#14 Devon Zuegel: Building a People-First Town From Scratch with Esmeralda & Rethinking How We Live

Devon Zuegel is planning a bold, people-centered town from scratch. She has a background in software engineering and has worked at some of the big firms in Silicon Valley. She discovered a passion for urbanism and housing while living in San Francisco when she started looking into why there wasn’t more housing, and she draws a lot of inspiration from her childhood experiences at Chautauqua, a small town in Western New York. We discuss the need for more beautiful and community-oriented neighborhoods and the challenges of current housing policies and regulations. Devon also explains her vision for Esmeralda, a town that combines the principles of traditional neighborhood development (TND) and the community-oriented programming of Chautauqua. We explore the concept of experimentation and flexibility in urban planning and development, and brainstorm the importance of allowing for iteration and adaptation in building communities, the limitations of traditional planning processes and the need for more creative and responsive approaches. We talk about how the tech MVP model (Minimum Viable Product) can be applied to neighborhoods (Minimum Viable Place) through temporary structures, such as food trucks and airstreams, in testing ideas and activating spaces. While we discuss problems, it’s a fundamentally optimistic conversation! We discuss the need for individuals to take more agency and responsibility in shaping their built environment. Devon was an amazing guest, lot’s of energy, nuanced thinking and positive vibes–can’t wait for y'all to hear! CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction and Background 07:12 The Need for Building Better Places 11:52 Chautauqua: A Model for Community and Learning 15:10 The Challenges of Building Beautiful and Functional Places 24:35 Creating a New Town: The Vision for Esmeralda 31:16 Building for the Long Term: Evolving and Adapting 32:13 Challenges of Planning and Permission 37:53 The Cost of Locking In Decisions 42:48 The Negative Impact of Excessive Process 47:10 The Importance of Truth and Being Wrong 51:17 Hyper-Specialization and Loss of Agency 01:01:09 Capital and the Vision for the New Town 01:04:54 The Appeal of Esmeralda 01:05:49 Back-Weighted Returns 01:06:27 Investor Preferences 01:07:41 The Long-Term Value of TNDs 01:08:38 The Importance of Aligned Capital 01:09:30 Appreciating Wealth and Capital 01:09:59 The Impact of Wealthy Individuals 01:11:42 The Zero-Sum Mindset 01:13:16 The Infinite Potential of Wealth 01:14:13 Creating Value and Making the Pie Bigger 01:15:10 The Role of Wealth in Society 01:17:19 Building Relationships and Community 01:19:56 Funding through Pre-Sales 01:22:03 The Inspiration behind Esmeralda's Name 01:23:23 The Concept of Edge Esmeralda 01:32:05 Podcast - Outro w Music.mp4 CONNECT WITH DEVON & RESOURCES Blog: https://devonzuegel.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/devonzuegel Summer Event: https://www.edgeesmeralda.com/

Book: Invisible Cities

Chautauqua: https://www.chq.org/ CONNECT WITH AUSTIN TUNNELL Newsletter: https://playbook.buildingculture.com/ https://www.instagram.com/austintunnell/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-tunnell-2a41894a/ https://twitter.com/AustinTunnell CONNECT WITH BUILDING CULTURE https://www.buildingculture.com/ https://www.instagram.com/buildingculture/ https://twitter.com/build_culture https://www.facebook.com/BuildCulture/