​Stephen Turner is the president of Stephen Turner Inc., a building commissioning company based in Providence, Rhode Island. With over 35 years of experience in the field, he brings us insights from the inception of building commissioning as a practice right up to the front lines of the industry today. In this interview, we discuss the basics of building commissioning, why commissioning is important to green building, and the future of scale and sustainability — is the answer to build big?

“It’s viewed as so essential for high performance buildings to be commissioned that it is not possible to obtain any form of green building certification without commissioning the project.”  - Stephen Turner

​Lei Yi’an is a professor at Peking University in Beijing and the author of Next Revolution. In this new book, he argues that humanity’s next step is to build 3D cities — a concept very similar to our vertical city model. In this interview, we discuss why dedicated human habitats are important, the similarities and differences between Yi’an’s 3D city and Vertical City’s model, and the feasibility of creating such a city in the near future. 

"In a vertical city, everything, for everyone, is more equal." - ​Lei Yi’an

​Richard Potestio is a Portland Oregon-based architect and the founding principal of Potestio Studio. In his work, Rick advocates for dense, mixed-use development centered around commons. In this interview, we discuss Portland’s strategies for addressing its housing crisis, the obsolescence of current zoning practices, and Rick’s ideas for how to tackle these issues.

"My plan accepts increased density in any neighborhood and on any block." 
​​- Rick Potestio

​Kierán Suckling is Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Center for Biological Diversity, a non-profit membership organization with over one million members and supporters. The Center is known for their no-nonsense approach to protecting endangered species through science, law and creative media. In this interview, Kierán discusses the strategies that have contributed to the successes of the organization, the main factors contributing to species decline today, why biodiversity is important, and the actions humans need to take now to protect all of the vibrant and vital life on our planet.

"All life is sacred, from polar bears and humans, down to bees and butterflies." - Kierán Suckling

​Gilbert Van Kerckhove has lived and worked in Beijing for over 30 years. An electrical engineer by trade, Gilbert has worked closely with the Chinese government on a wide range of projects including power plants, urban metro lines, and telecommunication systems. He was also deeply involved in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In this interview, we discuss Gilbert’s history working in Beijing, the pace of change in China, and the social and environmental challenges the country faces moving forward.

"When you love a country, you also point out its problems and you try to solve them." - Gilbert Van Kerckhove

​Sonja Trauss is the head of the San Francisco Bay Area Renters’ Federation (SFBARF), which promotes the development of market rate housing and looks to find ways to combat San Francisco’s housing crisis. In this interview, we chat about local zoning laws and their effect on the crisis, why density is important, and what inclusionary housing means.

"Population is a function of housing and crowding." - Sonja Trauss
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​After retiring early from Microsoft and traveling the world, Narendra Varma became interested in permaculture design and biodynamic agriculture. He moved to Portland Oregon in 2010 and purchased a fifty acre farm in order to found OurTable. OurTable produces local food from the community by blending science and wisdom form the past.
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In this episode, we discuss biodynamic agriculture, the problems with the modern industrial food system, and how locally produced food can elevate the world’s problems.

"The best thing to do is to build a relationship with the person who is growing your food." - Narendra Varma

​In this episode, Lennon chats with three members of the architecture firm Gluck+, a firm that specializes in architect led design build. We talk about the meaning and advantages of the design build process, the history of architecture and construction, and how vertical cities might benefit from the design build process.

Our guests are Peter Gluck, Thomas Gluck, and Charlie Kaplan.

"The design build idea is the idea that it can be an integrated process that considers construction and design and ends with the maintenance of the constructed building itself." - Gluck+

​Hong Gang is the Chairman of Greatview Packing, and an advocate for building a vertical city in China. In this episode, we talk about how politics shapes urban forms, the advantages and efficiencies of vertical cities, and why density is a good thing.

Lynn King joins us as co-host for this episode.

"Once the bone structure of a city is done, there is no way to change it. We need proper planning and macro planning." - Hong Gang
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​Lynn King lives in Shanghai where this interview takes place. In Shanghai, Lynn is helping to spark an ecologically-sourced local food movement. In this interview, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of local food and how they might play into the creation of vertical cities, and how we might promote thriving cultures within a vertical city. 

"Cities create a lot of pollution and can be part of the problem, but they can also be the solution." - Lynn King
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