Campfire: A City Building Podcast

#13 Culdesac & Co-living: Human Behavior & Neighborhood Design with Phil Levin

Episode Summary

Welcome back to Campfire! In this season, we’ll be talking with city builders. Americans want to live in walkable cities, but less than 8% of them do. Jackson and Cabin's own Phil Levin talk about Culdesac (the first car-free neighborhood in the US) and Radish (an intentional coliving community in Oakland).

Episode Notes

Topics Covered: 

• Introduction to Phil — (1:20)
• Why Humans Should Build New Cities — (3:05)
• The Relationship Between Transportation and Cities — (4:47)
• The Impact of Designing Cities Around Cars — (7:30)
• The Desire for Walkable Neighborhoods — (8:55)
• Introduction to Culdesac — (10:00)
• Challenges for Culdesac — (12:00)
• Minimum Viable Community Size — (14:17)
• Demand for Culdesac — (14:49)
• Deciding on Culdesac’s First Location — (15:50)
• Navigating Regulation — (17:23)
• Financing — (19:51)
• Culdesac’s Team — (21:18)
• Behavioral Economics — (23:52)
• How Phil Would Design a Living Environment — (25:02)
• Strategies for Co-Living — (29:03)
• Going Beyond The Co-Living Narratives — (33:12)
• Jackson’s Co-Living Experiences — (34:46)
• Phil’s Role at Cabin — (37:53)
• Metrics for Success During Cabin’s Seasons — (41:58)

Campfire is brought to you by Cabin - a network of coliving neighborhoods for nature-loving creators and remote workers. You can learn more at the following links:

Website (cabin.city)

Twitter

Discord

The Future of Living Newsletter

Episode Links: 

Phil on Twitter 

Culdesac on Twitter

Episode Credit: 

Hosted by @JacksonSteger

Sound Engineering by @Prodcolin

Videos and Clips by @McdonnellCallum 

Produced by @PhilippeIze

Distribution by @Alisonclaire and @PhilippeIze