Start In Your Own Backyard

Bölümler

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  Grant McCargo on Responsible Development & Building for the Future 14.09.2026 42dk

  Grant McCargo, a longtime friend of Serenbe, is an environmentalist and the founder of Urban Villages, a real estate development company creating walkable, culturally rich, nature-connected places designed to stand the test of time. One of the most striking examples of this work is Populus, a hotel in the heart of downtown Denver inspired by the aspen tree and rooted in biophilic design. It is also the first carbon-positive hotel in the United States, designed to capture more carbon than it e...
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  Tim Beatley On Bringing Nature Into Cities 07.09.2026 48dk

  When Serenbe was in its early stages, people often tried to put a label on it. Terms like agrihood and eco-community came close, but never quite captured the vision. Then Steve heard urban planner and author Tim Beatley speak about biophilic cities and something clicked. A community shaped by a deep connection to nature and a respect for the living systems around us was exactly what he was trying to create at Serenbe. Tim Beatley is the Teresa Heinz Professor of Sustainable Communities at the...
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  Mehmet Kalyoncu Is Rethinking How We Build Cities in Istanbul & Beyond 31.08.2026 42dk

  In this episode of Start In Your Own Backyard, Steve Nygren sits down with Mehmet Kalyoncu, a developer and visionary rethinking how architecture, mobility, community, and nature can shape the future of cities. What began with a visit to Serenbe has grown into an ongoing exchange of ideas between Serenbe and Mehmet’s work in Turkey. Raised in the architecture and construction business, Mehmet was deeply involved in the development of Istanbul Airport before turning his attention to a bigger q...
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  Ellen Dunham-Jones Wants To Retrofit Suburbia 24.08.2026 51dk

  When Serenbe was first conceived, Steve Nygren had the opportunity to rethink almost everything from the ground up. But most of the places where people live don’t have that luxury. They’re already built, and in many cases, they’re struggling. That’s where our guest today, Ellen Dunham-Jones, comes in. An architect, urban designer, and longtime professor at Georgia Tech, Ellen has spent more than two decades exploring how existing suburbs can evolve. In this conversation, Steve and Ellen...
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  Price Bell Is Bridging Growth and Stewardship 17.08.2026 44dk

  Price Bell Jr., grew up at Mill Ridge Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, a working thoroughbred farm that his family has cared for for generations. But Price’s story isn’t just about preserving what his family inherited. He spent years working in real estate and urban development, particularly in Nashville, where he learned about the power of neighborhoods, adaptive reuse, and, perhaps most importantly, what can happen when people work together toward a shared vision. And then he came to Serenbe. W...
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  Introducing Season 2 of Start In Your Own Backyard 14.08.2026 2dk

  Season 2 of Start In Your Own Backyard premieres Monday, August 17. What if the places we build could help solve the problems they’ve helped create? That question sits at the heart of Season 2 of Start In Your Own Backyard, as visionary placemaker Steve Nygren looks beyond Serenbe to meet people who are rethinking the way we live, work, connect, and care for the places we call home. The built environment, as it exists today, is at the root of many of our biggest challenges. But it can also be...
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  The Spark of Possibility 07.10.2025 21dk

  In this final episode of the Start In Your Own Backyard mini-series, Steve Nygren reflects on the journey of building Serenbe. What started out as an unlikely idea, sparked in a moment of fear and panic is now a living, breathing community where nature and people are woven back together. You’ll hear from neighbors like Gil Mathis, who traded a corporate finance career for a more authentic life rooted in connection, and Gigi Wilborne, an artist and entrepreneur who has poured her creativity i...
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  A Place That Feels Like Home 30.09.2025 22dk

  A lot of what we’ve been exploring on this podcast comes back to an idea known as placemaking: the art of designing spaces that feel meaningful, welcoming, and rooted in community. At its core, it’s about creating places where people truly want to gather and belong. At Serenbe, that spirit comes alive every day. Visitors might arrive for goat yoga or a stroll through the nature trails and end up moving. A coffee-and-ceramics studio, dreamed up and run by neighbors, has become a beloved local ...
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  The Deepest Wells of the Human Spirit 23.09.2025 22dk

  Food, shelter, walkable streets, even access to nature are all vital ingredients for a thriving community. But on their own, they aren’t quite enough. To truly flourish, people also need beauty, inspiration, and creativity woven into daily life. That’s where the arts come in. In this episode of Start In Your Own Backyard, Steve Nygren explores why music, theater, sculpture, literature, and public art are so vitally important. You’ll hear insights from Dr. Anjan Chatterjee, director of the Pen...
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  Community Potluck 16.09.2025 23dk

  Once upon a time, community wasn’t something you had to schedule, swipe for, or search out in a Facebook group. It was simply part of daily life. In this episode, Steve Nygren explores the loneliness epidemic, how our modern world has stripped away built-in community, and what it will take to bring it back. He dives into how thoughtful design choices like walkable streets, welcoming front porches, and all-important “third places” can help weave back some of the social fabric we’ve lost. And t...
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  Where Wellness Grows 09.09.2025 26dk

  Most of us know that a sedentary, stress-filled lifestyle can take a heavy toll on our wellbeing. Yet when communities are designed for cars instead of people, when fast food is easier to find than fresh produce, and when green space feels totally out of reach, it becomes increasingly apparent that healthy choices are about so much more than willpower. In this episode of Start In Your Own Backyard, Steve Nygren explores why true wellness has little to do with fitness trackers, supplements, or...
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  Why Beauty Matters 02.09.2025 22dk

  What makes a place feel magnetic? Why do some neighborhoods and buildings leave you feeling inspired, while others feel sterile and disconnected? In this episode of Start In Your Own Backyard, we explore how the built environment shapes our sense of joy, connection, and belonging. You’ll hear from neurologist Dr. Anjan Chatterjee, who explains how our brains respond to beauty and why elements like coherence, fascination, and hominess are essential to creating spaces that feel truly welcoming....
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  A Village at the Forest’s Edge 26.08.2025 22dk

  Access to nature isn’t just a luxury. It's essential for our health, our well-being, and the resilience of our communities. But what happens when the fields, forests, and streams we once knew are paved over by highways, strip malls, and suburban sprawl? In this episode of Start In Your Own Backyard, Steve Nygren explores our deep connection to (and disconnection from) the natural world. From the science of nature deficit disorder to the philosophy of biophilia, from America’s problematic obse...
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  The Land That Changed Everything 18.08.2025 25dk

  In the first episode of Start In Your Own Backyard, Steve shares his transformative path to founding Serenbe, a thriving community rooted in nature on the outskirts of Atlanta. He talks about why the built environment lies at the heart of so many modern challenges, the personal healing he discovered in nature, and how each of us can take steps toward positive change starting right where we are. Because, let’s be honest: life in America isn’t working the way it should. Not for most people. Acr...