TED Talks Daily - Why we should design cities like Disney | Zach DeBoer

Episode Date: October 2, 2026

Where you live shapes your relationships, your emotions and even how long you live, says community designer Zach DeBoer. After studying what a century of building cities around cars has done to downtowns in the US, he turned to lessons from some of the most walkable, carefully designed streets in the country: the ones inside Disney theme parks. With ideas ranging from narrower roads to buildings that pull you around the next corner, he offers a practical guide to turning ordinary downtowns into magical places people want to explore. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hume. During the pandemic, artist Zach DeBore fell down a very specific rabbit hole, watching hours and hours of videos about Disney theme parks, how they're built, their history, their design. But the more he watched, the more he saw something beyond escapism. To Zach, the parks presented a case study in what happens when human experience. is the top priority in designing a place. And that, he noticed, is usually the first thing cut in the real world. Nothing influences our lives more than place.

Our surroundings affect our relationships, emotions, habits, even how long we'll live. Zach works with what's called creative placemaking, or using art and design to transform the places people love. And in his talk, he asks a fun question. Why do these places only exist on vacation? What if we made our main streets more like, Main Street, USA. From density to walkability to what he calls magic,

Zach lays out concrete placemaking ideas that any town of any size could use to be a happier, healthier place to live. It might change the way you see your own Main Street. That's coming up right after a short break. And now our TED Talk of the Day. During the pandemic, I got really into watching videos about Disney theme parks, how they're built,

their history, upcoming developments, stuff like that. As I worked from home, I would even put on these long 4K video walkthroughs of the parks up on a second monitor and just let them play in the background like a window into another world. But it wasn't just the escapism that drew me to these places. As an artist, I saw the parks as unique studies of what happens when art, human experience, and emotion were the highest priority when it came to designing a place. In the real world, those are usually the first things cut from any budget. but at Disney theme parks, they were essential.

And because of this guests are able to immerse themselves in fantastical worlds and transcend their daily routines. They can embrace feelings of wonder and joy while creating lifelong memories with their family and friends. Too many Disney theme parks truly are the happiest place on earth. See, nothing influences our lives more than place. Our surroundings affect our relationships, emotions, habits, even how long we'll live.

So if we design place, places with care, purpose, with a human experience in mind, we can nurture well-being, foster creativity, and innovation, build stronger, more resilient communities. And while pockets of great places exist all over this country, most of America looks aesthetically bad. They're a drain on our physical, mental, and economic health. But our places weren't always like this.

American cities at the turn of the 20th century were designed for people to traverse, experience, and understand. work, food, school, whatever you might need was only a short walk or trolley ride away. Developments in street were smaller, and folks weren't as spread out as they are now. And that meant you were more likely to know your neighbors and be more engaged with what was going on in your community.

Downtown streets were shared by people, carriages, cyclists, and vendors. And as they grew larger, more diverse, cities would develop their own unique identities and cultures that became sources of pride for anyone that called it home. This wasn't like a new thing, for thousands of years across continents, this is how we built cities. But at the start of the 20th century,

the way we built our places in who or what they were built for would change dramatically due to one invention. From 1900 to 1915, the number of automobiles in America went from 8,000 to over 2 million. And while the first cars shared the road, it wasn't long before their dangerous high speeds and exhaust fumes drove vendors, cyclists, and people back onto the sidewalks.

The streets now belong solely to the car, but this would only be the first change to the American landscape it would be responsible for. And just like Disney's cars, the second one was even worse. The economic boom in America after World War II led to a series of disastrous experiments in urban planning that continue to affect us today.

The mass exodus of people from city centers to the suburbs on the edge of town, restrictive zoning laws that separated building uses and segregated people based on race or economic level. And destructive government-funded projects like highway expansions and urban renewal that demolished historic buildings,

erased entire city blocks, usually just for more places to park their cars. So instead of designing places for people, we were now designing them for vehicles. And that trend continues to this day, but on an even larger scale than before. And while over the past 30 years, we've seen the rebirth of many downtowns

and historic neighborhoods, we need to do better. small pockets of great places aren't enough and I think our communities deserve more. So as I said in my sweatpants watching my computer monitor longingly wanting to be in these places, I started to wonder why do these places only exist on vacation?

What if we made our main streets more like Main Street USA? So I want to share with you some ideas, techniques, and lessons from Disney theme parks that communities of any size can use to build better places. And so I've broken these ideas up into five different categories. Density, variety, walkability, theming, and of course magic. But let's start with density. Every Disney theme park is jam-packed with things to do and see.

Each land you visit is filled with a mix of rides, attractions, food, and all within a few yards of each other. And this makes it easier to immerse yourself in the land's theming and helps create a more lively engaging environment. Higher density places offer greater opportunities for interaction and social. But density isn't just about building community or making friends, say that. No, no, no. Denser places also make us more money. Not only do existing businesses benefit from denser development due to higher foot traffic, but because of their more efficient land use, cities see significantly higher return on investment from denser development too. Take this local example. When we look at Zanbrose and Walmart, at first, Walmart seems like the more value.

development. But just like when we look at a cars miles per gallon to determine its value, we need to look at this parcel's value per acre. So when we divide these numbers by the amount of streets and utilities it takes to serve the entire property, we can see that Zambrose is actually five times more valuable than Walmart. Downtown and denser developments are actually subsidizing the rest of the city. So now that we know why density matters, where and how do we start applying in our communities. It's impossible to spread these ideas out evenly across an entire city. So it's important to focus on places where things are already working, where people are already gathering. And usually that place is somewhere downtown.

So first we need to start by filling in the gaps. Vacant lots, empty storefronts, parking lots, they're sprinkled throughout downtowns. And while they may seem innocuous enough, their lack of life can repel people from exploring further on foot. And filling in these gaps with mixed-use buildings is the ideal first choice. But new construction or renovations can be expensive, and I know that's not always an option for some communities. So if money is a concern, there are plenty of other options that require smaller budgets that can make a big impact. Parklets, community gardens, outdoor stages, food trucks, along with regular programming, are a great way to take empty spaces and turn them into ones filled with life. They say variety

is the spice of life. Variety adds beauty, vibrancy, and interest to the built environment. Main Street USA is the perfect example of variety. Does it? of uniquely styled, colorful buildings, filled with different kinds of businesses, line the busy streets. And when used well, variety builds excitement. It makes people want to explore further.

And when used really well, variety builds excitement, makes people want to turn that next corner. So here's how we can add a little bit more variety to our places. First, mixed-use space is one of the best ways to activate your neighborhood 24-7 and keep them activated throughout the day.

Next, instead of multiple architects, designing these places over time, we now have a single developer building entire blocks at a time. Not only does this price out smaller developers, it also tends to make downtown feel more like an office park rather than the charming Main Streets we all know and love. Finally, using a variety of colors and styles is essential to creating engaging places.

By differentiating the look of your facades, you can create places that are much more interesting. In fact, Main Street USA is actually closer to a strip mall than it is to a traditional downtown street, but you'd never know it from the outside. So Disney theme parks are some of the most walkable pedestrian places on Earth. You're able to enjoy all these different places and attractions without having to worry about loading up your car,

driving through traffic, finding a place to park, and then doing it all over again when you want to go somewhere else. Beyond looking out for the occasional parade float, children are able to explore the environment freely and safely, which leads me why it's so important that we focus on making our streets more walkable. If someone you love is hit by a car going 40 miles an hour, they only have a 15% chance of surviving.

By changing the geometry of the streets through road diets, we can create places that naturally encourage safer driving. Here's where we can start. The wider the traffic lane, the faster the car. Traffic lanes inside city limits shouldn't be wider than 10 feet. They're usually 11 in Sioux Falls. Anything more than that encourages speeding. Converting four-lane roads into three-lane roads have been shown to actually improve traffic flow

and reduce the potential for accidents. In fact, one study showed that when they did this four-to-three conversion, accidents dropped by 47%. Painting your parking lane lines can visually shrink the streets and help slow-speeding traffic. A few years ago, I worked with the City of Sioux Falls to add parking lane lines on 18th Street between Minnesota Avenue and Avera Hospital, and the average speed dropped from 33, miles per hour to 28. And that might not seem like a lot, but remember that every little bit could mean the difference between life and death. Adding bumpouts and painting crosswalks at major intersections can shorten crossing distance between corners and give pedestrians greater visibility.

I would also like to point out smaller roads means less snow to plow and fewer potholes to fill each spring. Something to think about. Now that the roads are smaller, we have room to add more useful things like street trees, plants, bike lanes, and even-angled parking. And now we're getting to the fun stuff, all right? Theaming is the art of creating a cohesive and immersive environment that enhances the guest experience. Theaming is crucial to telling a land's story, setting the mood, and creating a unique sense of place.

But how do we theme a city? Every land, ride, and restaurant in a Disney theme park has a detailed backstory. Imagine history, and it's communicated through its layout, its architecture, its food, and a dozen other details you'll probably never even notice. But they all come together to form places with distinct identities. By preserving the history, buildings, and culture that made your community, the place it is today, is an essential part of creating unique spaces. One way we can do that is by preserving our existing places.

The houses, buildings, bridges, barns, even the trees around us create the settings for our life stories. And as the years go on, we've formed emotional connections with these things. So when they're torn down, we're also severing people's connection to their community and to their own past. So prioritize filling in your existing gaps before you start making new ones.

Disney parks are full of iconic buildings, structures, and they act as symbols for the parks. Due to their size and eye-catching designs, they act as beacons, urging guests forward. Inspired by the way his dog would follow him from room to room whenever he was snacking on a hot dog, Walt Disney would refer to these buildings as

weas. In Sioux Falls, it has no shortage of iconic weanies, like the old courthouse museum, the cathedral, the Ark of Dreams, were also home to an internationally famous weenie, the Statue of David. In rural towns, water towers, churches, silos, they can all act in that same purpose, like in Falkton, South Dakota,

where this amazing mural can be seen from miles away, and it's the envy of any town with a grain elevator. Speaking of murals, they're a great way to communicate at a place's identity. I paint a lot of murals in cities across South Dakota, and some of my favorite to do are these postcard ones, where I get to work with communities to showcase the history, places and people that make them unique, like the rodeo in Clear Lake or Centerville's zebra donuts.

City flags can represent a place's history, culture, and aspirations as well, and a well-designed flag can evoke a sense of pride and belonging in the people that live there. And there are few cities that have embraced their flag more than the city of Sioux Falls. Cities are filled with ugly stuff. When things like lights, speakers or outside buildings break the reality of land. It's theming. Disney uses a color called Go Away Green to make that item fade into the background and disappear.

And you can use color to hide things or make them part of the theme. You can also draw more attention to them by making them into artwork. The last category I want to talk about tonight's magic. And this one can be a little harder to define. Disney Magic is created by the combination of unique sights, sounds, and smells. smells, by the attention to detail and the energetic atmosphere found in every corner of the parks. Magic is the thing that keeps people coming back for more and makes them fall in love with a place. And we can make magic happen in our places in big and small ways.

Public art is great, but public art isn't just murals and statues, so why have a normal garbage can on the beach when you could feed it to a fish named Gabby? Or if you're pulling on a new sidewalk, why not add some local poetry? integrating art in a unique or unexpected way can turn ordinary cities into extraordinary ones. Street mystery is the term Disney uses for the various performers and sites you might see at the parks. Great places have energetic streets.

You can make your streets more active by adding outdoor seating or patios, hiring street musicians, or you can close down streets for special events like block parties or parades or farmers markets. Disney is not the only home, the only place that's home to iconic costume characters that generations of people know and love. Mascots from your city's sports teams and high schools as well as beloved TV personalities

can all play a part in developing a city's identity. And just like flags, they can become symbols of pride for communities too. Disney goes all out during holidays and celebrations with decorations, seasonal characters, limited time only food. In your community, little efforts like hanging some lights or tailgating before the big homecoming game, are ways to communicate to visitors and to the people that live there, that their town is alive and loved. And this is another place where I guess Steve Falls gets it right. When it comes to the holidays, we don't mess around.

Years before Disneyland opened, every Saturday, Walt would take his daughters around town for some quality time together. They visit amusement parks, playgrounds, carousels, which the girls loved, but Walt would inevitably find himself alone on a park bench with all the other adults watching their kids play. And he thought to himself, there should be something built

where parents and children could have fun together. Eventually, that idea evolved into Disneyland, a place where people of all ages could come together, create lasting memories, where imagination could become reality, where dreams could come true. But I want to challenge you to dream bigger than Walt Disney. These ideas don't have to stay on vacation.

If we design places with care, purpose, and for people, any community can become the happiest place on earth. Thank you, Sue Falls. You were listening to Zach DeBoer speaking at TEDx Sue Falls in 2023. If you're curious about Ted's curation, visit TED.com slash curation guidelines. And that's it for today. Ted Talks Daily is a podcast from TED. This episode was fact-checked by the TED research team and produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Lucy Little, Emma Tobner, and Tonzica, Sunglarnevon.

Additional support from Daniela Ballereseo, Christopher Faisi Bogan, Valentina Bohanini, Ban Ban-Ban-Chang, Brian Green, and Laney Latt. Learn more at podcasts.todd.com. I am Elise Hupe. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feet. Thanks for listening.