Engineers have feelings, too!

11/20/19 • 80 min

In this episode, AJ and Kevin sit down with Mike McKay, Assistant City Engineer for Lubbock, Texas, for a wide-ranging discussion on the past, present, and future of the engineering profession, and its role in the way we’ve built our cities.

Some of the ground we cover in this episode:

The relationship between engineers and planners—how it could improve, and what each side should understand about the other
What it means for our cities to be sustainable, and whether we’re on the right track in any meaningful ways
Whether street standards and specification should have flexibility
What the ideal Capital Improvement Plan looks like
Long-term maintenance costs, and whether engineers tend to consider them when evaluating new development
The overemphasis on auto-based mobility, and where that leaves planners and engineers who want to make life easier without a car
How to increase support for additional infrastructure funding when cities are struggling to find the money
Ways to modify design approaches to be more considerate of long-term maintenance costs and to minimize up-front construction costs
How the different staff members in a city’s development process can better collaborate
Advice for cities in the early stages of growth
Lessons learned from Mike’s long engineering career

The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.

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Join us (and your peers!) in the Community Cultivators Network.

(Music in this episode is from No Future, Custodian of Records, & Gary Numan.)

verdunity.com/podcast/episode-44

Some of the ground we cover in this episode:

The relationship between engineers and planners—how it could improve, and what each side should understand about the other
What it means for our cities to be sustainable, and whether we’re on the right track in any meaningful ways
Whether street standards and specification should have flexibility
What the ideal Capital Improvement Plan looks like
Long-term maintenance costs, and whether engineers tend to consider them when evaluating new development
The overemphasis on auto-based mobility, and where that leaves planners and engineers who want to make life easier without a car
How to increase support for additional infrastructure funding when cities are struggling to find the money
Ways to modify design approaches to be more considerate of long-term maintenance costs and to minimize up-front construction costs
How the different staff members in a city’s development process can better collaborate
Advice for cities in the early stages of growth
Lessons learned from Mike’s long engineering career

The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.

You can also find us on social media. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn

Join us (and your peers!) in the Community Cultivators Network.

(Music in this episode is from No Future, Custodian of Records, & Gary Numan.)

verdunity.com/podcast/episode-44

Previous Episode

Are We Doing This Right? // Placemaking Edition (Part 2)

This is Part 2 of our 'Are We Doing This Right?' discussion on placemaking! This time, we delve deeper into some criticisms of placemaking as it is commonly applied.

Your hosts for this episode: Jordan Clark & AJ Fawver.

The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.

You can also find us on social media. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn

Join us (and your peers!) in the Community Cultivators Network.

(Music in this episode is from No Future & Dr. John.)

verdunity.com/podcast/episode-43

Next Episode

Are We Doing This Right? // Public Engagement Edition (Part 1)

For the November installment of 'Are We Doing This Right?’ we’re tackling public engagement. What does it look like when it’s done well? What are some pitfalls to look out for? Who and what is it for, exactly? It shouldn’t come as a surprise that there’s no one-size-fits-all right answer to public engagement. But we think there is such a thing as the right approach.

In this double episode, we dig into literally everything you need to know about public engagement. Just kidding; we probably left a few things out. But we do think this sets a good starting point for moving toward a more productive and inclusive (and, importantly, ongoing!) public engagement process. And the good news is: there are so many good examples out there already!

You can find recommendations for further reading at the show page for this episode.

This is Part 1 of 2. You can find the other episode in the same feed.

Your hosts for this episode: Jordan Clark & AJ Fawver.

The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.

You can also find us on social media. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn

Join us (and your peers!) in the Community Cultivators Network.

(Music in this episode is from No Future & Custodian of Records.)

verdunity.com/podcast/episode-45