Episode description

The process of real estate development is critical to urban life. Without it, we’d have no homes, no stores, no community centers. But development isn’t working for everyone. All too often, new projects advance without sufficient concern for affordability, economic opportunity, or long-term vibrancy. 

But as Sidewalk Labs' Head of Urban Development Alison Novak tells us, 2020 made a lot of people pause and ask: “What am I doing, and how am I impacting the world?” Real estate developers are no exception. Today, the industry is at a tipping point, and many developers are asking themselves how they can do better — while still making money.

This season of City of the Future will be all about the ideas and innovations that could lead to more equitable development. But before we can understand how development could become more inclusive in the future, we have to understand how it works today. So, in this bonus episode, Alison helps us dig into the financials, the planning documents, and beyond. Join us for some Development 101.

In this episode:

• [0:01 - 5:49] We meet with Sidewalk’s Head of Urban Development, Alison Novak, a long-time affordable housing developer at a project she once worked on in Prospect Lefferts Garden, Brooklyn. And we learn why, when it comes to community engagement, development can be fraught.
• [5:50 - 13:00] Alison gives us the breakdown of a development project, from how developers determine their pro forma, to when and how they refine the architectural design, to the risks involved in creating and getting approval for planning documents.
• [13:01 - 17:00] Alison describes the beginning of a shift toward more inclusive development happening in the industry, and why this matters now more than ever.

To see images and videos of topics discussed in this episode, read the link-rich transcript on our Sidewalk Talk Medium page at https://bit.ly/3ERCwVP.

City of the Future is hosted by Eric Jaffe and Vanessa Quirk, and produced by Guglielmo Mattioli. Story editing by Rough Cut Collective and Benjamin Walker. Mix is by Andrew Callaway. Art is by Tim Kau. Our music is composed by Adaam James Levin-Areddy of Lost Amsterdam. Special thanks to Alison Novak, Jesse Shapins, and Chrystal Dean.