#14 Devon Zuegel: Building a People-First Town From Scratch with Esmeralda & Rethinking How We Live

Architecture & Urban Design

Apr 18

Written By Stephanie

Devon Zuegel is planning a bold, people-centered town from scratch. She has a background in software engineering and has worked at some of the big firms in Silicon Valley. She discovered a passion for urbanism and housing while living in San Francisco when she started looking into why there wasn’t more housing, and she draws a lot of inspiration from her childhood experiences at Chautauqua, a small town in Western New York. We discuss the need for more beautiful and community-oriented neighborhoods and the challenges of current housing policies and regulations. Devon also explains her vision for Esmeralda, a town that combines the principles of traditional neighborhood development (TND) and the community-oriented programming of Chautauqua. We explore the concept of experimentation and flexibility in urban planning and development, and brainstorm the importance of allowing for iteration and adaptation in building communities, the limitations of traditional planning processes and the need for more creative and responsive approaches. We talk about how the tech MVP model (Minimum Viable Product) can be applied to neighborhoods (Minimum Viable Place) through temporary structures, such as food trucks and airstreams, in testing ideas and activating spaces. While we discuss problems, it’s a fundamentally optimistic conversation! We discuss the need for individuals to take more agency and responsibility in shaping their built environment. Devon was an amazing guest, lot’s of energy, nuanced thinking and positive vibes–can’t wait for y'all to hear!

00:00 Introduction and Background
07:12 The Need for Building Better Places
11:52 Chautauqua: A Model for Community and Learning
15:10 The Challenges of Building Beautiful and Functional Places
24:35 Creating a New Town: The Vision for Esmeralda
31:16 Building for the Long Term: Evolving and Adapting
32:13 Challenges of Planning and Permission
37:53 The Cost of Locking In Decisions
42:48 The Negative Impact of Excessive Process
47:10 The Importance of Truth and Being Wrong
51:17 Hyper-Specialization and Loss of Agency
01:01:09 Capital and the Vision for the New Town
01:04:54 The Appeal of Esmeralda
01:05:49 Back-Weighted Returns
01:06:27 Investor Preferences
01:07:41 The Long-Term Value of TNDs
01:08:38 The Importance of Aligned Capital
01:09:30 Appreciating Wealth and Capital
01:09:59 The Impact of Wealthy Individuals
01:11:42 The Zero-Sum Mindset
01:13:16 The Infinite Potential of Wealth
01:14:13 Creating Value and Making the Pie Bigger
01:15:10 The Role of Wealth in Society
01:17:19 Building Relationships and Community
01:19:56 Funding through Pre-Sales
01:22:03 The Inspiration behind Esmeralda's Name
01:23:23 The Concept of Edge Esmeralda
01:32:05 Podcast - Outro w Music.mp4
Blog: https://devonzuegel.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/devonzuegel
Summer Event: https://www.edgeesmeralda.com/
Book: Invisible Cities
Chautauqua: https://www.chq.org/
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