Defining Urban Form Across Scales

Rishee Jain is an engineer and an expert in the built environment – the manmade structures of modern life. The future, Jain says, will be a place where everyone has a safe, comfortable place to live and work, and the built environment adapts in real time to our needs. Jain is now exploring cool roofs that reflect heat to lower indoor temperatures and improve occupants’ well-being. We once believed that humans bent infrastructure to our needs, but now we understand how infrastructure changes us, too, Jain tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’sThe Future of Everything podcast.

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Episode Reference Links:

• Stanford Profile: Rishee Jain

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• Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website
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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Rishee Jain, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University.

(00:03:50) Focus on Built Urban Environments

Rishee Jain shares how early hands-on projects inspired his career.

(00:04:51) The Social Dimension

Why infrastructure must account for human behavior and social needs.

(00:07:03) How Infrastructure Shapes Us

Examples of sidewalks, bike lanes, and design choices influencing wellbeing.

(00:09:11) Defining Urban Form

Defining urban form as design across buildings, neighborhoods, and cities.

(00:10:58) Decision-Makers at Every Level

How policymakers, communities, and building owners shape design.

(00:13:38) Dynamic Infrastructure

The shift from static infrastructure to adaptable, responsive systems.

(00:15:19) Levers of Change

Using thermal and lighting design as key factors for wellbeing.

(00:19:36) Climate & Extreme Heat

The impact of extreme heat on building design and vulnerable communities.

(00:23:25) Measuring Impact

Studies using wearables to track the benefits of infrastructure interventions.

(00:24:25) Community Feedback

The optimistic research results on infrastructure interventions.

(00:26:18) Retrofitting Old Buildings

Challenges in adapting existing infrastructure with minimal disruption.

(00:31:12) Future in a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: hope, infrastructure, research needs, and lessons from history.

(00:33:01) Conclusion

Connect With Us:

Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website

Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon

Connect with School of Engineering >>>Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook

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