Two Perspectives from behind the front lines

I had the distinct pleasure to sit down with two leading voices from the Congress for New Urbanism this past spring for a frank conversation on our current housing crisis. Their different ages and life experiences offer us a wealth of perspective to learn from and leverage.  Let’s dive right in to learn together in order to better each of our efforts to solve the issues of housing in America. 

Todd Zimmerman and his partner Laurie Volk founded Zimmerman/Volk Associates four decades ago, to address the walkability and economic viability of cities and towns throughout the United States. They developed over that time their own methodology for completing the work they performed. Both got their start as journalists and like so many of us who came to development from a non-traditional background, leveraged their skills to bring fresh ideas to the realm of the built environment.

Carlos Sainz Caccia is a Mexican born Urban planner living and working in Boston Massachusetts for the leading firm Utile.  His perspective particularly caught my attention in the fall of 2024 as I participated in a debate on the merits of CNU’s voice in solving the current housing crisis during CNU’s regional conference in Providence, RI. 

We start our discussion with Carlos’s take on what’s driving housing’s unaffordability.  These conversations often quickly stream into the social, financial, cultural and other worlds that contribute to the problem but inform possible solutions.  We then move to a broader look at the issues contributing with Todd. 

We’re going to present these conversations over several episodes.  Thanks for our friends at the Congress for New Urbanism for suggesting these interviews and introducing us to Carlos and Todd.  We hope you enjoy.

from host Scott M. Graves

Are We Here Yet? Host Scott Graves chosen profession was as a performing artist.  In this episode he pays tribute to two of his idols who recently passed away, Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone fame and Brian Wilson, songwriter and member of the California iconic Beach Boys.