Mitchell Silver, FAICP, thinks parks are more than just islands of green spaces — much, much more. As Commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, Mitch makes it his mission to understand how people use these critical urban spaces, and he aims to ensure that children, adults, seniors, and everyone in between have access to a quality 21st-century park system.
Courtney caught up with Mitch during the 2018 National Planning Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the two discussed not only how he was shaped by a childhood spent blocks away from Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, but also how seriously he takes public engagement when working with residents on park projects. He touches on some of the initiatives under way in his department and highlights a few of the less well-known examples of park success stories in New York City, including St. Mary's Park in the Bronx and Highbridge Park, home to the city’s oldest standing bridge. Mitch reflects on his time in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he served as Chief Planning & Development Officer and Planning Director and sought to encourage growth in a community once hesitant to change. He also shares his views on equity, which he defines simply as fairness, in a bid to eliminate the jargon planners can sometimes employ when discussing the subject.
National Zoning Atlas Founder Sara Bronin is Empowering Communities to Transform Land Use
Megan Oliver on How to Plan for Happiness in Cities
Anaid Yerena and Rashad Williams on Building an Equitable Future of Planning
Rediscovering Roots: Planner Jewell Littles Walton Uncovers Family Ties to Tulsa's Black Wall Street
Shain Shapiro on Taylor Swift and the Benefits of a Music Policy for Your City
Taiwo Jaiyeoba on How Planners Can Lead Through Zoning Reform and by Crafting Equitable Comprehensive Plans
Robert Goodspeed on How Exploratory Scenario Planning Helps Imagine Uncertain Futures
YouTuber and Planner Dave Amos on Teaching a Crash Course in Urban Planning, One Video at a Time
Planning to Ensure Longevity for Small Minority-Owned Businesses
Embracing Heritage: How Culture Influences Your Planning Work
Disability Advocate Rebekah Taussig on Built Environment Barriers You Might Not See
Critical Conversations in Transportation Planning: Misty Klann and Cole Grisham
Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Jane Golden: Planning and Public Art Ignite Change
Critical Conversations in Transportation Planning: Tamika Butler
‘Arbitrary Lines’ Author Nolan Gray on Zoning Reform and Hitting Planning’s Reset Button
Critical Conversations in Transportation Planning: Judy Shanley and Claire Stanley
Philadelphia CIO Mark Wheeler: Web 3.0 and Blockchain Could Bring Transparency to Smart Cities
Planner and City Official Nithya Raman’s Vision to End Homelessness in Los Angeles
Critical Conversations in Transportation Planning: Olatunji Oboi Reed
Navigating Mobility Justice with Naomi Doerner
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall
The No-Frills Teacher Podcast
Heal, Survive & Thrive!
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
The Mel Robbins Podcast