Not to be redundant, but Arti Harchekar is a joy to talk with. The author of the unique and fascinating blog, Joyful Urbanist, Arti has moved from planning to design to now the tech world, but always explores her interest in cities, towns and how places make us feel. I knew early on that Arti would do really great things, and it wouldn’t surprise me if one day much more of the world knows her and enjoys her writing.

In her writing, Arti likes to talk about our emotional connections to place. She likes to talk about mental health, while openly and bravely describing her own struggles and journey. “Why do we form attachments to these places?” “What if we focus more on how we make people feel?” “Why don’t more planners and designers focus on the human connections?”

Arti wisely describes Joy as an intense momentary feeling of happiness. And that happiness is a culmination of these moments of joy.

I really, really enjoyed talking with Arti, and hope you enjoy this very different take on the world of cities, planning, design and architecture.

A few key links:

Her current company – Remix by Via

This conversation again reminded me of this post by Andy Boneau – ”How New Urbanism saved my life”

And I also thought I should share stories of other people living unconventional lives overseas.

Find more content on The Messy City on Kevin’s Substack page.

Music notes: all songs by low standards, ca. 2010. Videos here. If you’d like a CD for low standards, message me and you can have one for only $5.

Intro: “Why Be Friends”

Outro: “Fairweather Friend”