Talking Headways Podcast: Cities on a Hill
This week we’re joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Francis Fitzgerald to talk about her 1986 book, Cities on a Hill. We discuss the different “visionary” communities described in the book, including Rajneeshpuram in Oregon, San Francisco’s Castro district, Sun City retirement communities, and Jerry Falwell’s moral majority in Lynchburg, Virginia. Francis also talks about living in New York City and restaurant culture in Vietnam.
By
Jeff Wood
10:45 AM PST on January 20, 2017
This week we’re joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Francis Fitzgerald to talk about her 1986 book, Cities on a Hill. We discuss the different “visionary” communities described in the book, including Rajneeshpuram in Oregon, San Francisco’s Castro district, Sun City retirement communities, and Jerry Falwell’s moral majority in Lynchburg, Virginia. Francis also talks about living in New York City and restaurant culture in Vietnam.
Fitzgerald’s latest book, The Evangelicals, is out April 4.
More from Streetsblog California
The Week in Short Video
Not all cameras are equal, BRT construction in LA, America's love affair with cars is ending, slow trains in SF, and the frustration of returning money for better bikeways in SD.
October 30, 2026
Friday Video: The Three Ingredients to a Great Trick-or-Treating Neighborhood
...and how your neighborhood can use good planning and community engagement to get more walkable long past spooky season.
October 29, 2026
Choudri Announces Resignation at California High-Speed Rail Authority
Streetsblog offers a timeline of Choudri's mostly-positive but uneven tenure
October 29, 2026
SGV Celebrates New Fullerton Road Rail Grade Separation
After ten years of grade separation work, the road will reopen to drivers in a matter of days, with a dedication to former Congressmember Grace Napolitano.
October 29, 2026