102 / Public land, Ruben Gallego and federal housing plans, & loneliness / with Diana Lind

Diana Lind — urbanist, author, and writer of The New Urban Order newsletter — is back in good traffic this week for a wide-ranging conversation about municipal public land, the loneliness epidemic, and why threading the needle between instant reactions and thoughtful responses matters more than ever. Diana's newsletter has become essential reading for anyone trying to make sense of urbanism's role in the cultural moment, and this episode breaks down several recent pieces that reveal how much untapped potential sits hidden in plain sight.

Diana walks through her recent interview with Dr. George McCarthy from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, which uncovered that 276,000 acres of government-owned land sits within 1,000 feet of transit stations across the U.S. — most of it owned by local municipalities that don't even know what they have. She explains why this matters more than office conversions for solving the affordable housing crisis, how transit agencies could function as developers to fund their own operations, and what communities of practice around public land could accomplish. The conversation shifts to her piece on third places and loneliness, exploring why social media platforms tried to become digital gathering spaces, why they failed, and what the physical infrastructure of connection actually requires. From ads telling you to see your doctor from your couch to students demanding in-person classes after years of Zoom, Diana traces the countervailing forces shaping how—and whether — we show up in shared space.

We also touch on: Why municipalities don't know what land they own. The Trump administration's public land sales. Office-to-housing conversions versus building on public land. How social media became anti-social. The drift toward staying home and the fight against it. Why kids don't play outside anymore (hint: it's the parking lots). Philadelphia's Rail Park and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Skiing 45 minutes from Philly.

Timeline:

00:00 Diana Lind returns to the show.

03:02 Parsing out any individual newsletter.

03:44 Today's letter: public land and transit.

04:45 276,000 acres near transit stations.

05:16 Municipalities don't know what they own.

06:23 Trump administration selling federal buildings.

07:16 Transit agencies as developers.

08:07 Public land versus office conversions.

12:18 The third places and loneliness piece.

16:34 Why social media tried to be a third place.

21:45 The failure of digital gathering spaces.

26:12 What physical infrastructure requires.

31:58 Countervailing messages about staying home.

37:24 The drift and the fight against it.

42:19 Why we're made to move and connect.

46:33 Students demanding in-person classes.

49:40 Ads selling comfort from your couch.

50:33 The importance of built environment choices.

52:34 Setting up the full question correctly.

53:10 The coolest thing in Philadelphia this year.

53:58 Skiing 45 minutes from Philly.

54:26 The Rail Park and community involvement.

55:11 Philly's 250th anniversary and World Cup games.

55:49 Wrapping up.

Further context:

Subscribe to Diana's newsletter.

Diana's site.