On this inaugural episode of the VCC Construction podcast, host Ben Thomas and first-ever guest VCC CEO Derek Alley broke down the modern city center, what it takes to plan, build and maintain them, and how they’ve evolved from those of the past.

VCC works on a variety of projects, including city centers. In the past, the term city center could’ve had a lot of different meanings, according to Alley. At one time, it probably meant something civic.

“The transition from a city center to multiple community centers is almost the best way to describe it,” Alley said. “As we’ve urbanized as a country and world, as the population has gotten into more dense areas, you find yourself having to think of it as a community center.”

When they’re thought of today, they’re approached from a public/private perspective and tailored to what the locals want to see. It comes down to having multiple connectivity aspects for the community – apartments, retail and civic. But, there isn’t any cookie-cutter approach to the modern city center.

“The reason is there is no cookie-cutter solution, and you can’t rinse and repeat, even though it’s what we’d like to do and wish we could do,” Alley said. “One is the nature of changing patron interest and demand. People are changing what they want a lot more quickly than in the past.”

Listen to the inaugural episode to hear more about contemporary urban centers.