Challenges and Opportunities of Small Towns and Future Urban Planning

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The chapter delves into the challenges faced by small towns in sustaining themselves economically and culturally, discussing the potential of self-sustaining communities near major cities and embracing remote work for attracting residents. It explores the future of cities and community size, highlighting the importance of effective infrastructure coordination and unlearning bad habits in city-building. The conversation also touches on the impact of technology on cities, emphasizing the need for innovative construction techniques and better urban design principles for sustainable living.

What if we built cities focused around community, leveraging technology to actually increase human connection, health, and fulfillment? Devon Zuegel, the leader of Edge Esmeralda—a pop-up village that took place in June 2024—joins Possible to discuss how she is reimagining cities to optimize for community. In this episode, Devon, Aria, and Reid get into why designing cities with intention can impact quality of life and strengthen communities. Devon shares what she has learned from Edge Esmeralda—and what she plans to build from here.

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For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/

Topics:

2:20 - Hellos and intros

4:39 - Computers are like gardens

6:25 - Fictional Cities

8:15 - Cities are the platforms we build our lives on

10:10 - City as a networks and places of opportunities

13:40- Best and worst designed cities

15:40 - AI element

19:20 - What is Edge Esmerelda?

26:00 - Devon’s learnings thus far

31:50- Scaling Cities of the Future

36:30- Intersections between technology and cities

39:10- Philosophical manifestos of cities

43:30- Devon’s thoughts on California Forever

44:10 -Rapid-fire Questions

Select mentions:

Edge Esmerelda ( https://www.edgeesmeralda.com/welcome)

Chautauqua (https://devonzuegel.com/chautauqua-an-idea-embedded-in-a-place)

Possible is an award-winning podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Whether it's Inflection’s Pi, OpenAI’s ChatGPT or other AI tools, each episode will use AI to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.