Shows / Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Closer is a conversation about the strategies that make cities social – and why that’s the smartest investment in the urban toolkit.
Episodes
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
How to Connect a Divided Neighborhood - Zachary Baldwin of Southwest BID in Washington DC
What makes a neighborhood feel connected when its streets make it hard to get around—and its residents don’t always know one another? In this episode of…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
A Place to Stay: Julie Stein on Union Square
What turns a busy crossroads into a place where people want to linger, meet friends, and connect with strangers? Julie Stein, executive director of the Union…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Can Public-Private Partnerships Raise the Ambitions of Public Parks? — Tony Sorrentino of Fairmount Park Conservancy
In this episode of CLOSER, Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace talk with Tony Sorrentino, President and CEO of Fairmount Park Conservancy in Philadelphia. Tony…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
How Walking Brings a City Closer - Laura Conely of Urban Paths in Houston
Can a simple walk change how we see our city and one another? In this episode of CLOSER, Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace talk with Laura Conley, founder of…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Parks Are Doing More Than You Think - Catherine Nagel of City Parks Alliance
Parks aren’t just amenities. They’re essential city infrastructure. In this episode of Closer, Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace talk with Catherine Nagel…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
What Public Pools Can Teach Us About Bringing People Together - Ben Bryant of Interface Studios
How often do major investments in civic space fall short of their potential for lack of a few small enhancements? And why are private pools so much more…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
A Public Space Isn’t Social Until Someone Makes the Invitation - Dr. Leigh Graham of the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation
Bringing diverse people together in a public space is important, but recent research indicates that proximity alone does not create new connections. In this…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Creating Extraordinary Places with Little Gestures - Sandra Kulli
Where does extraordinary come from, especially when so much of what gets built doesn’t come close? In this episode of Closer, cultural anthropologist Sandra…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Kate Orff of SCAPE
Is it possible to work at a systems-wide level, recognize how deeply interconnected our world is, and still avoid being paralyzed by its complexity? In this…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Alex Zhu of the Baltimore Chamber of Connection
What can be learned from one man's fight to make his city more welcoming and social? Alex Zhu, founder of the Baltimore Chamber of Connection, is building a…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Eric Larson of Detroit Downtown Partnership
If Detroit can reinvent itself, what can other cities learn from its example? Eric Larson, CEO of the Detroit Downtown Partnership, has spent more than three…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Carol Coletta - Dispatches from Europe
In this special episode, Carol Coletta returns from Europe with fresh ideas about district-scale development and the invisible nudges that can turn strangers…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Juanita Hardy of the Urban Land Institute
What happens when artists are invited to shape a project from the very beginning, not simply asked to decorate it at the end? How can developers, architects…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Tanja Mitchell of Mitchell Consulting, the "Mayor of Uptown" Memphis
What does it take to create a community where residents of different incomes, backgrounds, and experiences feel connected to one another? In this episode of…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Michael Van Valkenburgh of MVVA Associates
“A second of love is a game changer; it is the beginning of a paradigm shift.” In this episode of Closer, Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace talk with Michael Van…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
RJ Justice of the City of Knoxville
Is it possible for a city to be both flexible and intentional? How can a fast-growing city create public spaces that invite people to spend time together? In…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Lennart Lajboschitz of Folkehuset Absalon
Have we optimized ourselves into loneliness? What if the antidote to social isolation isn’t technology or convenience, but shared meals, table tennis, and a…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Josephine Ramirez Senior Advisor and Arts Leader
Two radical ideas: everyone is an artist and making art together can bring us together. In this episode of Closer, Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace talk with…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Leah Houston of Mabelle Arts
What does it take to unlock creativity in communities that already have deep social bonds? And why it a good strategy to leave a park unfinished? In this…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Kira Strong of Highline Network & Bridget Marquis of Reimagining Civic Commons
What does it take to turn forgotten infrastructure into places people love? And how are parks and public space leaders growing a movement to truly bring people…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Ryan Meyers-Johnson of Sidewalk Detroit
What happens when art leaves the theater and shows up on the street? Why are some planners afraid of the public? And what can cities learn from the way artists…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Dan Rice of the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition
What does it take to turn a city’s overlooked assets into its greatest strengths? In this episode of Closer, Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace talk with Daniel…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Krista Nightengale of Better Block
How much can a community learn from a one-day project, and can a short-term experiment change the trajectory of a city? In this episode of Closer, Carol…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Matt Naimi of Dreamtroit and the Lincoln Street Art Park
What if the key to building community in a city is throwing a great party? In this episode of Closer, Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace talk with Detroit’s…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Omar Blaik of U3 Advisors
Omar Blaik, CEO of U3 Advisors and recipient of the Edmund Bacon Urban Design Award, has spent his career helping anchor institutions transform struggling…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Josh McManus of M|B|P
Josh McManus, co-founder of M|B|P|, is a driving force behind transformational work in misunderstood cities from Jackson to Chattanooga to Detroit and beyond…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Betsy Murdoch of The Congregation in Detroit
Coffee shop as social glue? That’s what co-owner and managing partner Betsy Murdoch has created at The Congregation in Detroit. And its popularity keeps…
- Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace
Aaron Hurst and the US Chamber of Connection
Social connections cure a lot of ills. Aaron Hurst, founder of the U.S. Chamber of Connection, aims to power a movement with his six points of connection…
Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark WallaceCathy Leff of Bakehouse Arts Complex in Miami
Miami’s Bakehouse Art Complex is getting a makeover and so is its Wynwood Norte neighborhood. It’s a remarkable collaboration led by Cathy Leff, long-time…