– Your Bright Brothers Team
David Romako / Josh Yeager /  Brandi Walsh

We’ve written and spoken at conferences about your brand’s “signature sound” as part of the overall brand experience. And we published a Trends Report on “all things audio”. This trend has legs, peeps! So, get ready to meet your new CMO — Chief Music Officer, that is!

Gender equality in urban planning? We’re all for it! As we’ve previously explored the role of gender in urban planning (Ed. 15, Share What’s Good),  this piece from POLITICO underscores the actualities and impacts of (re)designing the city for women. The urban planning profession is still male-dominated and that inevitably leads to biases in design, situational awareness and even safety concerns. By “putting women on the map”, cities can build greener, safer and more inclusive and connected communities. They may even lead to more sustainable outcomes. Linda Gustafsson, a gender equality officer from the Swedish town of Umeå is noted as stating, “Sometimes gender equality is approached with these one-size-fits-all checklists — do this and you will have [it],” Gustafsson said. “Instead, we need to understand the city, who lives there, how it’s built. And then we can figure out how to approach gender equality.”  And that’s an approach we can all rally behind!

Photo credit: Giovanna Coi/POLITICO

…that hybrid work doesn’t mean the death of cities, as often cited in alarmist articles. In a new study from those whip-smart folks at Gensler, they’ve empirically determined what we’ve been saying all along. In the “new normal”, cities and downtowns that prioritize hybrid work models and developing amenities around this type of worker will win. From their recent research, they’re recommending the prioritization of infrastructure, third places and envisioning downtowns not just as hubs for business — rather as lifestyle centers that support the WFH sect. Read on to see how you can lean into experiential, and what’s at stake for cities that can and will attract and retain a resilient workforce.

Our co-founder Josh Yeager recently participated in an Urban Land Institute TAP that explored the value of greenspaces within the urban environment. We all know that trees not only enhance a neighborhood’s character, increase property values, afford housing to natural wildlife and offer tangible intangibles — like defining a sense of place and community. But trees also offer myriad benefits, for example, reducing the heat island effect (by up to a whopping 22% in some Philadelphia neighborhoods, according to the Office of Sustainability). That’s why we are excited to learn about new legislation requiring developers to plant or replace disrupted treescape, or pay some hefty fees and fines like $1,000 per tree waived from buffering requirements, or between $50 and $400 per inch of tree width for other trees cleared and not replaced. This is all part of Philly’s plan to increase urban tree cover to 30% within 30 years. Keepin’ it green, means keepin’ it real and planting a tree is a good thing.

Photo credit: Sophie Nito, Unsplash 

There are two sides to every coin, as the old adage goes, and so is the case in Berkeley, CA where the installation of additional IKE Smart City kiosks is causing quite the stir. While we in the industry probably think of IKE’s in terms of ped counts, promotion of district events, merchants & ratepayers, as well as interactive wayfinding devices — a Berkeley city councilmember is calling BS and sees them as eyesores, 24/7 billboards and detractors. We know many of you have IKEs in your district. What has been your experience, and do you feel the benefits outweigh the potential negatives? Please share your thoughts with us!

Photo credit: Ximena Natera, Berkeleyside/Catchlight