Daniel Parolek is an architect, urbanist and the founder of Opticos Design, which has been working in urban placemaking and master planning for two decades. Daniel is best known for framing the idea of ‘missing middle housing’ just as the critical absence of affordable housing was becoming a major planning issue for cities nationwide. The ‘missing middle’ can be broadly … [Read more...] about The Missing Middle.
Podcast
Hello, Neighbor.
Max Levine's organization, NICO (Neighborhood Investment Company), has a mission “to localize wealth creation and broaden access to neighborhood equity.” The Los Angeles neighborhood Max lives in, Echo Park, has an income average of $40,000, whereas the average home is valued at $900,000 – an enormous discrepancy. Max and his business partner, John Chaffetz, began exploring the … [Read more...] about Hello, Neighbor.
One room at a time.
Atticus LeBlanc is the founder of Padsplit, a technology platform dedicated to affordable housing, with no barriers of entry. Atticus, who studied architecture and urban studies at Yale, has been an affordable housing advocate and real estate investor for over a decade, with a company that owns and manages over 550 affordable residential units. But he founded Padsplit with a … [Read more...] about One room at a time.
Manufacturing change.
Green builder, Scott Flynn, co-founded indieDwell with Pete Gombert four years ago “to change the building industry by offering high quality, sustainable and healthy homes to underserved communities." In the early 1990s, Scott worked as a carpenter’s apprentice building and remodeling homes, and even after he graduated from college as a chemical engineer, he continued to do … [Read more...] about Manufacturing change.
The world beyond banks.
Annie Donovan knows impact investing. She joined the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) last year, as COO, having built a truly remarkable career in community investment by embracing a pursuit of fairness in economics and finance. She found her way to this mission in part through her roots growing up in a working class family, where she was exposed to ideas of social … [Read more...] about The world beyond banks.