Inhabit (Perkins&Will)

Hosts Erika and Monica seek out some tough love on one of our most intimate relationships: the one between buildings and our bodies. Learn what happens when chemical manufacturers withhold health information from consumers, specifically about a class of synthetic chemicals known as perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). You’ll hear from environmental-health and design experts as well as Healthy Materials Lab founders Alison Mears and Jonsara Ruth.

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Inhabit is a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network.

We’ve been working up to this one all series. They’re the public spaces that show off in plain sight: PARKS! Eunice, Erika, Lauren, and friends of Inhabit take a snowy walk through Eunice’s neighborhood park and then dive deep with public park advocates Adri Stark and Wes Reibeling about designing for dignity and Toronto’s oldest openly queer park space. Also: pigeon fixing.

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Inhabit is a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network.

Erika, Eunice, and Lauren take the subway north on the longest street in the world for Part 1 of an ethnoburb food tour with acclaimed Toronto food writer Suresh Doss. They start with lattes at a cozy third-wave coffeeshop on what urban planners call a "soft site." Then they go for juicy Shanghai baos at a complex on Yonge Street where developers have made growth AND cultural preservation possible. Also: Grandmas.

Now a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network. Click here for show notes.

Inhabit is a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network.

Eunice introduces their boss, Paul Kulig, who shares his big thesis about Toronto's suburbs and the walkable city. Then Eunice takes Erika and Lauren to Jane and Finch, where the community has reclaimed an unused corner of a mall parking lot as a proud public space called Corner Commons—a National Urban Design winner! Also: truth bombs.

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Inhabit is a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network.

Head outside with hosts Eunice Wong and Dr. Erika Eitland as they kick off a new season focused on public space. Together they unpack the tension between who designs our public space and who occupies it. They also explore the power of design, policy, and research with Zahra Ebrahim, CEO and co-founder of Monumental, an organization that specializes in deep, community-led approaches to policy, infrastructure, and service design. Is public space really for everyone? 

Click here for the show notes. Follow us on Insta @inhabit.podcast.

Now a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network. 

Inhabit is a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network.

Inhabit is back for a third season! Over the coming weeks, co-host Eunice Wong welcomes us to their home city of Toronto. We talk to a food writer, a professor, a parks nonprofit, a public interest designer, a community center—and along the way we learn how to unlock the power of public spaces.

Check out the Inhabit website here. 

Inhabit is a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network.

Listen to the first installment of “In the Room With,” where we share the full interviews with our thought-provoking guests. Following on the heels of our first episode, we’re taking you into the room for the longer conversation with Dr. Joe Allen, the director of the Healthy Buildings Program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Plus, hear an introduction from Yehia Madkour, innovation director in Perkins&Will's Vancouver studio.

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Inhabit is a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network.

Don’t put away the beach bag just yet. The Perkins&Will podcast is back with a new co-host—hello, Eunice Wong!—and a special series focused on the people and places that bring us joy. Over three episodes, Erika and Eunice break down their recent conversation with Chicano brewery owner David Favela and how he designs for equity in Barrio Logan, San Diego.

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Inhabit is a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network.

Continuing the conversation with David Favela of Border X Brewing in San Diego’s Barrio Logan, Eunice and Erika confront the hard truths about zoning, revitalization, and community engagement. Then David offers his strategy for gente-fication, a more human approach to community development that requires both perspiration and perseverance.

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Inhabit is a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network.

Get to know David Favela on his own terms on his own turf—in the beer garden of Border X Brewing in Barrio Logan, San Diego. In this extended interview, the Chicano CEO and brewery owner shares his backstory in the technology industry, his hot takes on culture and sustainable development, and why his community needs a Chicano 2.0. Plus, meet Yanel de Angel, managing director of Perkins&Will’s Boston studio and the genius behind ResilientSEE, a collaborative initiative to restore and sustain communities throughout her first home, Puerto Rico.

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Inhabit is a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network.

Hear the full interview with our expert guests from Episode 02, Alison Mears and Jonsara Ruth, founders of the Healthy Materials Lab at Parsons School of Design. Learn about who holds the power to make our built environment healthier and a special case study featuring America’s largest landlord, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). Plus, hear a warm introduction from Kimberly Seigel, a research knowledge manager and co-director of our Material Performance Lab.

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Inhabit is a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network.

Erika and Monica go back to school to understand the dire state of indoor air quality in the buildings at the heart of the Healthy Buildings Movement: U.S. K–12 schools. They connect with healthy schools advocates around the country and talk to Tracy Washington Enger at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about the rock stars who are making an impact in their school districts.

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Inhabit is a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network.

Get to know our hosts, Dr. Erika Eitland and Monica Kumar as they walk you through the movement that has brought us to this healthy buildings moment. They shed light on the obstacles to healthier spaces and talk to Dr. Joseph Allen, director of the Healthy Buildings Program at Harvard University. You too can use the power of design to make healthy, equitable environments for everyone.

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Inhabit is a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network.

Hear the full interview with our expert guest from Episode 03, Tracy Washington Enger at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Find out how Tracy and the Indoor Environments Division turned knowledge into action with their Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tools for Schools program and why this is our moment to make our schools "palaces of learning." Plus, hear a special introduction from Rachael Dumas, the K–12 knowledge manager at Perkins&Will.

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Inhabit is a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network.

Home is where the dumplings are—and dumplings are best shared in shared spaces. In our Toronto series finale, Eunice reflects on their emotional city, and Erika and Lauren reflect on the public-space lessons they’re taking home to Massachusetts and Atlanta. Also: momo moments.

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Inhabit is a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network.

Dr. Producer Lauren hits the road to NeoCon 2023 with interior designer—and Inhabit nerd—David Cordell. She shares highlights from his panel on the Principles of Sustainable Design, then heads into the podcast booth with him and co-panelist Joey Shimoda to get their hot takes on sustainability in design. Also: the Diddy clan.

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Inhabit is a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network.

Erika, Eunice, and Lauren continue their food tour of Toronto’s North York suburb with food writer Suresh Doss. Inside Dream Yunnan Chòng’s new uptown location, they discover Suresh’s tech roots and get his hot takes on big data’s blind spots. Then the very person who inspired Eunice to become an urban planner, Dr. Zhixi Zhuang, shares her keys to planning an emotional city. Also: the Internet of Things.

Click here for show notes. Follow us @inhabit.podcast.

Inhabit is a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network.

Erika and Eunice invite you into their soulful conversation with San Diegan brewery owner and economic-development expert David Favela. They explore how cultural representation can unlock the power of design at any scale, from our neighborhoods to the beers we drink. They identify key ingredients for authentic design excellence and remind you that “you are cool.”

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Inhabit is a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network.

The warm weather is long gone, but hosts Eunice and Erika are still nerding out about Border X Brewing and Barrio Logan in San Diego. In this episode, they ask how we put numbers on the success of thriving communities and businesses. For David Favela, the answer lies in the spatial and soulful statistics. To help understand this story, Eunice and Erika reflect on the importance of “mixing up” how we gather, analyze, and talk about data.

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Inhabit is a member of the SURROUND Podcast Network.