guest is Max Shifman, Chief Executive Officer of Intrapac Property, one of Australia's most respected private developers. Max brings a wealth of experience to the discussion, having worked across master-planned communities, regional housing projects, and complex urban redevelopments mainly along Australia’s eastern seaboard. His background in engineering and law, combined with hands-on experience in the development sector, gives him a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing the industry today. In this episode, we explore what motivates developers, how...
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PlanningxChange 129: Charter Cities in the Developing World with Jeffrey Mason
Planning XChange
In PX129 our guest is Jeffrey Mason of the Charter Cities Institute. Jeffrey joined CCI as a Researcher in 2019. His research interests include urban economics, structural transformation, special economic zones, and technology ecosystems. He has worked on policy advisory projects in Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, and Honduras, among other countries. Prior to joining the Charter Cities Institute, Jeffrey worked as an MA Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He holds a BA in economics from the University of Maryland and an MA in economics from George Mason University. His writing...
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PlanningxChange 128: Emergent Tokyo: Designing the Spontaneous City (author Jorge Almazan)
Planning XChange
In PX128 our guest is architect and author Jorge Almazan. Jorge is a Tokyo-based architect and associate professor at Keio University. He holds a degree in architecture from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and a PhD from the Tokyo Institute of Technology. His practice focuses on ecologically responsible and socially inclusive design, ranging from urban to interior projects. His built work has earned significant recognition in Japan, including the Ota City Urban Landscape First Prize (2019) and selections by the Japan Institute of Architects (2018, 2022) and the Architectural Institute of...
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PlanningxChange 127: Derham Groves - Sherlock Holmes and good City Making etc
Planning XChange
In PX127 our guest is architect, former academic and author Dr Derham Groves. He studied architecture at Deakin University and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and art history at the University of Minnesota. He taught architecture at RMIT from 1985 to 1997 and the University of Melbourne from 1999 to 2019 and was a Senior Fellow in the Faculty of Architecture, Building, and Planning at the University of Melbourne from 2020 to 2024. Derham is the author of many articles and books about popular culture, architecture, and design, including, Feng-Shui and Western Building...
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PlanningxChange 126: Key to the City - How Zoning Shapes Our World: Sara Bronin
Planning XChange
Our guest is Sara Bronin a Mexican-American architect and attorney whose interdisciplinary research focuses on how law and policy can foster more equitable, sustainable, well-designed, and connected places. She is the author of , and she founded and directs the , which aims to digitize, demystify, and democratize information about zoning in the United States. She has advised the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Sustainable Development Code, has served on the board of Latinos in Heritage Conservation, and founded Desegregate Connecticut. Previously, she led the...
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PlanningxChange Episode 125 - PX turns 10, reflections and an Ai Review
Planning XChange
In this episode, Jess and Pete reflect on the tenth anniversary of the PlanningxChange podcast. This discussion occurs before an Ai review of the planningxchange podcast series. A rather indulgent episode to mark the anniversary! For podcast extra / culture corner, Jess recommends making pizzas at home with the family. Her New Year resolution is to have more interesting podcast extra recommendations. Pete recommends doing background research about books you like. He also discusses film locations and the potential for cultural tourism. On YouTube there are various films about film...
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PlanningxChange 124: Public Toilets with Katherine Webber
Planning XChange
Katherine is a social planning practitioner with over 14 years’ experience working for a range of government and non-government organisations in Australia and the Pacific. Katherine has considerable experience in developing and implementing community plans, programs and policy to improve social inclusion and participation. Katherine was awarded the 2018 Rodney Warmington Churchill Fellowship to increase inclusion and accessibility in public toilets by researching taboos, design, policy and legal barriers. The Churchill Fellowship consolidated previous work with planners, institutions and...
info_outlineIn PX121 our guest is Calvin Po (https://www.calvinpo.com).
Calvin Po is a strategic designer at Dark Matter Labs, co-leading the Radicle Civics portfolio, where he explores institutional and governance systems as sites of design. He has led projects with the Scottish Government’s Land Commission on land governance reform, the Taiwanese Government on decentralised web3 civic infrastructure, and is developing multi-actor governance approaches for river ecosystems, and in FreeHouse, a commons housing model based on ‘self-owning’ houses.
At the Architectural Association School of Architecture, Calvin is a unit master of Diploma 9, ‘Universal Free Housing’, focusing on strategic, policy, and economic pathways for realising housing as a universal human right. He studied architecture at UCL Bartlett, where he graduated top of class as a RIBA Donaldson Medallist, and he was a scholar at the AA, where his Diploma thesis won the Dennis Sharp Prize and was a finalist for RIBA President's Awards for Research 2021.
Calvin is also a writer, publishing most regularly as an architecture critic for The Spectator magazine. His research interests and writing include topics on land, territory, and its political systems.
In podcast extra / culture corner, Calvin Po recommends the movie Tar directed by Todd Field (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tár); Jess recommends the Netflix program ‘Red Eye’ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421239/ and Pete recommends ‘War Gamers’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IikLz4GL8uw and https://www.zdf-studios.com/en/program-catalog/international/unscripted/history-biographies/war-gamers
Audio produced by Jack Bavage. Podcast released 11 September 2024.