City Beautiful

Input on how to use Patreon contributions

Hi everyone! We've seen a recent surge in new Patrons. Thanks and welcome! One hundred percent of the money that you provide to the channel goes directly into the operation of the channel. In the past year, Patreon money has helped pay for a trip to Los Angeles so I could do the streetcars video and attend Educon. Patreon money has also paid for new equipment that makes filming easier and better (e.g., my gimbal, which made walk-and-talk shots possible). 

I'm curious about what you think ...

Script preview: How do cities grow?

(This video will be posted in the next week or two.)

How do cities grow? On the surface, this question has a pretty simple answer. Cities grow out. They start out small, and as more people move in, they get bigger. Sure, cities grow up, too, but here in the United States cities really grow out. But there’s more to it than that. Cities grow out faster now than they did 150 years ago. And they don’t always grow evenly out from the center. Why? If you’re interested in finding out, or just w...

Video preview: Why is the air above Grand Central worth millions?

This video is scheduled for Thursday. Enjoy!

Video preview: How to rebuild and remember after 9/11

This video is scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday).

Friday Livestream Q&A

Help me test my live-streaming skills and ask my some questions about cities or the channel! I may make this livestream public or available to Twitter later on.

Friday Livestream!

I want to do more YouTube livestream Q&As in the future, but I need some practice first. I'll be doing a test livestream Friday, September 21st at 2pm Pacific, 5pm Eastern for my Town, City, and Metropolitan level patrons. I'll post a link to the livestream here on Friday. Feel free to drop by and chat with me. Can't wait!

End of August Update!

Several new Patrons have pledged their support recently. Thanks so much! Here's what's going on here at City Beautiful:

1. One month ago I posted a video about Sim City and it quickly became the most popular video on the channel and the first video to blow past the million view mark. Holy cow!

2. That Sim City video made the rounds on blogs and in the media. It was even featured in this very flattering 2018-08-29 03:26:27 +0000 UTC View Post

Video preview: Chicago's Geography Advantage

This video will be posted on Friday, but you all get to see it a little early. It's also a collab with Mr. Beat.

Early Access: An Urban Planner Plays Sim City

This video is a departure from my usual videos: it's 35 minutes long and is primarily SimCity 2000 gameplay. Don't worry, I'll be back with normal videos very soon. I just thought it would be fun to do something different -- a summer break for the channel. :D

July Channel Update

Happy summer! Here's a quick rundown of what's happening here at City Beautiful.

1. I've sent out postcards to everyone who sent me addresses. Expect them in your mailbox soon!

2. I've tweaked the perks a bit. City and Metropolitan level patrons will get their names listed on every video published while they are at those levels, not just the first. Metropolitan level subscribers will still get an audio shout out with the first video.

3. In lieu of a Patreon patron Google Hangouts t...

Late-night Hangout: TONIGHT at 8:30pm Pacific

This Hangout is for ALL patrons! Log on and chat -- I'll be there talking about my experience at Vidcon and ideas for upcoming videos. Bring your questions and comments.

June Google Hangouts: For All Patrons!

I'm opening up the June Google Hangouts to everyone this month! It will be a late-night chat: 8pm Pacific/11pm Eastern. Stay up and chat for a half hour about the channel, cities, whatever. I'll post a link here when it's happening!

Script preview: Street Trees

I'm trying to hustle and release this video on Thursday! Hope you enjoy.

Street Trees

I live in Sacramento, and when I moved here I learned two things quickly. First, Sacramento summers are hot. Like really hot. Many days are over 100 degrees. The second thing I learned is that Sacramento is livable, even with those high temperatures, thanks to its extensive tree canopy. The trees provide shade that makes me feel about 10-15 degrees cooler, and without them I probably wo...

Channel Update and May Hangout

We’ve have a lot of new Patreon patrons joining the community in the last couple of weeks (hi, and thanks!). I thought it would be a good time to share some updates on the channel and set a time for the May Google Hangout.

May Hangout: Late Night Edition

I’m trying to do my monthly Google Hangout at different times to give everyone an opportunity to make one. This month I’ll be doing my Hangout on Wednesday, May 30th at 8:30pm PT/11:30pm ET. It’s late, but if tha...

Script preview: Gentrification and Displacement in San Francisco

Hello everyone! I have a new video scheduled to go live this Thursday. Here's a script preview for you to check out. I'll try and post the video early here soon as well.

San Francisco, California. Home to the Golden Gate Bridge, Full House, Alcatraz, Fuller House, and runaway gentrification. Since the 1990s, the tech industry in Silicon Valley has grown and many of those workers own or rent here in San Francisco. In that time, housing prices have gone through the roof and now the city is the m...

Interview with the Daily Californian

A student reporter from the Berkeley student newspaper interviewed me about the channel. It's my first time being interviewed in front of a camera (as I'm sure you can tell).

Script preview: Freeway Revolts

Hi everyone! I've pasted the script for my next video, on the freeway revolts in San Francisco. If you notice anything wrong or something I didn't cover, let me know. I hope you enjoy.

Freeway Revolts

I’m here in the Panhandle in San Francisco. This park, which connects to the much larger Golden Gate Park down that way, would not be here if not for activists in the 1950s and 1960s. They fought a proposal to turn this entire park into a freeway. More than that, they fought a ...

New Video - Early Access

My second and final video in Medellín, Colombia.

New Video - Early Access

Here's the latest video on urban gondolas one day early. Hope you enjoy!

Script preview: Urban Gondolas

Hey everyone, here's a rough draft of my latest script. Words in brackets are notes to me about what I want to show on screen. If you read it, let me know if there's anything else you want to know about this topic, or if I got anything terribly wrong (it's possible!). 

Urban gondolas

[Me, to camera]

Hey everyone, I’m in Medellin, Colombia. More specifically, I’m in a gondola on Medellin Metrocable Line K, generally considered the first true urban gondola line, o...

Bonus video set to publish tomorrow

I was inspired to put together a quick video about The Boring Company and Elon Musk. This video should go out tomorrow, but you guys can have a sneak peak of the script tonight.

Script:

Hi everyone, I had to do this quick video because there’s big news from Elon Musk. On Friday he tweeted: 

“Adjusting The Boring Company plan. All tunnels and hyper loop will prioritize pedestrians and cyclists over cars. Will still transport cars, but only after all personalized mass transi...

Mark Your Calendars - March Google Hangouts

For those of you at the Town level ($5) of support or above, you're invited to the inaugural City Beautiful Google Hangout! It's scheduled for 12pm Pacific/3pm Eastern on Tuesday, March 27. I'll post the Hangouts link here on the Patreon page that day so you can sign on and chat. Feel free to bring any questions with you, whether it be about me, the channel, or city planning. I'm looking forward to connecting!

*Tap* *Tap* Is this thing on?

Thanks for becoming a City Beautiful patron! I promise to post some content to this feed in the very near future.