Closer with Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace

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 this episode of Closer, Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace talk with Rebekah Jane (RJ) Justice, the Chief of Urban Design and Development for the City of Knoxville about how cities can grow without losing the qualities that make people love them i...

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 little intentional friction?

In this episode of CLOSER, Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace talk with Lennart Lajboschitz, founder of Absalon, the beloved Copenhagen community house that welcomes nearly 600,000 visitors a year.

Built inside a former church, Absalon has ...

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 Josephine Ramirez, a veteran arts funder and nonprofit leader whose career includes senior roles at The Music Center and the James Irvine Foundation.

Why has the arts world drawn such sharp lines between “artists” and e...

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 episode of Closer, Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace talk with Leah Houston, founder and executive director of Mabelle Arts in Toronto’s Mabelle Park, where artists and residents collaborate to design, build, and program public space together. Her work has transf...

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 together?

In this episode of Closer, Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace talk with Bridget Marquis and Kira Strong, two national leaders shaping the future of public space.

Kira Strong is Executive Director of the Highline Network, a co...

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 see the world?

In this episode of Closer, Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace talk with Ryan Meyers Johnson, Executive Director of Sidewalk Detroit, about how art, choreography, and small experiments in public space can transform the way people experie...

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 Rice, President & CEO of the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition.

Dan shares how Akron shifted moved away from “whale hunting” for big corporate wins to investing in parks, trails, and public spaces as core economic...

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 Coletta and Mark Wallace talk with Krista Nightengale, Executive Director of Better Block.

Krista shares how to lower the barriers to participation, why experimentation beats perfection, and how creating moments of shared experience can transform the way people see their neighborho...

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 self-described “garbage man,” Matt Naimi, whose recycling center unexpectedly became one of the city’s most vibrant civic spaces. What began as Recycle Here!evolved into the Lincoln Street Art Park and eventually Dreamtroit, a mixed-use community for artists...

Omar Blaik, CEO of U3 Advisors and recipient of the Edmund Bacon Urban Design Award, has spent his career helping anchor institutions transform struggling neighborhoods into thriving urban districts.

In this episode, Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace explore why markets rarely fix distressed neighborhoods on their own, how strategies like “buy local, hire local, live local” can create new urban vitality, and why anchor ins...

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. How can organizations on-the-ground achieve transformational impact at scale?  Carol Coletta and Mark Wallace talk about weaving together big corporate bets with grassroots leadership. Josh shares lessons on leadership, regeneration, and why the future of cities may lie ...