Dominic Leonardo — the urban planner and creator behind CityGlowUp — is back in good traffic this week for a conversation about the hidden costs of hosting major sporting events, why cities keep building stadiums they can't afford, and what a leaked 2013 Super Bowl bid book reveals about the NFL's demands. As cities across the country bond for billions to build new facilities hoping for economic windfalls, Dominic's recent videos expose financial inconsistencies that rarely make headlines — and why the math might never add up the way boosters claim.

We also touch on: The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs' new stadium deals. How economic impact studies overstate benefits. Parking requirements as a tax on density. Rhode Island's iterative approach to housing legislation. ADUs in existing non-conforming structures. Massachusetts transit-oriented development laws. Hasbro leaving Rhode Island for Boston. The Washington Bridge replacement project.

*Apologies for the delay in getting this out - an illness slowed us down, last week.

Timeline:

00:00 Dominic Leonardo returns.

02:47 CityGlowUp on YouTube.

03:28 The economics of the Super Bowl video.

04:08 The leaked 2013 NFL bid book.

04:55 Tax exemptions and 35,000 free parking spaces.

05:24 Are cities really seeing economic growth?

05:41 Brad's biggest hypocrisy.

06:33 Why stadium financing is so problematic.

07:07 New England's unique approach to stadiums.

07:42 The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City deals.

08:25 Dallas Cowboys and public subsidies.

11:18 Economic impact studies and their flaws.

15:34 The cultural value of sports teams.

19:47 Other CityGlowUp videos worth watching.

24:12 Parking requirements as a hidden tax.

29:38 Minimum lot sizes and exclusionary zoning.

35:22 Rhode Island's housing production package.

40:15 Iterative legislation year after year.

44:50 ADUs in existing non-conforming structures.

48:33 State preemption of local zoning.

52:41 Comparing Rhode Island to Massachusetts.

57:28 Transit-oriented development laws in Mass.

1:01:15 Commuter rail bleeding into Rhode Island.

1:04:22 The latest in Rhode Island land use.

1:06:23 ADU regulations evolving rapidly.

1:07:23 Hasbro leaving for Boston.

1:07:38 Rhode Island versus other New England states.

1:09:40 Wrapping up and future meetups.

Further context:

CityGlowUp on YouTube.

On Instagram.

On TikTok.

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.

Juan Pablo Garnham — Communications and Policy Engagement Manager at the ⁠Princeton Eviction Lab⁠ — is in good traffic this week for a conversation about the hidden scale of America's eviction crisis and why the data didn't exist until recently. Before 2018, there was no way to answer a simple question: how many evictions happen in the United States each year? The lab, founded by Matthew Desmond after winning the Pulitzer Prize for Evicted, set out to change that — and in doing so, revealed eviction not as a symptom of poverty, but as a cause of it.

Juan Pablo walks through the lab's two core offerings: the ⁠National Eviction Map⁠, which tracks every county from 2000 to 2018, and the ⁠Eviction Tracking System⁠, which monitors over 30 cities and ten states month by month since the pandemic began. He explains why collecting this data remains extraordinarily difficult — most states don't mandate reporting, courts lack technology or willingness to share records — and how the lab works with journalists, policymakers, and advocates to turn raw numbers into impact.

The research is clear: Black and Latino families face eviction at rates several times higher than white families, mothers with young kids are especially vulnerable, and one eviction can trigger a cascade of financial and health consequences that become nearly impossible to escape.

We also touch on: Why eviction data matters for housing policy. How teachers often see the warning signs first. The domino effect of a single financial shock. Car dependency as a hidden eviction risk. Illegal lockouts and 911 call data. Why Portland, New York, and Santiago all taught him something about commuting. What it takes to make technical research accessible and actionable.

Timeline:

00:00 Juan Pablo Garnham is in good traffic.

02:48 What the Princeton Eviction Lab does.

03:29 Matthew Desmond and the founding story.

04:29 Two main products: data and research.

05:03 The National Eviction Map.

05:30 The Eviction Tracking System.

05:57 Why getting eviction data is still so hard.

06:46 Research on impacts and demographics.

07:32 Juan Pablo's role in communications and policy.

08:26 Why focus so intensely on evictions?

09:23 Eviction causes poverty, not the other way around.

10:15 Eviction as an indicator of housing crisis.

13:38 Who is most impacted by evictions?

16:54 Racial and demographic disparities.

21:01 The cascade of consequences after eviction.

25:33 How the data gets used by advocates and policymakers.

30:56 Making research accessible to non-academics.

35:31 Early warning signs before evictions happen.

45:54 Teachers as first responders to housing instability.

47:25 Low savings and car dependency as risk factors.

48:41 Health problems and unexpected costs.

49:14 Illegal lockouts and 911 data.

50:07 Black and Latino families with kids at highest risk.

50:58 The commute question.

51:18 New York subway as people-watching classroom.

52:09 Portland's bikeable scale.

53:18 Wrapping up and staying connected.