Municipal Equation Podcast
128 episodes - English - Latest episode: 21 days ago - ★★★★★ - 26 ratingsMunicipal Equation is a podcast about cities and towns in changing times. Created by the North Carolina League of Municipalities. Producer/host: Ben Brown.
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Episodes
EP 81: Generative AI in Municipal Government
May 28, 2024 14:05 - 27 minutes - 22 MBYou’ve heard of “artificial intelligence,” or AI, in one sense or another; we’ve been reckoning with the concept through books, movies and academic discussions since its earliest mentions in the 1950s. When you hear about it today, though, it’s typically in the context of “generative AI,” the rapidly evolving web-based tool that humans are using right now to enhance their worlds. Generative AI (like the popular ChatGPT engine, among others) writes up entire documents, draws up complex images,...
EP 80: Comprehensive Planning in an Age of Change
April 29, 2024 15:15 - 36 minutes - 33.1 MBWhen a city's or town's governing board adopts a comprehensive plan -- a big document meant to guide or manage growth and other elements of the locality's future -- it's a pretty big deal. Sure, municipalities across North Carolina have them, with insistence from state law. But for an individual city or town, it's a tremendous feat to complete such an intensive product in its purpose and sensitivity for the community, requiring all kinds of self-awareness work, public involvement, math, predi...
EP 79: How Sister Cities Work
March 14, 2023 17:46 - 30 minutes - 24 MBRecently, during a visit to North Carolina by municipal officials from the country of Moldova, they and fellow municipal officials from around Wake County discussed possible "sister city" arrangements, to learn from one another and possibly create mutual resource opportunties. But sister-city arrangements can form for a number of reasons. On this episode we look at the impacts of sister city arrangements in North Carolina and beyond, and how it all works.
EP 78: Ideas from the Alley
February 03, 2023 23:35 - 27 minutes - 22.4 MBWhen you think of downtown alleys, what comes to mind? Bad associations, maybe? The place to avoid at night? Ever since childhood, Americans have had the general impression that alleyways are dark, dirty, dangerous -- the right setting for noir crime stories. And that might sometimes be the case. But some U.S. cities are starting to embrace their alleys like assets -- as places to be -- with art, lighting, planters, seating and cleanliness. This is a classic episode of Municipal Equation from...
EP 77: So You Want to Commission a Mural
January 04, 2023 00:47 - 1 hour - 49.1 MBWelcome to a special LIVE episode of Municpial Equation, NCLM's podcast about cities and towns adapting to change, recorded in December with a panelists about HOW public art is achieved, with expert voices from the realm of local government. This episode was recorded at the N.C. Local Government Budget Association's winter conference. Special thanks to them. 2017 episode: Previous live episode with NCLGBA:
Episode 76: Town of Cary A Best Place to Work, Nationally
November 30, 2022 21:28 - 21 minutes - 17.5 MBThe Town of Cary was recently recognized as one of the top three places to work, nationally, in terms of local government. What does that mean? How is something like that achieved? We speak with Cary Manager Sean Stegall to learn what they're doing differently. Municipal Equation is the podcast about cities and towns adapting to change, from the North Carolina League of Municipalities.
Ep 75: Digital Service Teams at City Hall
October 31, 2022 20:28 - 21 minutes - 17 MBAs various public and private services adapt to evolved consumer expectations, local governments around the country are themselves adapting with in-house "digital service teams" to deliver in a modern, convenient way. In fact, these teams are becoming ubiquitous. But let's back up. What is a digital service team in the context of local government? What do they do? How are they assembled? And are they feasible for towns of all sizes? Joshua Pine of the National League of Cities joins us to dis...
EP 74: Preparing for the Future of Work
September 30, 2022 02:08 - 19 minutes - 15.9 MBWe talk with Lena Geraghty of the National League of Cities about in our cities and towns, and how municipal leaders can play a role in making it as good and inclusive as possible.
Episode 73: ARP in Action
August 31, 2022 15:58 - 41 minutes - 33.6 MBLet's take a tour around this state we love so much. On this episode of Municipal Equation, NCLM's podcast about cities and towns adapting to change, we explore how municipalities from the mountains to the coast are programming their American Rescue Plan allocations -- federal funds with transformative potential, and recipient cities are acting in that regard. Our guest on this episode is NCLM's Jack Cassidy, who has been covering ARP from its inception and likes to point out that when munici...
EP 72: Dreaming Big in Small Towns
July 27, 2022 23:38 - 20 minutes - 16.5 MBCities and towns so good that vacations become permanent stays. On this episode of Municipal Equation, we talk with VisitNC, the state's promotional and tourism outfit, about its Dream Big in Small Town NC initiative, which aims to connect travelers with the state's alluring small towns -- places so great they're hard to leave, and that's the idea.
EP 71: Flexing the River (with Weldon, NC)
June 30, 2022 22:49 - 20 minutes - 16.2 MBOn this episode of Municipal Equation, the podcast about cities adapting to change, we talk with Mayor Hugh Credle of Weldon, N.C., to learn how his small town is thinking big with the help of the river -- the Roanoke -- running just alongside its limits.
EP 70: President Neisler Speaks
May 26, 2022 20:29 - 32 minutes - 25.6 MBIn April, during his acceptance speech as the new president of the N.C. League of Municipalities, Kings Mountain Mayor Scott Neisler emphasized that public service can be fun, that we can enjoy ourselves in working together, knowing our communities and their histories, charting how they've changed over time and what the future calls for. On this episode, we hear the affable president's perspective on service and his priorities ahead, in addition to some of the ways he's stepped forward to mak...
Episode 69: Vision Zero
April 30, 2022 22:07 - 32 minutes - 26.4 MBIn 2017, the City of Greensboro logged more than 40 vehicle crash fatalities, at the time a high mark that rattled officials enough to explore ways toward safer travels. This led city officials to a global movement in the form of a scalable initiative called Vision Zero. On this episode, City of Greensboro Transportation Planning Engineer Lydia McIntyre explains what Vision Zero is, how it seeks to reduce traffic fatalities and serious accidents, and what the city has learned (with surprises)...
EP 68: Recruitment and Retention, Challenges and Ideas
March 31, 2022 01:01 - 18 minutes - 14.7 MBIt seems inconsistent: pandemic-related, record-level job losses while employers report their own hardships in finding workers. But that’s the nature of what analysts have called one of the strangest labor shortages in memory. Nationally, employers have reported too-tight talent pools or general hard times retaining staff. While much of the labor-shortage news spotlight is usually either broad-talking or sector-specific, municipalities far and wide indeed have felt the effect. On this episode...
EP 67: Boone Shifts to Renewables
February 25, 2022 15:41 - 32 minutes - 25.9 MBThe Town of Boone appears to be the first in North Carolina to have shifted from fossil fuels to 100 percent renewable energy for its municipal facilities, and many years ahead of its own timeline for doing so. But how? On this episode of Municipal Equation, the League’s podcast about cities and towns adapting in the face of change, we talk with Boone Sustainability Manager George Santucci for an education on how the town and its leaders paired will with recognition of resources to achieve a ...
Episode 66: The American Rescue Plan and Local Infrastructure
January 20, 2022 21:32 - 19 minutes - 15.2 MBNorth Carolina cities and towns will receive $1.3 billion in federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds in 2021 and 2022. That is a staggering number, and it encompasses just a small piece of the ARP. More funds will be sent to North Carolina counties. Still more is going to the state itself. Never before has money flowed directly to our cities and towns like it will through the ARP, and as such, it is a generational opportunity—to both recover from the pandemic and to prosper well into the fut...
EP 65: DIRECT Talks on Race (and Equity vs. Equality)
December 09, 2021 14:17 - 14 minutes - 12 MBA new program from the North Carolina League of Municipalities is convening frank talks with municipal officials about racial tensions and inequities in our communities. Learn how DIRECT (Diversity, Inclusion & Racial Equity for Cities & Towns) works for better lives through best practices and historical knowledge. Mark your calendars -- on Feb. 1, at 10 a.m., DIRECT will hold a webinar, which you'll have to register for. You can find it on the events calendar at nclm.org. This webinar will p...
NCLM Fiscal Year 2019-20 Report Audio Companion
December 15, 2020 19:33 - 3 minutes - 2.66 MBAudio companion to the North Carolina League of Municipalities' fiscal year 2019-20 annual report. Produced by the League's Communications team.
EP 64: Sick and Tired of Flooding
October 16, 2019 02:13 - 18 minutes - 16.6 MBIowa Watershed Approach
EP 63: UFO Town
September 04, 2019 14:09 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MBWhat could aliens and flying saucers mean to a community and its government? Like, for real. Whether you believe we've actually been visited by interplanetary travelers or whether simple, Earthly explanations cover the sightings and stories, no community has a stronger association with extra terrestrials and UFOs than Roswell, New Mexico. On this episode, we look at what that means from a community and economic-development angle. We're joined by a ufologist and one of the world's foremost exp...
EP 62: Cities Initiative on Climate Change
August 16, 2019 02:18 - 20 minutes - 18.6 MBCalling climate change an intimidating issue may be understating it. It's massive, right? Being so global and often pulled into intense debate, climate change may have us individuals feeling helpless against it. But there are local-level approaches for making a difference, and municipal governments are sharing best-practices with one another to that end. We travel to Chapel Hill -- the electric-vehicle capital of North Carolina -- to learn how they are others are leading the charge in reducin...
EP 61: Actual Mask-Wearing Superheroes
January 30, 2019 01:09 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBSuperheroes exist. Yes, in real life. Just like in the comics, they wear masks and uniforms, they nab bad guys, and they spread peace across the city. On this episode, we talk to a couple of them, and their stories are absolutely amazing. Thanks to Sgt. Clint Ferguson and Officer Damon Cole for making this happen. Sgt. Clint Ferguson and Deadpool https://www.policeone.com/chiefs-sheriffs/articles/480045006-NC-cop-uses-Marvel-costume-to-connect-with-teens-community/ Officer Damon Cole http://w...
EP 60: Inside the 2020 Census
January 03, 2019 04:22 - 34 minutes - 31.6 MBIt's one of the biggest federal projects going, and it affects all of us. What do we need to know about the 2020 Census? It's different from any in the past. How private is the information being collected? What's it's used for? And how can we be sure it's accurate? We're joined by the U.S. Census Bureau, the National League of Cities, state government and academics on this, our 60th episode. General 2020 Census info 2020 Census questions NLC resource, Cities Count: Preparing for the 2020 ...
EP 59: Street Photography, the City and You
December 12, 2018 03:04 - 31 minutes - 29.1 MBAfter a little downtime, we're back -- and let's pick up with a fun one. On this episode, we continue our quest for ways to better connect with or figure out the city you're in -- whether it's your hometown or a place you've never been before. Here, we're documenting and learning the secrets of the city through street photography, as guided by notables from around the world. Hear from Craig Reilly (Street Photography International co-founder, Olympus ambassador), Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin (celebrate...
EP 58: The Map Is Wrong
October 29, 2018 22:28 - 30 minutes - 42 MBThe FCC's map of broadband availability in the U.S. is a basis for policymaking, funding decisions and planning to close service gaps for communities. But what if we told you that map, as many can testify, is pretty inaccurate? How? Why? What's the fallout, here? As fast internet service increasingly solidifies itself as necessary infrastructure, it's vital we have accurate data to shape our policymaking and funding decisions. So what's going on here? We dig in on this episode. (Stick around,...
EP 57: 'We Can't Arrest Our Way Out of This'
September 17, 2018 15:53 - 43 minutes - 34.5 MBA little while back, we began talking with police chiefs for a video series on what they're doing to tackle the surging opioid problem locally -- and sat upright at the different approaches of chiefs Tom Bashore in Nashville, N.C., and Bill Hollingsed in Waynesville, N.C. They're seeing results, even as one of the chiefs said this approach initially was out of his comfort zone. So we made an episode to explain it all, step by step. (This joins with the video series and other resources now ava...
EP 56: The Best Food Delivery Ever
September 04, 2018 21:47 - 27 minutes - 22.3 MBWe revisit the intersection of drones, local government and public need with a trip to Holly Springs, North Carolina, a small town innovating nationally with a pilot project to see commercial food delivery by way of drone. As you can imagine, it's stuffed with logistical and policy questions. Sushi delivery in Iceland Holly Springs press release Timeline, "Forget self-driving car anxiety: In the early days human drivers were the fear" NCDOT Launches 'First Flight' in Drone Pilot Progra...
EP 55: Games Over Gangs (Encore)
August 07, 2018 12:02 - 31 minutes - 25 MBHere's an encore of a favorite: Games Over Gangs. Those dang video games. Can't pull the kids away from them. And there's one city using that to its advantage -- with an innovative partnership that's actually teaching video game development to local youths from a rough neighborhood (yes, they jumped at the offer to become game developers), affording them a break from an anxious environment and setting them up with a sweet professional skill that can open big doors: computer coding, which has ...
EP 54: A Day at the Beach (The Wild Intersection of Gov't and Summer Vacation)
July 23, 2018 21:27 - 50 minutes - 40.2 MBIt's summer, and beach towns all along the coast are each receiving thousands and thousands of visitors from across the U.S. Take Atlantic Beach, N.C., for example. It has a year-round population of about 1,500, but in the summer months that number surges to roughly 50,000. How in the world does such a small community -- with limited staffing and resources -- prepare for that? How can it provide adequate services, like police or even enough public water, amid outsize demand? What's the proced...
Episode 53: Back Into the Alley
July 10, 2018 00:46 - 35 minutes - 28.6 MBMuni Replay! Here's one of our most popular episodes. Meanwhile, we're headed to the coast to record a special live episode, which we'll bring you soon! When you think of downtown alleys, what comes to mind? Bad associations, maybe? The place to avoid at night? Ever since childhood, Americans have had the general impression that alleyways are dark, dirty, dangerous -- the right setting for noir crime stories. And that might often be the case. But some U.S. cities are starting to embrace their...
EP 52: Driverless Cars 2
June 26, 2018 00:24 - 29 minutes - 23.5 MBLet's catch up on driverless cars, shall we? Last year, we did a primer on autonomous vehicles and policy implications, but it seems like a lot can change in short time with this technology. What's the latest? How does the public feel about it? What are some example scenarios of how we as people might interact with autonomous vehicles in our day-to-day? Brooks Rainwater of the National League of Cities has the research and joins us to flesh it out. NLC report, "Autonomous Vehicles: Future Sce...
EP 51 - City Hall Beat
June 12, 2018 01:19 - 30 minutes - 24.7 MBThe local media landscape is pretty fluid right now: extinct or shrunken newspapers, online-only outlets, freshly grown media entities that may or may not be objective. What's all this mean for local government? Is a reliable, objective media purely about watchdog dynamics? What about when local government needs to get its messages out? What happens when the local government IS the news source? It's too big a topic to solve on a podcast episode, but it's worth the talk. Episode 44: Chief Stor...
EP 50: Talking Dialects
May 15, 2018 01:09 - 38 minutes - 30.7 MBFor our 50th episode, we're taking a break from the frequent talk of policy, economics and technology to tour the local dialects of the United States, the spoken identifiers of a city or region. Why do people in Chicago, or St. Louis, or the Outer Banks of North Carolina sound the way they do? What's in a voice? And what's happening that's changing those dialects or accents forever? Walt Wolfram and "Talkin' Tar Heel" - Edward McClelland and "How to Speak Midwestern" - Library of Congress,...
Episode 49: Bee Downtown (Rebroadcast with Updates)
May 01, 2018 01:19 - 43 minutes - 39.4 MB***REBROADCAST with UPDATES*** We've all heard about the hard times that honeybees are going through and the huge implications for us all. But how do cities fit into all this? There's a surprising compatibility between cities and bees, and a role local governments can play. This episode comes just ahead of National Pollinator Week (June 19-25, though some honor it all month). To celebrate, we're joined by Bee Downtown, Bee City USA, and other voices covering the North Carolina cities of West ...
EP 48: Bridging the Urban-Rural Divide
April 17, 2018 00:47 - 26 minutes - 21 MBOf all the political, economic and cultural concerns of today, the “urban-rural divide” is no slouch. But sometimes it’s oversimplified, devoid of nuance, or turned into an adversarial narrative (i.e. “urban vs. rural”), instead of carefully analyzed for greater-good fixes. On this episode, we delve into a recent report that pulls apart that narrative and gives us a different way of looking at this “divide,” and shows us how urban and rural may be more linked than one might think. Christiana ...
EP 47: Leaping the Digital Divide
April 02, 2018 22:46 - 24 minutes - 19.7 MBThe people say it's time to close the broadband gap, and really find a way to make internet speeds adequate for the modern age, for everyone, from areas in cities where the service isn't enough, to rural areas that lack access altogether. A new report shows us how to get there. On this episode, we hear from the report's authors along with state- and local-level leaders who endorse the plan as essential to connect residents with the gigabit pace of the world. Full report this episode was based...
Preview of Episode 47
March 26, 2018 22:21 - 1 minute - 1.36 MBA preview of Episode 47. Look for it April 3.
EP 46: Doggonomics
March 20, 2018 01:50 - 12 minutes - 17.1 MBHow do dogs figure into economic development? It's no joke. Ask the analysts who take economic vitals from man's best friend. Ask the industries that profit majorly from pet ownership. Or ask the Town of Benson, which em-barked on a dog-focused project to fetch economic bone-efits. Quartz piece connecting dogs and economic development - Dog elected mayor - Another dog elected mayor - Benson profile, Southern City magazine - https://www.nclm.org/resourcelibrary/Shared%20Documents/Southern%2...
Let's Hear Your Feedback and Ideas (New Episode Next Week)
March 14, 2018 00:18 - 1 minute - 2.28 MBWe'll be back with a new episode next week, but I'm also working on a a lot of other episodes and new ideas. I want to hear from you on what should be different about this podcast, as we've been doing it for a couple years now and it's time to solicit comment. Feel free to keep sharing ideas for episodes while you're at it. Thanks. -Ben
EP 45: Crime as a Public Health Issue
March 06, 2018 05:10 - 21 minutes - 29.2 MBWhen the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looks into the ailments of a particular community, it’s safe to assume the concern is infection or some similar local threat to human bodily health. So when the CDC started investigating the youth violence plaguing Wilmington, Del. -- a first-of-its-kind study -- it was different. But not inconsistent. Increasingly, communities and their governments are reframing their approaches to crime, by considering it a treatable public health is...
EP 44: Chief Storyteller
February 20, 2018 03:07 - 34 minutes - 47.5 MBThere's a lot of exploration on part of local government for better community engagement. With such a diversity of communication and preference out there, it seems pretty complex. But what if it isn't? What if the simplest idea -- even one that hasn't been tried before -- is the key? On this episode we check out Detroit, Mich., and its novel creation of a "chief storyteller" who has editorial autonomy to tell otherwise overlooked stories from within the city and its neighborhoods, on behalf o...
Preview of Episode 44
February 14, 2018 02:07 - 1 minute - 2.37 MBA preview of Episode 44, out on Feb. 20.
EP 43: Wise Cities (And Smart City Ethics)
February 06, 2018 03:48 - 59 minutes - 81 MBIt's an age of big dreams and cool feats in the space of smart cities -- tech-forward, super-efficient places of living and business, with advanced data-gathering, analytics and automation that save time and money and make life and government good. But the rise of smart-cities too is giving rise to conversations about ethics, inclusion, consent, and how "smart" these solutions really are in their effects on everyday people. On this episode we hang out with Daniel Latorre, who wants to shift t...
Preview of Episode 43
January 30, 2018 03:10 - 2 minutes - 3.03 MBA preview of the Feb. 6, 2018 episode.
EP 42: Banning the 'M' Word
January 23, 2018 03:49 - 43 minutes - 59.3 MBIs government wrong in the way it attempts to reach out to young people? Does it work against its own interest when it tries to "have a talk" or come to terms with millennials? Is "millennials" maybe a bad or condescending word? Increasingly, people are saying yes to all three, and that it's high time we overhaul the conversation. On this episode we talk with observers including a generations expert, a national-level local government group and a "millennial mayor" to explore what we can do di...