Dave Amos Delivers First Hyde Lecture of the Spring Semester

Cal Poly assistant professor of planning and popular YouTube influencer, Dave Amos, will be delivering the next Hyde Lecture entitled “Planning Education in the YouTube Era” at 4 p.m., February 3, Architecture Hall West, room 127.

Amos is a planning professor at Cal Poly by day and a planning YouTuber by night, producing City Beautiful. Amos realized his lectures could become great videos. So, in January 2017, he produced his very first video titled, “Why do so Many U.S. Cities have Gridded Streets?” which took four months to make.  Amos manages the City Beautiful Channel with a mission to teach people about the places they live. The channel answers common urban planning questions, exploring why cities are designed the way they are, like why housing is in one area and businesses in another. This curiosity has attracted 680,000 subscribers and 80 million views, with 60-65% of the audience being international.

For this lecture, Amos will explore the different ways social media platforms like YouTube have changed how ideas and knowledge are shared especially for the field of city planning. A single idea can be turned into a video and distributed to millions. This presentation discusses the impact of this democratization of knowledge. How will it change how planners conduct outreach and how professors train future city planners?

About the Hyde Lecture Series:
The Hyde Lecture Series is an endowed, public program hosted by the College of Architecture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Each year, the series invites leading experts from architecture, interior design, landscape architecture and planning to present on topics that inspire thought-provoking discussions. The 2024-2025 Hyde Lecture Series is centered on the theme “TRAJECTORIES,” focusing on the varied and complex career paths within and adjacent to the design and planning fields. These lectures provide a unique opportunity for students, professionals and the public to engage with top industry leaders and explore diverse career possibilities in the design disciplines.