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Urban Roots is Urbanist Media’s award-winning narrative documentary podcast that preserves places through story. 

The podcast began in 2020, when Deqah Hussein-Wetzel, a Cincinnati-based historic preservationist focused on preserving places significant to people of color, joined forces with Vanessa Maria Quirk, a New York-based cities journalist. Deqah was all too familiar with the ways that top-down, systemic, and racist decisions have left communities of color bereft of the physical assets that were once/are still meaningful to them — and wasn’t shocked to find that fewer than 2% of sites on the National Register of Historic Places pertained to African American History. She started the podcast not just to raise awareness around the need to preserve physical places significant to women and people of color  — the tangible artifacts of history — but to preserve the intangible stories of the people who gave these places meaning. Oftentimes in communities of color, these stories are the only remnants left.

Urban Roots is unique in that, for each episode, we partner with local organizations to find community members who can guide us to the stories of people/places most in need of preservation. We also highlight people across the country doing the multi-generational work of equitable preservation-based development. We give voice to these folks on the ground who are working to protect their communities, redress the inequities of the past, and build a more inclusive future. 

We’re always on the hunt for partners to help us tell little-known stories of underrepresented and marginalized groups  — and how they’re navigating preservation and equitable development today. 

Have an idea or want to collaborate with or sponsor us? Email us at urbanrootspodcast@gmail[dot]com