Greatest Hits of 2023

AI rendition of FUN Urbanist party

Hello, World!  
At the beginning of 2023, I changed my LinkedIn title to “urban hype lady,” a silly self-anointed moniker, which gives me an excuse to work on a portfolio of projects I find interesting. I figure it’s time to roll back the curtains: below are the greatest hits of what I actually did in 2023.

~Greatest Hits~ of 2023~

1. Published Pilot: New York City.

It’s a plan, co-authored with Daria Siegel at New York City Economic Development Corporation, on how to bust “pilot purgatory.” It would delight me if you read it. TL;DR, with the help of Julia Fusfeld, we spent 6 months detailing the minutiae of local government procurement and how to improve it, to help cities decarbonize more quickly.

2. Hosted a #FUNurbanist party.

The criteria for attending were that you had to be fun and work in cities. Officially confirmed that applying these criteria = good party. S/O to Alex Bores for being a fun elected official, to Ryan Johnson who rolled through at 11 PM with an entire DELEGATION from Culdesac Tempe, and to Youssef K, Ian Veidenheimer, and Erman Eruz for hosting with me.

3. Wrote some articles.

The most widely read was my housing op-ed in the The New York Times (or, arguably, it was Drake Pooley’s Tik Tok reinterpretation, eloquently titled: “Get in Loser, We're Calling Albany.”) But my favorite was my piece on bike lane feminism for Bloomberg, mostly because I got to write about my "road model" Beyoncé.

4. Began advising governments.

It turns out there is a world outside of New York City (the aliens exist!!)…and a lot of other places also want to fix procurement and do cool things like build renewable energy. I call my practice Eckholm Studios (creative, I know). I am excited to continue spreading the gospel of Pilot:New York City.

5. Began advising startups.

The good news for these places is that there is an amazing new generation of diverse, mission-driven companies working to improve cities. My under-the-radar favorites are Woodoo (not only for its amazing product, but also for its amazing name), and Stationwise (yes, “fire tech” is a startup category).

6. Launched a matchmaking program.

For government agencies and academics who want to work together. It’s called the Pilot Policy Studio at Cornell Tech. We had a sold-out event with 250 people, pitching projects from wireless detection of lead in soil to using dashcam data to measure street flooding. Think Science Fair x Speed Dating x Y Combinator Demo Day. S/O to Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for the support and Anthony Townsend for the intro.

7. Found a boyfriend.

Which is relevant because, people, he is an URBANIST! I am SO proud of Max Crema, who is defending NYC in the U.S.’s first congestion pricing regime. 2023 was a lot. 2024 is looking insane. Finally, I can stop wasting my time on Tinder dates with NIMBYs.

What’s next?

More soon on what’s coming in 2024—click subscribe to stay posted, and feel free to book time if you want to chat with me. For anyone who wants to join the Urban Hype posse, I have an open Calendly :)

Cara