ANNOUNCER: TONIGHT ON SHOWCASE WITH BARBARA KELLAR, CITY PLANNER DR. BRUCE STEVENSON DISCUSSING THE WORK OF PIONEERING AMERICAN PLANNER AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT JOHN NOLEN.

STAY TUNED.

SHOWCASE STARTS RIGHT NOW.

[MUSIC] KELLAR: HI, I'M BARBARA KELLAR AND WE HAVE A REALLY INTERESTING GUEST TODAY WHO'S FROM FLORIDA.

HE'S UP HERE ON BEHALF OF THE CINCINNATI PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION, BRUCE STEVENSON.

AND YOU'RE GOING TO TELL US ABOUT A LOT OF CINCINNATI THINGS IN THE WAY OF CITY PLANNING.

YOU'RE A CITY PLANNER AND YOU ARE HERE TO TALK ABOUT JOHN NOLEN, WHO WAS ALSO A CITY PLANNER AND WHO HAD A REALLY IMPORTANT INFLUENCE ON CINCINNATI.

CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT?

STEPHENSON: SURE.

JOHN NOLEN WAS ARGUABLY THE FIRST TOWN PLANNER IN THE UNITED STATES.

HE HELPED INVENT THE PROFESSION.

HE WENT TO HARVARD UNIVERSITY TO STUDY LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, BUT HE ALSO STUDIED AT MUNICH UNIVERSITY IN GERMANY, GERMAN TOWN PLANNING.

HE BROUGHT THAT BACK TO THE UNITED STATES AND WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN CITY PLANNING BECOMING A PROFESSION, AND IT PROBABLY FIRST MADE ITS MAJOR IMPACT IN THE UNITED STATES DURING WORLD WAR I, WHEN THE UNITED STATES WENT TO WAR.

AND THE KEY TO VICTORY WAS GETTING WEAPONS AND MUNITIONS TO EUROPE.

AND SO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SAID, "WE NEED TO PROVIDE WORKER HOUSING SO THE WORKERS WILL BE IN GOOD CONDITIONS TO PRODUCE THE WEAPONS."

SO THEY HIRED JOHN NOLEN AS THE LEAD LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT, TOWN PLANNER TO BUILD ABOUT 7 TO 10 VILLAGES.

AND FIVE WERE BUILT IN QUICK TIME, BUT TODAY PEOPLE STILL LIVE IN THEM.

THEY'RE VERY SUCCESSFUL.

AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FUNDING OF THIS WORKER HOUSING, HE THOUGHT, WOULD CONTINUE AFTER THE WAR ENDED.

IT DID NOT.

HE WENT THROUGH A BRIEF PERIOD OF DEPRESSION, BUT IT WAS LIFTED WHEN MARY EMERY SAID, "LISTEN, WE'RE GOING TO PROVIDE A MODEL IN CINCINNATI CALLED MARIEMONT.

WE WANT YOU TO DESIGN IT.

WE'RE GOING TO CALL IT THE NATIONAL EXEMPLAR TO BE A MODEL OF WHAT A WORKER -- WHAT WORKER HOUSING COULD LOOK LIKE IN A PLANNED COMMUNITY."

AND THE LAST THING I THINK IS MOST IMPORTANT, IF YOU READ THE FINE PRINT THAT THE PLAN SAYS, NOLEN PUTS IN THE PLAN ON THE TITLE, "THAT THIS IS A NATIONAL EXEMPLAR DESIGNED TO PRODUCE LOCAL HAPPINESS."

KELLAR: OH, WOW.

THAT'S GREAT.

WELL, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE, IF THEY KNOW MARIEMONT SQUARE, THERE'S A BIG PLAQUE, A MEMORIAL ON ONE END OF THE SQUARE.

AND THEN ON THE OTHER END IS THE NATIONAL EXEMPLAR RESTAURANT.

AND IT'S ALSO A HOTEL, I THINK.

IS THAT WHERE -- AND THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE STAYING?

STEPHENSON: CORRECT.

KELLAR: YEAH.

SO, YOU'RE IN THE RIGHT PLACE?

STEPHENSON: YEAH.

AND IT'S NO -- IT'S NO MISTAKE THAT YOU NOTICE THAT BECAUSE JOHN NOLEN HAD STUDIED IN UNIVERSITY OF MUNICH AND HE STUDIED NOT ONLY GERMAN TOWN PLANNING BUT RENAISSANCE TOWN PLANNING IN ITALY.

SO WHEN YOU SEE EVERYTHING ALIGNED IN MARIEMONT, LIKE THE CHURCH AND THE BUILDINGS ON AN ALIGNMENT, YOU NOTICE THE THEATER.

THAT WAS ALL THROUGH PURPOSEFUL DESIGN.

KELLAR: YEAH.

SO HOW DID HE AND MARY COME TOGETHER?

I MEAN, SHE'S CINCINNATI AND HE'S WHEREVER.

STEPHENSON: HE'S IN CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

THAT'S WHERE HIS OFFICE IS.

AND HER RIGHT HAND MAN, ROBERT LIVINGOOD, WAS A HARVARD GRADUATE AND KNEW OF NOLEN.

AND HE WAS AN AFICIONADO OF TOWN PLANNING.

AND HE SAID, YOU KNOW, HE THOUGHT JOHN NOLEN WAS PROBABLY THE BEST TOWN PLANNER IN THE UNITED STATES.

SO HE MADE THE CONNECTION, PUT THE TWO TOGETHER.

AND TO ME, THE REST WAS MAGIC.

KELLAR: YEAH.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT SHE SPECIFICALLY SAID TO HIM?

"HERE'S WHAT I WANT."

STEPHENSON: THE KEY WAS THERE WAS AN INDUSTRIAL HOUSING FOR THE WORKERS OF CINCINNATI WAS PRETTY LOW QUALITY.

THERE WAS A LOT OF IT WAS NEAR THE RIVER.

IT WOULD FLOOD AND SAID, "LET'S SHOW HOW WORKERS CAN HAVE QUALITY HOUSING."

SO THEY OBVIOUSLY BUILD ON A HIGHER -- A HIGHER TERRAIN.

AND SHE ALSO KNEW OF HIS WORK DURING WORLD WAR I AND SAID, "LET'S TAKE THOSE MODELS, APPLY IT TO MARIEMONT, AND WE'LL PUT AN EXTRA FINISH TO IT AND CREATE AN EXTRA LAYER OF BEAUTY."

KELLAR: YEAH.

ABOUT WHAT -- WHAT YEARS WOULD THIS BE?

STEPHENSON: IT WAS EARLY 1920S.

THE LETTERS START PASSING 1921.

IT'S NOT REALLY UNTIL 100 YEARS AGO, 1923, THAT THINGS MOVE FORWARD.

AND BY 1925 TO 1927, THE CENTRAL FOUNDATION OF THE TOWN IS BUILT.

KELLAR: SO THEY HAD IT FINISHED BEFORE THE DEPRESSION.

STEPHENSON: RIGHT.

KELLAR: SO, THAT MIGHT HAVE DONE AWAY WITH IT.

YEAH.

TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE SIZE.

I MEAN, I'M SURE IT'S BIGGER NOW THAN IT WAS THEN.

HOW -- WHAT WERE THE PERIMETERS?

STEPHENSON: RIGHT.

SO, THE IDEA WAS IT WAS GOING TO BE A MODEL.

THEY CALLED IT GARDEN SUBURB.

KELLAR: FOR HAPPINESS.

STEPHENSON: YES, YES, YES, FOR HAPPINESS.

AND I WILL SAY THE KEY TERM FOR HAPPINESS, NOLEN WAS VERY INTENTIONAL ON THAT.

IF YOU READ THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, RIGHT, LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.

HAPPINESS IS INTERPRETED IN THE CONSTITUTION AS OWNING PROPERTY.

BUT BY 1920, A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS WERE NOW LIVING IN CITIES.

SO THE IDEA WAS AS WE LIVE IN CITIES, WHAT'S THE BEST WAY FOR US TO LIVE AND BE HAPPY?

AND SO MARIEMONT WAS DESIGNED ESPECIALLY WITH THAT PURPOSE.

AND THE OTHER THING, LIVINGOOD HAD BEEN IN ENGLAND AND SEEN SOME OF THESE MODEL COMMUNITIES IN ENGLAND.

SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE ARCHITECTURE AND THE DESIGN AND NOLEN'S A LEADING EXPERT ON HOW TO TAKE THESE ENGLISH GARDEN SUBURBS AND APPLY THEM IN AMERICA.

KELLAR: MOST OF THOSE BUILDINGS ARE TUDOR, AREN'T THEY?

STEPHENSON: RIGHT.

AND THE CHURCH, THE CENTERPIECE IS NORMAN ARCHITECTURE.

KELLAR: YEAH.

STEPHENSON: SO THE IDEA WAS TO PUT TOGETHER THIS GARDEN CITY, AND THE FIRST AREA THEY BUILT WAS WHAT THEY CALLED INDUSTRIAL HOUSING, THE WORKERS AREA.

AND PEOPLE WERE PUT LIVING CLOSER TOGETHER IN DUPLEXES, QUADRUPLEXES.

BUT THE KEY IS IF YOU'RE GOING TO PUT PEOPLE CLOSER TOGETHER, YOU NEED TO GIVE THEM QUALITY SPACES.

AND THAT'S WHY MARIEMONT'S PARKS AND SQUARES, IT'S AMBIANCE IS JUST AN AMAZING WORK OF WHAT I WOULD CALL CIVIC ART.

KELLAR: YEAH, AND I'M NOT THAT -- I'M NOT -- I'VE NEVER LIVED IN MARIEMONT, BUT SOME OF THOSE STREETS, THEY'RE VERY CONDUCIVE TO WALKING.

STEPHENSON: RIGHT KELLAR: THEY'RE NOT LIKE A NORMAL SIDEWALK AND ROAD.

THEY'RE VERY INVITING AS FAR AS LIVING.

STEPHENSON: AND THE WAY THEY DID THAT WAS THEY USED ALLEYS.

SO THERE'S NO DRIVEWAYS.

SO AS THE PEDESTRIAN, YOU HAVE SIDEWALK, THESE BEAUTIFUL STREET TREES, IT'S SHADED.

THE HOMES ARE RELATIVELY CLOSE.

THERE'S NO GARAGE TO LOOK AT.

IT'S JUST THESE BEAUTIFUL SCALED HOMES.

AND ALSO IT'S TO ME IT'S WHAT'S FASCINATING, IT'S RIGHT OUT OF THE RENAISSANCE IS IF YOU GO TO THE CENTER OF TOWN, WALK STRAIGHT, THERE'S A PARKWAY, LITERALLY A PARK WITH TWO WAYS ON IT, AND IT TERMINATES AT A PLACE CALLED THE CONCOURSE, WHERE YOU LOOK THROUGH THESE FRAMED VISIONS ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE MIAMI RIVER VALLEY.

KELLAR: WOW.

STEPHENSON: SO YOU'RE GIVEN A WORK OF ART AS PART OF YOUR PUBLIC EXPERIENCE OF MARIEMONT?

KELLAR: YEAH.

WAS IT WHEN DID MARY EMERY, WHAT WERE HER DATES?

DO YOU REMEMBER?

STEPHENSON: YEAH.

WELL, SHE'S INVOLVED IN THE PROMOTING IT, AND SHE'S THE VOICE OF MARIEMONT, AND SHE, I THINK SHE PASSES IN 1926.

KELLAR: OH, SHE DIED ABOUT THE TIME IT WAS FINISHED?

STEPHENSON: RIGHT.

AND HER LAST SPEECH IS GIVEN IN 1926.

AND SHE SAYS, YOU KNOW, "TELL ME IF I'M CORRECT, BUT LET ME KNOW, YOU PEOPLE IN THE FUTURE, WHAT'S THE LIFE OF YOUR CHILDREN?

ARE THEY HAPPIER?

ARE THEY HEALTHIER?

ARE THEIR CHEEKS RUDDIER?

SO SHE REALLY HAD THIS CONCEPT OF THE FUTURE AND THE QUALITY OF CHILDREN'S LIVES.

AND SO SHE WAS AT THE FOREFRONT OF CHILDREN HAVING LIVES THAT ARE DEFINITIVE OF WHAT WE THINK OF CHILDHOOD AS TODAY.

KELLAR: I THINK THOSE UNITS ARE ALL RENTED.

WEREN'T THEY?

THEY WEREN'T HOUSING THAT WAS SOLD, THEY WERE RENTAL UNITS.

STEPHENSON: RIGHT, THE ORIGINAL DALE PARK SECTION WAS RENTAL.

AND AGAIN, IT WAS TO BE AFFORDABLE FOR WORKING.

KELLAR: AFFORDABLE, YEAH, FOR TEACHERS AND PROFESSORS, PEOPLE WITHOUT LARGE INCOMES.

STEPHENSON: RIGHT.

AND THEN AFTER THE GREAT DEPRESSION HIT, THAT WAS STILL MOSTLY TRUE.

BUT THE REMAINDER OF MARIEMONT WAS BUILT FOR SINGLE FAMILY HOMES, AND THAT WAS A SLIGHTLY HIGHER INCOME LEVEL.

BUT THE IDEA OF WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR CITY PLANNERS LIKE MYSELF TODAY IS HOW DO YOU PUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEXT TO HIGHER END HOUSING AND MAKE IT LOOK SEAMLESS?

KELLAR: AND LOOK -- YEAH, EXACTLY.

SO HAVE YOU -- YOU'VE DESIGNED SOME OF THESE PLACES LIKE THIS?

STEPHENSON: WELL, I'VE WORK WITH DESIGNERS AND JOHN NOLEN IS CENTRAL TO MY RESEARCH.

AND WHAT WE FOUND WAS JOHN NOLEN, AFTER MARIEMONT, HE WENT TO FLORIDA AND HE WANTED TO TAKE THE IDEAS OF MARIEMONT AND APPLY THEM AT A LARGER SCALE.

NOW, I WORKED AS A CITY PLANNER IN THE SAINT PETERSBURG AREA, AND LO AND BEHOLD, JOHN NOLEN'S FIRST PLAN FOR FLORIDA WAS SAINT PETERSBURG.

KELLAR: REALLY?

WOW.

STEPHENSON: AND MY JOB WAS TO DETERMINE IF A HURRICANE COMES, WHICH LAND IS SAFE TO LIVE ON AND WHICH IS NOT.

SADLY, A LOT OF HOMES WERE BUILT IN THE HURRICANE ZONES, BUT JOHN NOLEN'S ORIGINAL PLAN WAS SET UP, HE MODELED IT ON NICE, FRANCE, TO PROTECT THE AREAS WHERE HURRICANES WERE MOST PREVALENT HUMANS WERE NOT ALLOWED TO LIVE AND THEY WERE TO LIVE IN THE HIGHER AREAS.

SO, WHAT WE LOOK AT TODAY, WE CALL SUSTAINABILITY OR RESILIENCE.

HOW DO WE SURVIVE HURRICANES?

NOW WE'RE TAKING JOHN NOLEN'S IDEAS, AND A GROUP OF ARCHITECTS DESIGNED A PLACE CALLED SEASIDE, FLORIDA, AND THEY TOOK JOHN NOLEN'S PLANS.

THEY SAID, WE'RE GOING TO PLAGIARIZE IT.

THEY DESIGNED THIS PLACE CALLED SEASIDE UP IN THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE.

IT WAS GROUND ZERO FOR A CATEGORY THREE HURRICANE.

NO DAMAGE.

KELLAR: WOW.

STEPHENSON: AND SO THERE'S A WHOLE MOVEMENT NOW, IT'S CALLED NEW URBANISTS, WHERE THEY'RE TAKING JOHN NOLEN'S IDEAS AND APPLYING THEM.

AND THERE'S A NEIGHBORHOOD IN ORLANDO, IT'S CALLED BALDWIN PARK.

IT USED TO BE A NAVY BASE.

IT WAS REDESIGNED FOR A COMMUNITY OF 10,000 PEOPLE.

AND YOU COULD LOOK AT THAT AND MARIEMONT AND SEE THE SAME DEVELOPMENT.

KELLAR: YEAH, I WAS THINKING -- THINKING ABOUT MARY EMERY AND ALL SHE DID FOR THE CITY, NOT JUST MARIEMONT, BUT THE ART MUSEUM.

THERE'S HARDLY AN ARTS ORGANIZATION WHO WASN'T BENEFITED BY MARY EMERY.

AND HER HUSBAND WAS THOMAS EMERY, AND HE WAS THE BROTHER OF JOHN EMERY.

JOHN EMERY HAD CHILDREN, BUT THOMAS AND MARY DID NOT HAVE CHILDREN, SO THAT'S HOW SHE COULD FOCUS ALL HER RESOURCES ON DOING THINGS FOR THE CITY.

AND YOU SAID YOU GAVE A TALK ONE TIME ABOUT MARY EMERY AND MELINDA GATES AND THEIR ATTITUDES ABOUT CHILDREN.

TELL US ABOUT THAT.

STEPHENSON: YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER CHILDHOOD IN OUR GENERATION, RIGHT?

THE LAST 50 YEARS ISN'T WHAT CHILDHOOD WAS IN THE 1920S, YOU KNOW, BE SEEN, NOT HEARD.

SO MELINDA GATES HAS YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY, THE GATES ORGANIZATION LOOKED AT WHAT IS ESSENTIAL FOR CHILDREN?

SHE SAID THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO MOVE THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO WALK TO SCHOOL.

THEY SHOULD HAVE PARKS CLOSE BY.

THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE THINGS WITH THEIR PARENTS.

AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF MARIEMONT AND WHAT MELINDA GATES SAYS, THEY'RE VERY SIMILAR.

AND THERE WAS A GREAT FIVE MINUTE EPISODE ON ABC NEWS PROBABLY 15 YEARS AGO, PETER JENNINGS AND HE INTERVIEWED MILLARD ROGERS, WHO HAD WRITTEN THE STORY OF MARIEMONT.

KELLAR: THE HEAD OF THE ART MUSEUM.

STEPHENSON: YEAH, AND THE BASIC MESSAGE WAS THEY INTERVIEWED THE KIDS IN MARIEMONT AND COMPARED THEIR LIVES TO KIDS LIVING IN FLORENCE, KENTUCKY, AND HOW MUCH RICHER THE LIFE WAS IN MARIEMONT.

AND I THINK THE OTHER THING THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER WAS MARY EMERY WAS INTERESTED IN ART, AND JOHN NOLEN CONSIDERED CITY PLANNING AN ART.

SO, IT REALLY IS AN ARTISTIC PRESENTATION, WHICH WE'RE JUST, I THINK IN THE LAST GENERATION, WE'RE JUST LEARNING HOW TO DO PROPERLY AGAIN.

BUT IF YOU LOOK AT JOHN NOLEN'S GRAVESTONE, IT SAYS, "JOHN NOLEN, PIONEER IN THE ART OF CITY PLANNING."

SO IT WAS REALLY THIS ART.

I THINK THAT'S WHERE MARY EMERY AND JOHN NOLEN AND LIVINGOOD AND ALL THESE FOLKS, THEY SEE IT'S THIS ARTISTIC CONCEPTION OF HOW TO LIVE WELL AND HOW TO LIVE HAPPY.

AND WE TAKE IT TO OUR TIME TODAY WHERE WE HAVE MORE METRICS.

BUT MELINDA GATES REALIZES IF WE WANT OUR KIDS TO SUCCEED, THEY NEED THESE STILL, THESE KIND OF ARTISTIC FORMATIONS IN THEIR LIVES.

KELLAR: I THINK IT'S AMAZING THAT IN THAT ERA A WOMAN WOULD THINK OF SOMETHING AS NEW AND COMPLICATED.

REALLY, IT'S NOT JUST LIKE, "OH, I'LL GIVE THE ART MUSEUM $1 MILLION AND I'LL GIVE THIS."

IT'S A VERY FORWARD THINKING PLAN FOR HER TO CREATE A CITY, REALLY, WE PROBABLY WOULDN'T CALL IT A CITY, A VILLAGE, WHATEVER.

I MEAN, THAT IS PHENOMENAL.

STEPHENSON: NO.

AND I THINK ANOTHER THING THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER, YOU KNOW, IN THE 1920S IS WHEN WE BECOME A CONSUMER SOCIETY.

YOU KNOW, FLORIDA STARTS TO BECOME POPULAR BECAUSE WE HAVE TWO WEEKS OF VACATION.

AND IT BECAME REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THOUGHT LEADERS TO THINK, "OKAY, AMERICANS ARE GOING TO HAVE MORE FREE TIME.

HOW DO WE USE THAT?"

AND JOHN NOLEN'S BIGGEST CONCERN WAS HE SAID, "LIFE IS AN ART AND WE NEED TO LEARN -- KNOW HOW TO LIVE ARTISTICALLY."

AND MARY EMERY'S THE SAME THING.

IF YOU DESIGN PLACES AS WORKS OF ART, THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE THEM CAN LIVE ARTISTICALLY AND FIND THEIR POTENTIAL IN LIFE.

AND OF COURSE, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT CHILDHOOD IS ABOUT.

KELLAR: YEAH, SO SHE ACTUALLY PAID FOR ALL THE HOUSES, ALL THE PLANNING.

STEPHENSON: A DEVELOPER TODAY COULD NOT HAVE DONE WHAT SHE DID.

IT WAS HEAVILY SUBSIDIZED.

NOW, PEOPLE STILL HAD TO PAY RENT.

KELLAR: RIGHT.

BUT -- STEPHENSON: SHE SAID -- RIGHT, SHE SET IT IN.

SO AGAIN IT WAS AN EXPERIMENT.

IT WAS REALLY A LABORATORY THAT COULD NOT HAVE BEEN DONE WITHOUT HER, AS I WOULD SAY, PATRON SHIP.

SHE WAS REALLY A PATRON.

AND I KEEP THINKING OF THE MEDICI AND THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE.

AND SHE'S REALLY LIKE THAT.

SHE'S LIKE A PATRON OF THE ARTS THAT'S INVESTING SO WE CAN NOT ONLY HAVE PROSPERITY BUT HAVE A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE.

KELLAR: YEAH, TO WHOM DID THEY PAY THE RENT?

I MEAN, WHO WAS THE QUOTE OWNER?

STEPHENSON: SHE, HER -- THEY HAD A COMPANY THAT WAS LIKE A LIMITED DIVIDEND COMPANY.

SO THEY'RE TAKING THE MONEY, BUT THEY'RE NOT MAKING -- THEIR PROFIT IS VERY LIMITED.

THEY HAVE LIKE A 5%.

KELLAR: YEAH, THEY'RE NOT TRYING TO MAKE A BIG PROFIT.

YEAH.

SO YOU'RE A VERY WELL WRITTEN.

YOU'VE WRITTEN.

TELL US ABOUT SOME OF YOUR BOOKS.

STEPHENSON: WELL, MY FIRST BOOK WAS CALLED VISIONS OF EDEN AND IS ABOUT SAINT PETERSBURG.

SIMPLY THE FACT THAT JOHN NOLEN HAD THIS PLAN TO CREATE THIS AMERICAN RIVIERA.

AND OF COURSE, WHAT HAPPENED, THE PLAN WAS NOT FOLLOWED.

SAINT PETERSBURG, TAMPA BAY TODAY, IF THERE'S SOMETHING CALLED THE INDEX OF CATASTROPHE AND THE WORST NATURAL CATASTROPHE WOULD BE A EARTHQUAKE HITTING SAN FRANCISCO, THE SECOND WORST WOULD BE A HURRICANE HITTING TAMPA BAY.

AND IF THEY WOULD HAVE FOLLOWED JOHN NOLEN'S PLAN, THAT WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN THE CASE.

BUT, YOU KNOW, THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT JOHN NOLEN AS I FOUND OUT, WAS HIS IDEAS ARE NOW ADOPTED.

AND I WROTE THE BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN NOLEN TO ILLUSTRATE THAT AND ENDS WITH THE PROJECTS ARE BASED ON HIS WORK.

AND IN THE LAST SEVEN, EIGHT YEARS, I'VE WORKED ON A FINAL PROJECT WHERE I WAS ON THE CITY OF ORLANDO SUSTAINABILITY TASK FORCE.

AND THE MAYOR MARCHED IN AND SAID, "WE WANT TO MAKE ORLANDO THE PORTLAND OF THE SOUTHEAST."

AND ORLANDO MADE A GOAL BY THE YEAR 2050, ONE OF EVERY TWO TRIPS IN ORLANDO WILL BE NOT BE BY CAR.

SO, WHAT I DID IS I SOLD MY CAR, I MOVED TO PORTLAND, MOVED INTO A NEIGHBORHOOD, AND THIS IS HOW IT TIES INTO CINCINNATI.

IT WAS THE FIRST NEIGHBORHOOD SINCE WORLD WAR II TO PUT A STREETCAR IN, AND IT BECAME THE MODEL FOR THE STREETCAR IN PORTLAND.

AND SO I WROTE THIS, MY LATEST BOOK ABOUT WHAT'S IT LIKE TO LIVE A SUSTAINABLE LIFE WITHOUT A CAR?

AND YOU COULD DO THAT IN PORTLAND.

KELLAR: IN PORTLAND?

STEPHENSON: OREGON, I'M SORRY.

KELLAR: OREGON.

YEAH.

STEPHENSON: AND THERE'S OTHER ISSUES.

YOU KNOW, I DID NOT THINK THE CENTER PART OF THE BOOK WOULD BE ABOUT HOUSING AFFORDABILITY AND HOMELESSNESS.

THERE'S ALWAYS ISSUES, BUT THE PRESENTATION I'M GOING TO GIVE TOMORROW NIGHT, PORTLAND, ORLANDO AND CINCINNATI ALL HAVE ABOUT THE SAME POPULATION.

AND THEY ALL HAVE SUSTAINABILITY PLANS.

AND MY CONCEPT IS IF YOU WANT TO BECOME A SUSTAINABLE CITY, YOU NEED TO BUILD AS MANY PLACES LIKE MARIEMONT AS YOU CAN.

KELLAR: RIGHT, I GUESS SO.

YEAH, WELL, IS THAT POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE KIND OF DONOR?

I MEAN, THAT WAS A SORT OF A ONE OFF AS FAR AS FINANCIAL BACKING.

STEPHENSON: WELL, WHAT'S HAPPENED AND THE REASON I SPENT SO MUCH TIME STAYING IN PORTLAND IS BECAUSE THEY DO HAVE THE STREETCAR.

AND BASICALLY EVERY TIME A STREETCAR GOES IN AT THAT STREETCAR STOP, YOU COULD DROP IN THE DALE PARK NEIGHBORHOOD FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON THAT STREETCAR STOP AND DESIGN IT THAT WAY.

AND IT BECOMES EASIER FOR THE DEVELOPER BECAUSE WITH THE STREETCAR, YOU DON'T HAVE TO PROVIDE AS MUCH PARKING AND THE DEVELOPER CAN MAKE A PROFIT AND PEOPLE WANT TO LIVE THERE.

SO, THAT I THINK, WILL BE WHERE PORTLAND OR ORLANDO OR CINCINNATI IN PARTICULAR, AS THEY EXPAND THE STREETCAR, EACH STREETCAR STOP, YOU'LL SEE A DIFFERENT TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT.

BUT IT LOOKS A LOT LIKE MARIEMONT.

KELLAR: YEAH, DOES THAT HAVE ANY RELATIONSHIP TO THE STREETCAR IN NEW ORLEANS THAT GOES THROUGH THE GARDEN DISTRICT?

STEPHENSON: UH, NOT SO MUCH.

AND I THINK ONE THING THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT IS THE STREETCARS CONNECTING PLACES OF EMPLOYMENT TO PLACES TO LIVE.

AND THAT IS KIND OF THE GETTING THAT SYNERGY BETWEEN WORKERS BEING ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, TAKE THE STREETCAR TO WORK IS, I THINK, THAT'S WHERE EMPLOYERS ALSO WANT THAT, DEVELOPERS WANT THAT, AND PEOPLE WANT THAT.

IF YOU COULD GET THAT MIX GOING, YOU REALLY HAVE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOING WELL INTO THE FUTURE.

KELLAR: DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE STREETCAR HERE?

STEPHENSON: JUST ENOUGH -- JUST ENOUGH TO BE DANGEROUS.

BUT I KNOW IT'S MODELED ON THE PORTLAND.

I KNOW IT'S BEEN INSTRUMENTAL, AND THE SAME THING HAD HAPPENED IN PORTLAND HAS HAPPENED IN CINCINNATI, THAT WHEREVER THE STOP IS, THE PROPERTY VALUES GO UP AROUND IT.

AND SO THERE'S THIS NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR DEVELOPMENT.

KELLAR: I DON'T THINK THAT'S STARTED YET, THOUGH, HERE, THE PROPERTY VALUES.

STEPHENSON: NO, THEY'RE STARTING TO GO UP ON STREETCARS.

KELLAR: ARE THEY?

OKAY.

THAT'S GOOD.

STEPHENSON: THAT'S PART OF WHAT I LEARNED TODAY.

KELLAR: YEAH, YOU LEARNED THAT TODAY.

SO YOU CAME HERE TO TELL US, BUT ALSO TO LEARN.

DID YOU GET ON OUR STREETCAR?

STEPHENSON: WE TOURED THE OVER-THE-RHINE DISTRICT, AND I WAS GIVEN THIS KNOWLEDGE AND WE WENT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI TO LEARN, YOU KNOW, UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI ITS PROGRAM IN URBAN PLANNING IS GROWING AND EVOLVING, AND THAT'S PART OF THEIR LABORATORY.

KELLAR: YEAH, I HAVE THE STREETCAR TO CREDIT, TO THANK FOR AN EMMY BECAUSE WE DID A SHOW WHEN THE STREETCAR FIRST STARTED ON THE STREETCAR AS IT MOVED THROUGH THE CITY.

AND THAT'S WHY WE GOT THE EMMY.

STEPHENSON: AND THERE WAS A PBS SPECIAL ON TEN TOWNS THAT CHANGED AMERICA.

KELLAR: I'VE SEEN THAT, YES.

STEPHENSON: AND THE PEARL DISTRICT WHERE I LIVE, THAT WAS -- THAT'S ONE OF THEM.

AND MOST OF IT WAS FILMED ON THE STREETCAR.

AND FOR THE SIMPLE FASHION, YOU KNOW, TAKING A BUS IS ONE THING, BUT MOST PEOPLE LOVE TAKING A STREETCAR.

KELLAR: THE STREETCARS ARE WONDERFUL, RIGHT, YEAH.

THE ONLY OPPORTUNITY I HAVE HAS ALWAYS BEEN IN NEW ORLEANS.

AND OF COURSE, I'VE BEEN ON OUR STREETCAR HERE, BUT IT DOESN'T GO VERY FAR.

YOU KNOW, IT'S SUCH A LIMITED MAP OF WHERE IT GOES.

I KNOW SOME PEOPLE WANT TO EXPAND IT, SOME PEOPLE WANT TO GET RID OF IT.

I MEAN, IT'S BEEN A HUGE CONTENTIOUS THING IN CINCINNATI, BUT MAYBE IT'LL CHANGE IN THE FUTURE.

STEPHENSON: AND I THINK THE KEY ARE THE YOUNG FOLKS.

KELLAR: YES.

STEPHENSON: AND THEY WANT A LIFESTYLE WHERE THEY'RE NOT SO CAR DEPENDENT.

THAT'S SO EXPENSIVE.

RIGHT?

AND I THINK THEY BUY INTO IT AND THEY SEE THAT AS PART OF THEIR LIFE.

NOW, THE OTHER THING IS FASCINATING ABOUT MARIEMONT, IF YOU LOOK AT THE PLAN OF MARIEMONT, IN THE FINE PRINT, THERE'S A STREETCAR STATION THERE.

KELLAR: REALLY?

STEPHENSON: BECAUSE THE STREETCAR WAS SUPPOSED TO COME OUT THERE.

SO IT IS ALL DESIGNED.

KELLAR: WHERE WOULD IT'VE GONE?

WHERE THAT PARK IS, THAT ESPLANADE SORT OF?

STEPHENSON: NO, IT'S ON THE EAST WEST CONNECTOR ROAD ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF THE TOWN.

BUT THE REASON MARIEMONT IS LAID OUT IN THIS PEDESTRIAN WAY WAS YOU COULD TAKE THE STREETCAR, THEN WALK FROM THE STREETCAR TO THE TOWN CENTER.

KELLAR: YEAH, THAT WOULD -- THAT SOUNDS LIKE HAPPINESS.

STEPHENSON: YES, YES.

KELLAR: YES, IT'S GREAT.

TELL US, WHAT ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND?

HOW DID YOU BECOME A CITY PLANNER?

STEPHENSON: I GREW UP IN KANSAS CITY IN A WELL PLANNED NEIGHBORHOOD.

I DIDN'T KNOW THAT AT THE TIME.

WHEN I WAS 14, WE MOVED TO FLORIDA.

AND KANSAS CITY, IT'S KIND OF LIKE CINCINNATI, BUT IT CAME TO FRUITION IN THE LATE 1800S, EARLY 1900S.

A LOT OF PARKWAYS, BEAUTIFULLY PLANNED COMMUNITIES.

WE MOVED TO FLORIDA AND WE'RE GOING DOWN THE PARKWAY.

AND I TOLD MY PARENTS, "THIS ISN'T A PARKWAY.

THERE'S ONLY TWO YELLOW LINES."

THEY SAID, "SHUT UP AND LIKE IT."

KELLAR: YEAH.

STEPHENSON: BUT WHEN I WENT TO COLLEGE, I LEARNED ABOUT, I DIDN'T KNOW YOU COULD HAVE A JOB BEING A CITY PLANNER.

AND I STARTED STUDYING CITY PLANNING AND REALIZED IT HAS THIS RICH HERITAGE THAT GOES BACK TO FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE.

AND ALSO IN FLORIDA WE HAVE A LOT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS DUE TO DREDGING AND FILLING LAND AND BUILDING IN THE WRONG PLACES.

AND CITY PLANNING IS A WAY TO MITIGATE THAT.

AND SO I STARTED STUDYING THIS, AND I LEARNED ABOUT THE OLMSTEDS.

AND WAS ANOTHER INTERESTING FACT ABOUT JOHN NOLEN, HE WENT TO HARVARD.

HIS PROFESSOR WAS FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED, JR. KELLAR: OH, NO.

YES.

STEPHENSON: AND NOLEN WAS SUCH AN OUTSTANDING STUDENT, HE, FOR HIS HONORS THESIS, HE WROTE THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY OF FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED, SR. KELLAR: OH, MY GOSH.

WAS OLMSTED JUNIOR AS -- HE WAS -- STEPHENSON: YEAH, HE WAS VERY TALENTED.

KELLAR: REALLY, AS HIS FATHER?

STEPHENSON: NOT AS TALENTED AS HIS FATHER, BUT TALENTED.

AND HE WAS MORE OF A TECHNICIAN.

AND JOHN NOLEN, HE CAME IN AT THE SAME TIME.

AND JOHN NOLEN, YOU KNOW, THE OTHER FASCINATING THING ABOUT HIM, HE WAS AN ORPHAN.

AND SO HE GREW UP IN AN ORPHANAGE.

KELLAR: OH, MY GOODNESS.

STEPHENSON: HE DIDN'T COME FROM THE SAME BACKGROUND.

SO HE HAD A LOT OF EMPATHY FOR OTHER PEOPLE SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THE OPPORTUNITY HE'D BEEN GIVEN.

SO BECAUSE OF HIS CHILDHOOD AGAIN, RIGHT, HE WANTED TO MAKE SURE, LIKE, EVERY CHILD HAD A PLACE THAT WAS WELL DESIGNED AND CARED FOR.

AND I THINK THAT'S WHY HE AND MARY EMERY DID SO WELL, BECAUSE THEY BOTH HAD THAT CONNECTION.

RIGHT?

KELLAR: YEAH.

STEPHENSON: SO HE'S ALSO MUCH MORE VISIONARY THAN OLMSTED JR. OLMSTED JR. IS EXCELLENT, BUT HE DOESN'T HAVE THE VISION THAT JOHN NOLEN HAS, AND HE NEVER STUDIED.

AND JOHN NOLEN STUDIED IN EUROPE.

AND SO NOLEN BRINGS A VISION.

AND OLMSTED IS A TECHNICIAN.

AND THE TWO OF THEM TOGETHER KIND OF CREATE THE CITY PLANNING AS AN ART AND TECHNICAL FIELD.

KELLAR: JOHN NOLEN, IF HE WAS AN ORPHAN, HOW DID HE GET HIS EDUCATION AND STUDY IN EUROPE?

STEPHENSON: YEAH.

IT'S AMAZING.

KELLAR: GO TO HARVARD.

STEPHENSON: RIGHT, HE WENT TO THIS, IT'S CALLED GIRARD COLLEGE.

GIRARD WAS -- STEPHEN GIRARD WAS THE RICHEST AMERICAN IN THE UNITED STATES WHEN HE DIED IN 1840.

AND HE PUT TOGETHER THIS MODEL ORPHANAGE.

BUT IT WAS ESSENTIALLY DESIGNED TO TRAIN ORPHANS TO BECOME WORKERS IN THE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX.

AND NOLEN'S GIVEN THIS CHANCE, HE GRADUATES FIRST IN HIS CLASS, BRIGHT YOUNG LAD.

HE SAID, "I DON'T WANT TO DO THAT."

AND HE WORKED AND HE LIKED TO PAINT AND DRAW.

AND HE WORKED WITH THE PRESIDENT OF GIRARD COLLEGE, THE PRINCIPAL, WHO WAS A UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA GRADUATE, AND HE WORKED FOR THE CITY GOVERNMENT.

AND ONE THING LED TO ANOTHER, AND THEY GOT HIM INTO THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

KELLAR: WOW.

STEPHENSON: AND HE GRADUATED FIRST IN HIS CLASS.

IT WORKED.

ENDED UP STUDYING IN EUROPE, CAME BACK, STUDIED LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE.

AND THE OTHER THING, I THINK, HE ALWAYS WAS ABLE MAYBE BECAUSE HE'S AN ORPHAN AND ALWAYS NEEDED SOMEBODY TO HELP HIM OUT, HE ALWAYS SECURED A GREAT PATRON.

KELLAR: GOOD FOR HIM.

STEPHENSON: THERE WAS A SERIES OF MARY EMERYS IS ONE IN A SERIES OF PATRONS THAT HE GETS, BUT MAYBE THE GREATEST.

KELLAR: WELL, I DOUBT THAT HE HAD ONE BETTER THAN MARY EMERY.

STEPHENSON: NO.

KELLAR: THAT ONLY HAPPENS ONCE IN ONE LIFETIME.

OH, MY GOSH, THIS IS ALL SO INTERESTING.

I LOVE HEARING ABOUT ALL THESE PEOPLE AND THE BACKGROUNDS AND WHO THEY WERE AND HOW THEY CAME TO BE.

BUT WE ALL LOVE MARIEMONT, ALL CINCINNATIANS KNOW ABOUT MARIEMONT, AND IF THEY DON'T, THEY SHOULD TAKE A DRIVE OUT AND SEE WHAT MARIEMONT LOOKS LIKE.

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL, STILL, A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO LIVE.

AND WE HAVE MARY EMERY TO THANK FOR THAT, A GREAT CINCINNATIAN.

AND WE WANT YOU TO COME BACK BECAUSE YOU'VE BROUGHT US SOME REALLY INTERESTING THINGS TO THINK ABOUT.

AND WE HOPE YOU KEEP PLANNING AND WRITING.

HOW MANY BOOKS HAVE YOU WRITTEN?

STEPHENSON: FOUR.

KELLAR: FOUR, OKAY.

STEPHENSON: I'VE GOT ONE MORE IN ME.

KELLAR: AND YOU'VE GOT ONE MORE IN THE WORKS?

STEPHENSON: YES, IT'S CALLED THE CLANSMAN AND THE CITY PLAN: THOMAS DIXON, JOHN NOLEN, CONTRASTING VISIONS FOR A NEW NATION.

AND JOHN NOLEN'S FIRST COMMISSION WAS IN CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA.

HE'S NEVER BEEN TO THE SOUTH BEFORE.

HE'S THERE TO PLAN A PARK SYSTEM.

HIS SECOND NIGHT IN TOWN, THEY TAKE HIM TO SEE A PLAY CALLED THE CLANSMEN.

KELLAR: OH, MY GOSH.

STEPHENSON: WHICH WAS THE BEST SELLING NOVEL BY THOMAS DIXON.

SO JOHN NOLEN SEES THE PLAY THE CLANSMEN, AND GOES, "THIS IS AWFUL.

I CAN'T BELIEVE THE PEOPLE ARE CLAPPING."

AND THEY TAKE HIM OUT FOR DINNER AND THEY SEAT HIM NEXT TO THOMAS DIXON, THE AUTHOR.

AND SO NOLEN'S AGHAST AT THE RACISM.

AND I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT GIVING WHERE WE ARE AS A NATION TODAY TO UNDERSTAND.

BECAUSE THE OTHER THING JOHN NOLEN DID WHEN HE WAS A SOUTH, HE TOOK THE PLAN FOR MARIEMONT, THE WORKERS NEIGHBORHOOD, AND DESIGNED IT FOR BLACK WORKERS AS WELL.

SO HE'S TRYING TO MITIGATE JIM CROW.

SO THE NEW BOOK, I LOOK AT EACH CHAPTER, I LOOK AT THOMAS DIXON AND JOHN NOLEN, HOW THEY GO THROUGH LIFE AND COME UP WITH THESE TWO DIFFERENT VISIONS OF AMERICA.

KELLAR: I'M GOING TO GET THAT WHEN IT COMES OUT.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING.

YOU'RE JUST A FOUNTAIN OF KNOWLEDGE, AND WHAT YOU DO IS SO INTERESTING, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING MORE AND MORE FROM YOU.

AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

STEPHENSON: THANK YOU.

ANNOUNCER: JOIN US NEXT WEEK FOR ANOTHER EPISODE OF SHOWCASE WITH BARBARA KELLAR RIGHT HERE ON CET.