What is The Future for Cities?: Recent Episodes
Fanni Melles
WTF for Cities? is a platform to introduce and connect people who are actively and consciously working on the future of cities and to introduce research about the future of cities.
"We are becoming more and more e-centric."
Are you interested in telecommunication technologies changing basically everything? What do you include in the term infrastructure? How can we serve people’s needs better?
Interview with Ryan Jeffery, Director at Passionate About OSS. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, opportunities with telecommunication technologies, human progress, balance in regulations, and many more.
Ryan Jeffery is the founder and director at PassionateAboutOSS as a seasoned telecommunications and IT executive with over 15 years of global experience, particularly in the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions. His expertise spans various technologies, making him a sought-after professional for both governmental and private sector projects. Ryan has led design teams and managed projects for prestigious organizations like Telstra, SingTel-Optus, Alcatel-Lucent, and Motorola, among others. Known for his excellent communication and a blend of interpersonal, technical, and strategic skills, he specializes in Network Management Systems / Operational Support Systems (NMS / OSS) and the architecture of converged networks.
Find out more about Ryan through these links:
- Ryan Jeffery on LinkedIn;
- Passionate About OSS website;
- Passionate About OSS blog by Ryan Jeffery;
- Passionate About OSS podcast by Ryan Jeffery;
- Passionate About OSS Youtube channel;
- Mastering your OSS - book by Ryan Jeffery;
- Digital transformation: Simplified - book by Ryan Jeffery
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.138 - Interview with Luis Natera about consciously choosing where to live;
- No.188 - Interview with Rod Matthew about microgrids;
- No.222 - Interview with Adam Dorr about technological progress and disruptions;
- No.229R - Beyond smart: How ICT is enabling sustainability cities of the future;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how information systems help sustainability?
Our summary today works with the article titled Beyond smart: How ICT is enabling sustainable cities of the future from 2023 by Hanifa Shah, published in Sustainability journal.
This is a great preparation to our next interview with Ryan Jeffery in episode 230 talking about the information and communication technologies’ effects on urban development.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how ICT can help the creation of smart sustainable cities. This article presents information and communication technologies, also known as ICTs, in a role supporting sustainability in smart cities, promoting effective collaboration and avoiding self-serving outcomes.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- ICT can support sustainability in smart cities, but it must be integrated across all sectors and aligned with clear sustainability goals.
- Effective alignment of ICT and sustainability requires shared understanding and collaboration between local government, ICT firms, and citizens.
- Smart city initiatives should prioritize clarity, strong leadership, embedding sustainability in contracts, and enabling citizen participation to ensure ICT genuinely promotes sustainability rather than self-interests.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Cities around the world face pressing sustainability challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity, and unsustainable growth. Smart cities have emerged as a response to these challenges, leveraging information and communication technologies (ICTs) to create more efficient and liveable urban environments. However, the concept of smart cities is often defined in vague and ideologically driven terms that lack clear guidelines for promoting sustainability. In this study, we use qualitative methods to examine how the use of ICTs can support the goals of sustainability in smart city development, resulting in what we call a ‘smart sustainable city’. Drawing on a case study involving stakeholder analysis, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis, we investigate the key roles of local government, ICT firms, and citizens in shaping sustainable urban development through smart city initiatives. Our findings shed light on the potential of ICTs to promote sustainability in smart cities and provide insights for policymakers, practitioners, and scholars working towards creating more sustainable urban environments. The findings of this research showed that ICT’s role in supporting sustainability in smart cities relies on understanding the interests and priorities of civic, ICT firms, and citizens, promoting effective collaboration and avoiding self-serving outcomes.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.002R - Intelligent cities;
- No.032R - Smart city implementation and discourses;
- No.070R - Citizen-centred big data analysis-driven governance intelligence framework for smart cities;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in telecommunication technologies changing basically everything? What do you include in the term infrastructure? How can we serve people’s needs better?
Trailer for episode 230 - interview with Ryan Jeffery, Director at Passionate About OSS. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, opportunities with telecommunication technologies, human progress, balance in regulations, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"Everyone and everything has a contribution to make"
Are you interested in the city as a social construct? What do you think about the magic of the city? How can we use emotional intelligence for better urban futures?
Interview with Dr Dominique Hes, regenerative development thinker, educator, author and researcher. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, cities capturing people, social constructs, truth, fragility and many more.
Dr Dominique Hes has 25 years experience in green building and development innovation, she is chair of the board at Greenfleet and Zero Carbon Buildings Lead at the City of Melbourne which controls property assets valued at over $4.1 billion. She is also on the Circular Economy Ministerial Advisory Committee and previously helped found the board of the Living Futures Institute of Australia. Dominique mixes theory and thinking, with a demonstrated history of working in the building industries in the fields of sustainability, regenerative development, systems thinking, environmental issues, place-making, industrial ecology, LCA, Eco-Design and project management. She holds degrees in science, engineering and a Phd in architecture and is an author and editor of 6 books and over 100 papers and reports. Her main contribution is to think about how we can contribute to the well-being and thriving of place, people and planet.
In case you would like to hear about the Internal Family System from Tim Ferriss, please, check out this link.
Find out more about Dominique through these links:
- Dr Dominique Hes on LinkedIn;
- @Dominique_Hes as Dr Dominique Hes on X;
- Dr Dominique Hes at The University of Melbourne;
- Dr Dominique Hes at Future of Cities;
- Dr Dominique Hes on Google Scholar;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.020R - Antifragile;
- No.171 - Interview with Nicole Garofano about circular economy;
- No.210 - Interview with Pearl Ng about regenerative economy;
- No.227R - Regenerative development and transition thinking;
What was your answer to her exercise in imagining yourself in theforest?
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in regenerative development?
Our summary today works with the chapter titled Regenerative development and transitions thinking from 2018 by Dominique Hes and Lars Coenen, part of the Enabling Eco-cities book, published by Springer.
This is a great preparation to our next interview with Dominique Hes in episode 228 talking about regenerative urban development and thinking.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see what regenerative development is. This chapter presents regenerative development as a whole systems approach to make both people and nature stronger, more vibrant and more resilient.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Regenerative development is a holistic approach that aims to enhance the resilience and vitality of both people and their environments by understanding the unique essence and needs of a place.
- Smart Specialisation is a strategy that can operationalize regenerative development by focusing on place-based, participatory, and experimental approaches to foster innovation and economic development.
- Successful regenerative development and Smart Specialisation initiatives demonstrate the importance of engaging local stakeholders, building on regional strengths, and adapting to changing circumstances.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: Regenerative development is a whole systems approach that partners people and their places, working to make both people and nature stronger, more vibrant and more resilient. It aims to increase the vitality, viability and adaptability of a place through understanding its story, its flows and how developing positive relationships enhance the potential of all stakeholders. Key to working regeneratively in an eco-city is understanding the essence of place and what needs to be strengthened to enable adaptation through future change. Smart specialisation is a process through which understandings of the socio-technical potential of the system can seed entrepreneurial opportunities and new positive relationships. When this is broadened to the social-ecological perspective underpinned by regenerative development, it can guide our transition to a thriving eco-city.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.043R - Shifting from sustainability to regeneration;
- No. 150P - What is academia's role in establishing the future of cities? Panel conversation on regeneration, among others;
- No.195R - How can urban regeneration reduce carbon emissions?;
You can find the transcript through thislink.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 228 - interview with Dr Dominique Hes, regenerative development thinker, educator, author and researcher. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, cities capturing people, social constructs, truth, fragility and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"Councils are the curators of cities."
Are you interested in councils as the curators of cities? What do you think about the requirements of a good place? How can we improve cities with small steps?
Interview with Bruce Marshall, the Coordinator Economic Development & Smart Cities at Maribyrnong City Council. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, smart communities, good spaces, using data strategically, and many more.
Bruce Marshall is the Coordinator Economic Development and Smart Cities at Maribyrnong City Council in Melbourne's Inner West, and is also currently the President of the Australian Smart Communities Association (ASCA). His team at Maribyrnong delivers a range of business support and economic development programs and he has responsibility for driving the municipality's Smart City program. Over his 14 years working in the Local Government sector Bruce has had a number of roles relating to Economic Development, Investment Attraction, Place Making, Visitor Economy promotion and more recently in Smart Cities. Whilst still relatively new to the Smart Cities space, he is passionate about exploring how Smart City initiatives can play an active role in place making, place activation and improving the convenience and quality of life for residents. Prior to Local Government he ran a small business in the international tourism sector, and previously lived and worked in Japan for nearly 4 years.
Find out more about Bruce through these links:
- Bruce Marshall on LinkedIn;
- Australian Smart Communities Association (ASCA) website;
- Bruce Marshall at ASCA;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.051 - Interview with Laura Summers about the serendipity of cities;
- No.138 - Interview with Luis Natera about vehicles in the urban context;
- No.156 - Interview with Fanni Melles about smartness being improvement and adaptability;
- No.225R - Positioning place-making as a social process
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in place-making processes?
Our summary today works with the article titled Positioning place-making as a social process: A systematic literature review from 2021 by Poeti Nazura Gulfira Akbar and Jurian Edelenbos, published in the Cogent Social Sciences journal.
This is a great preparation to our next interview with Bruce Marshall in episode 226 talking about place-making as the process of bringing out the magic of the place.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how place-making can be viewed as a social process instead of product oriented. This article investigates the variety of approaches, influential factors and outcomes of place-making.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Place-making has shifted from a product-oriented focus by urban designers to a process-oriented, multi-stakeholder approach involving local communities.
- Place-making can be influenced by four main factors: resident-related, local organization-related, government-related, and physical-spatial factors.
- Place-making can lead to positive social outcomes such as local empowerment, stronger social ties, enhanced place identity, and improved quality of life when local needs are considered.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: This systematic review discusses the shifted paradigm in the place-making concept, from being focused on physical changes in the environment (product-oriented) created by urban planners, towards place-making as an iterative process that involves various actors other than the planning professionals. Despite this conceptual re-orientation that was emerged in the 1960s, important discussions, such as factors that support or obstruct the process of place-making are often mentioned incidentally in publications without being systematically analysed across cases. Therefore, this paper aims to bring a better overview of the concept of place-making as a process by combining theoretical and empirical research in the planning context. To achieve this aim, a systematic literature review of 61 articles published between 1960 and 2016 has been used. This research demonstrates a variety of approaches, influential factors, and outcomes of place-making. It points out the importance to take into considerations the interplays among the roles of actors, along with physical-spatial elements of places. These factors should be acknowledged in combination with the others, rather than being treated as unidimensional. Such circumstances not only lead to viable place-making but also bring positive social impacts to local communities, especially on gaining local empowerment, enhancing social ties, reinforcing place identity, and increasing quality of life.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.078 - Interview with Ammon Beyerle about placemaking in architectural practice;
- No.159 - Interview with Michael Browne about Indigenous culture and place-making;
- No.228 - Interview with Dominique Hes about spatial empowerment
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 226 - interview with Bruce Marshall, the Coordinator Economic Development & Smart Cities at Maribyrnong City Council. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, smart communities, good spaces, using data strategically, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"If you don't create a culture for making the things, then you lose out on everyone that engages with the things."
Are you interested in continuous urban change? What do you think about mobility tools beside cars? How can we create pleasant cities?
Interview with Julian O’Shea, researcher, content creator and designer. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, emission reductions, apartment living, continuous urban change, and many more.
Dr Julian O'Shea is a researcher, educator and social entrepreneur. He is a Lecturer in the School of Media, Film and Journalism at Monash University. He is a video storyteller on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok where he creates educational videos about design, cities and his home of Melbourne, Australia. Julian completed his PhD in the Mobility Design Lab at Monash University where he researched urban design, micromobility and outreach. He holds qualifications in engineering design and business, and is a Fulbright Scholar and was named the Australian YouTube Breakout Creator of the Year.
Find out more about Julian through these links:
- Julian O'Shea on LinkedIn;
- @julianoshea as Julian O'Shea on X;
- Julian O'Shea on Youtube;
- Julian O'Shea website;
- Julian O'Shea on Instagram;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.117 - Interview with Colin Chee about small footprint living;
- No.123 - Interview with Alex Louey about scooters;
- No.223R - Creativity, cities, and innovation
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in the connection between creative industries and cities?
Summary of the article titled Creativity, cities and innovation from 2014 by Neil Lee and Andrés Rogríguez-Pose, published in the Environment and Planning A journal.
This is a great preparation to our next interview with Julian O’Shea in episode 224 talking about the importance of creative people in cities.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see the link between creative industries, occupations and the innovation within cities. This article investigates the effects of creative industries and creative occupations on cities.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Creativity is crucial for economic innovation, with creative occupations across various sectors playing a key role in fostering innovation, challenging the traditional focus on urban creative industries alone.
- There is no strong empirical evidence supporting the notion that urban settings, particularly larger cities, have a distinct advantage in driving innovation within creative industries and occupations.
- Policies that support creative roles across both urban and rural settings are needed, emphasizing the universal importance of creative occupations in enhancing innovation, rather than focusing solely on location-based advantages.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: The creative industries have long been seen as an innovative sector. More recent research posits that creative occupations are also a fundamental, but overlooked, driver of innovation. Theory also suggests cities are important for both creative industries and occupations, with urban environments helping firms innovate. Yet little empirical work has considered the links between creative industries, occupations, cities, and innovation at the firm level. This paper addresses this gap using a sample of over 9000 UK SMEs. Our results stress that creative industries firms are more likely to introduce original product innovations, but not those learnt from elsewhere. Creative occupations, however, appear a more robust general driver of innovation. We find no support for the hypothesis that urban creative industries firms are particularly innovative. However, creative occupations are used in cities to introduce product innovations learnt elsewhere. The results suggest that future work needs to seriously consider the importance of occupations in empirical studies of innovation.
Connecting episodes you might interested in:
- No.002R - Intelligent cities: Variable geometries of spatial intelligence;
- No.041R - A 100 smart cities, a 100 utopias;
- No.076R - Smart innovative cities: The impact of smart city policies on urban innovation;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 224 - interview with Julian O’Shea, researcher, content creator and designer. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, emission reductions, apartment living, continuous urban change, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"What must accompany our technological progress and advancement is also advancements in our wisdom."
Are you interested in a research and evidence-based brighter future vision? What do you think about technological disruptions? How can we harness the current extraordinary moment in human history?
Interview Adam Dorr, the Director of Research at RethinkX. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, disruptive versus transformative technologies, progress in human wisdom, optimism, and many more.
Adam Dorr is the Director of Research at the independent think tank RethinkX. He is an environmental social scientist and technology theorist whose recent RethinkX publications have focused on the disruption of the global energy sector by new energy generation and storage technologies, as well as the implications of the energy, transportation, and food disruptions for climate change. Adam regularly presents on stage, radio, podcasts, and television. He completed his MS at the University of Michigan's School for the Environment and Sustainability and his PhD at UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs.
Find out more about Adam through this link:
- Adam Dorr on LinkedIn;
- @adam_dorr as Adam Dorr on X;
- RethinkX website;
- RethinkX on LinkedIn;
- @rethink_x as RethinkX on X;
- RethinkX on YouTube;
- Brighter - book of Adam Dorr;
- Brighter playlist on YouTube;
- Adam Dorr on Google Scholar;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.120 - Interview with Matt Ferrell about sci-fi induced space enthusiasm;
- No.178R - Brighter (book summary);
- No.221R - Rethinking humanity (research summary);
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in rethinking the future?
Summary of the article titled Rethinking the future: The path to freedom from 2020 by James Arbib and Tony Seba, published on the RethinkX website.
This is a great preparation to our next interview with Adam Dorr in episode 222 talking about rethinking the future in a brighter way.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see whether a new organising system could help avoid societal collapse in the future. This article investigates changes, choices, challenges and opportunities for a new system with extraordinary potentials to emerge.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Our society faces a critical choice between clinging to outdated systems and risking collapse, or embracing new systems that adapt to modern challenges and technologies, potentially eradicating poverty and improving global quality of life.
- Historically, societies often resist change until it's too late, leading to collapse, thus embracing change and avoiding the inertia of old systems is crucial for avoiding a dystopian future where power is concentrated in the hands of a few.
- For the first time in history, we have the chance to proactively create a new organizing system before our current one fails which involves rethinking our current systems, encouraging flexible and adaptable new approaches, and managing a potentially tumultuous transition to ensure a fair and prosperous future.
You can find the article through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.101R - What we owe the future (book summary)
- No.178R - Brighter (book summary)
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in a research and evidence-based brighter future vision? What do you think about technological disruptions? How can we harness the current extraordinary moment in human history?
Trailer for episode 222 - interview Adam Dorr, the Director of Research at RethinkX. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, disruptive versus transformative technologies, progress in human wisdom, optimism, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"It's not just what will happen, it's what needs to happen."
Are you interested in bees and their contribution to cities? What do you think about integrating First Nations’ knowledge into our urban management? How can we learn from bees about the environment?
Interview with Simon Burt, the co-founder of LB Agtech – the Location Based Agricultural Technology company. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, bees, urban food production, education about bees, and many more.
Simon Burt is an entrepreneur and co-founder focused on making a difference through applied solutions. He is a keen customer advocate and committed to making a significant impact by utilising technology in the agriculture sector. Simon is committed to environmentally friendly farming practices and developing carbon-neutral solutions into the future. Simon is hands-on through all business processes and specialises in production management, stakeholder engagement and sustainable farming practices. With 20 years of experience in starting and running companies, he knows that you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with. With a passion for farming and people, it's with great pleasure Simon is actively involved and dedicated to being a leader and leaving a legacy.
Find out more about Simon through these links:
- Simon Burt on LinkedIn;
- LB Agtech website;
- LB Agtech on LinkedIn;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.159 - Interview with Michael Browne about Aboriginal values in the urban context
- No.171 - Interview with Nicole Garofano about circular economy;
- No.219R
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in why bees matter for cities?
Summary of the article titled Why bees are critical for achieving sustainable development? from 2021 by Vidushi Patel, Natasha Pauli, Eloise Biggs, Liz Barbour, and Bryan Boruff, published in Ambio – A Journal of Environment and Society.
This is a great preparation to our next interview with Simon Burt in episode 220 talking about bees and their connection to cities.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how bees contribute to sustainable development. This article investigates the threats of bee population reductions and the broader importance of bees to sustainable development beyond their role in promoting food security and biodiversity.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Bees play a crucial role in pollination, directly impacting food security, biodiversity, and sustainable agriculture by supporting the pollination of a wide array of crops and wild plants.
- The decline in bee populations due to habitat loss, pesticides, and climate change poses a significant threat to their ecological benefits, highlighting the urgent need for conservation efforts to protect these vital pollinators.
- Bees contribute to achieving 15 of the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), underscoring their broad importance beyond pollination to include economic, environmental, and social dimensions of sustainable development.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Reductions in global bee populations are threatening the pollination benefits to both the planet and people. Whilst the contribution of bee pollination in promoting sustainable development goals through food security and biodiversity is widely acknowledged, a range of other benefits provided by bees has yet to be fully recognised. We explore the contributions of bees towards achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our insights suggest that bees potentially contribute towards 15 of the 17 SDGs and a minimum of 30 SDG targets. We identify common themes in which bees play an essential role, and suggest that improved understanding of bee contributions to sustainable development is crucial for ensuring viable bee systems.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.101R - What we owe the future (book summary);
- No.178R - Brighter: Optimism, progress and the future of environmentalism (book summary);
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 220 - interview with Simon Burt, the co-founder of LB Agtech – the Location Based Agricultural Technology company. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, bees, urban food production, education about bees, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"We need to actually able to see what's happening to be able to enhance forecasting for that location."
Are you interested in weather systems? What do you think about the science behind meteorology? How can we get better weather predictions?
Interview with Jane Bunn, founder and CEO of Jane’s Weather. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, a meteorologist’s journey, the science behind weather forecasts, and many more.
Jane Bunn is a qualified meteorologist from Melbourne with an infectious enthusiasm for talking about the weather. Jane is Founder and CEO of Jane's Weather, a platform that applies machine learning and artificial intelligence to the best performing global weather models along with hyper local observations, to produce specific weather forecasts for use in the decision-making process of commercial operations, in agriculture, energy, construction and other industries. Jane has over fifteen years of experience forecasting the weather in Australia and the US.
Find out more about Jane through these links:
- Jane Bunn on LinkedIn;
- @JaneBunn as Jane Bunn on X;
- Jane's Weather website;
- Jane's Weather on LinkedIn;
- Jane Bunn on Youtube;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.015 - Interview with Luke Housego about data management;
- No.217R
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how weather impacts our urban live?
Summary of the article titled Climate change and health in cities: impacts of heat and air pollution and potential co-benefits from mitigation and adaptation from 2011 by Sharon L Harlan and Darren M Ruddell, published in the Environmental Sustainability journal.
This is a great preparation to our next interview with Jane Bunn in episode 218 talking about weather and its impacts on human health.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how climate change is affecting public health. This article investigates the combined effects of heat, air pollution, and climate change in cities, and explores potential health benefits of implementing mitigation and adaptation strategies in urban planning.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Climate change exacerbates health risks in urban areas, with heat exposure and air pollution identified as significant threats to public health.
- Urban mitigation and adaptation strategies, including green infrastructure and efficient public transportation, can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and offer substantial health co-benefits.
- Implementing these strategies faces challenges, including financial constraints and the need for multi-sectoral collaboration, underscoring the importance of continued research and targeted interventions to protect vulnerable populations.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Excess morbidity and mortality related to extremely hot weather and poor air quality are found in cities worldwide. This is a major public health concern for cities now and looking toward the future because the interactions of global climate change, urban heat islands, and air pollution are predicted to place increasing health burdens on cities. The proposed mitigation and adaptation strategies in cities’ climate risk management plans may produce health co-benefits by reducing emissions and cooling temperatures through changes in the built environment. There are challenges, however, to implementing the plans and the most widely documented beneficial policy to date is the adoption of heat warning and air quality alert systems to trigger emergency responses.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.069 - Interview with Dr Éva Kereszty about urban public health;
- No.095R - Housing as a social determinant of health and wellbeing;
- No.136R - An analysis of the legal framework influencing walking in Australia;
- No.193R - Transforming our cities;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 218 - interview with Jane Bunn, founder and CEO of Jane’s Weather. We will talk about her vision for the future of cities, a meteorologist’s journey, the science behind weather forecasts, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"What is my role in mitigating the climate impact?"
Are you interested in the donut economy of cities? What do you think about the city as the outside living room? How can we create proper density?
Interview with Sara Stace, urban shaper, strategic thinker and innovator of cities. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, land use and transport planning, donut economics, professional responsibility, and many more.
Sara Stace is a city shaper who thinks about the interplay between cities, land use and urban transport. She is WSP Australia's Regional Executive for Infrastructure Advisory providing advice on urban policy, economic business cases and decarbonisation. Over the past 25 years, Sara has worked for federal, state and local government, as well as the private sector. This includes six years as Director of National Urban Policy for Infrastructure Australia and leading walking and cycling strategy at Transport for NSW. She has written and co-authored 20 publications including for the United Nations and Australian Government.
Find out more about Sara and her thinking through these links:
- Sara Stace on LinkedIn;
- @sara_stace as Sara Stace on X;
- Cities at WSP;
- Sara Stace at WSP;
- Sara Stace at Better Streets;
- Doughnut for Urban Development - a manual (2023), by Hill-Hansen, Jensen et al, Danish Architectural Press,
- Amsterdam City Doughnut | DEAL (doughnuteconomics.org)
- Infrastructure Victoria | Victoria's cities must be more compact and….
- Publications – Melbourne's challenges in the face of outer suburb growth (sgsep.com.au)
- Our home choices (infrastructurevictoria.com.au)
- Carbon budgets and new infrastructure development (decarbon8.org.uk)
- Transport Sector Note on Applying the World Bank Group Paris Alignment Assessment Methods
- Postgrowth City Podcast;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.182 - Interview with Ted Baillieu about professionals to speak up;
- No.194 - Interview with Oliver Stoltz about giving streets back to pedestrians
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in translating doughnut economics to urban development?
Summary of the manual titled The Doughnut for Urban Development – A Manual from 2023 by Dani Hill-Hansen and Kasper Guldager Jensen, published in The Danish Architectural Press.
This is a great preparation to our next interview with Sara Stace in episode 216 talking about the urban development transformation and highlighting the doughnut as possibility.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see what doughnut economics is and how it can be implemented in urban development. This manual establishes a framework that balances human needs with the Earth’s ecological limits.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Doughnut Economics at the heart of urban development can advocate for a balanced approach that meets human needs within ecological limits.
- Building urban environments that are socially equitable and ecologically regenerative are critically important, and the manual highlights specific strategies to achieve these goals.
- Collective action and innovative practices are needed to steer urban development towards sustainability and equity.
You can find the Manual through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.067R - Theoretical underpinnings of regenerative sustainability;
- No.209R - Regenerative economies;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 216 - interview with Sara Stace, urban shaper, strategic thinker and innovator of cities. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, land use and transport planning, donut economics, professional responsibility, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"How do we make our future civilisation community focused?"
Are you interested in space cities? What do you think about people as the urban nervous system? How can we create better futures with intention?
Interview with Anders Sandberg, Senior Research Fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, smart city, augmented reality, physical laws influencing planning, and many more.
Anders Sandberg has a background in computational neuroscience and mathematical modelling, but has for more than a decade worked in the philosophy faculty of University of Oxford doing research on topics such as the ethics and social impact of human enhancement, emerging technology, global catastrophic and existential risks, applied epistemology, and analysing the far future. Anders’ research at the Future of Humanity Institute centres on management of low-probability high-impact risks, estimating the capabilities of future technologies, and very long-range futures. Topics of particular interest include global catastrophic risk, cognitive biases, cognitive enhancement, collective intelligence, neuroethics, and public policy. His research is extremely interdisciplinary, often combines hard science with philosophy, uses quantitative methods to understand qualitative issues, and typically deals with under-researched topics.
Find out more about Anders through these links:
- Anders Sandberg on LinkedIn;
- @anderssandberg as Anders Sandberg on X;
- Anders Sandberg at the Future of Humanity Institute;
- Anders Sandberg at University of Oxford;
- Anders Sandberg website;
- Anders Sandberg on Google Scholar;
- Anders Sandberg on Wikipedia;
- Anders Sandberg at The Conversation;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.090 - Interview with Professor Matthew McCartney about externalities and economics;
- No.111 - Interview with Dave Hakkens about questioning the idea of the city;
- No.138 - Interview with Luis Natera about consciously choosing where to live
- No.213R - Defence in depth against human extinction: prevention, response, resilience, and why they all matter;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in existential risks?
Summary of the article titled Defence in depth against human extinction: prevention, response, resilience, and why they all matter from 2020 by Owen Cotton-Barratt, Max Daniel, and Anders Sandberg, published in the Global Policy journal.
This is a great preparation to our next interview with Anders Sandberg in episode 214 talking about the humanity’s existential risks, among others.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see what can jeopardise humanity’s, and thus cities’ future. This article investigates the classification of existential risks to help prepare for those.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- To effectively manage extinction risks, it's essential to invest in three defence layers: prevention, response, and resilience, ensuring comprehensive risk management across different stages of potential catastrophic events.
- Identifying and categorizing the origins and scaling mechanisms of risks, including natural disasters, technological advancements, and human actions, are crucial for developing targeted interventions and policy recommendations.
- Strengthening global governance and cooperation among nations, alongside focusing on underlying risk factors such as global interdependencies, is vital for enhancing humanity's overall defences against existential threats.
Check out the article through this link.
Abstract: We look at classifying extinction risks in three different ways, which affect how we can intervene to reduce risk. First, how does it start causing damage? Second, how does it reach the scale of a global catastrophe? Third, how does it reach everyone? In all of these three phases there is a defence layer that blocks most risks: First, we can prevent catastrophes from occurring. Second, we can respond to catastrophes before they reach a global scale. Third, humanity is resilient against extinction even in the face of global catastrophes. The largest probability of extinction is posed when all of these defences are weak, that is, by risks we are unlikely to prevent, unlikely to successfully respond to, and unlikely to be resilient against. We find that it’s usually best to invest significantly into strengthening all three defence layers. We also suggest ways to do so tailored to the classes of risk we identify. Lastly, we discuss the importance of underlying risk factors – events or structural conditions that may weaken the defence layers even without posing a risk of immediate extinction themselves.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.088R - The costs and benefits of environmental sustainability;
- No.101R - What we owe the future?;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in space cities? What do you think about people as the urban nervous system? How can we create better futures with intention?
Trailer for episode 214 - interview with Anders Sandberg, Senior Research Fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, smart city, augmented reality, physical laws influencing planning, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"Data is becoming the most valuable asset of the 21st century."
Are you interested in the future of cities as the future of humanity? What do you think about space exploration as the next evolutionary step? How can we think about the smart city as an outcome?
Interview with Dr Jonathan Reichental, CEO of Human Future, professor and advisor. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, smart city, uncontrollable progress, autonomous vehicles, kids books, and many more.
Dr. Jonathan Reichental is a multiple-award-winning technology and business leader whose career has spanned both the private and public sectors. He’s been a senior software engineering manager, a director of technology innovation, and has served as chief information officer at both O’Reilly Media and the City of Palo Alto, California. Reichental is currently the founder of advisory, investment, and education firm, Human Future, and also creates online education for LinkedIn Learning. He has written three books on the future of cities: Smart Cities for Dummies, Exploring Smart Cities Activity Book for Kids, and Exploring Cities Bedtime Rhymes. His latest books include Data Governance for Dummies and a Cryptocurrency QuickStart Guide.
Find out more about Jonathan:
- Jonathan Reichental on LinkedIn;
- @Reichental as Jonathan Reichental on X;
- Jonathan Reichental website
- Human Future website;
- Smart Cities for Dummies;
- Exploring Smart Cities Activity Book for Kids;
- Exploring Cities Bedtime Rhymes;
- Exploring Cities Bedtime Rhymes Hindi Edition;
- Data Governance for Dummies;
- Cryptocurrency QuickStart Guide;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.101R - What we owe the future (book summary);
- No.174 - Interview with Aapo Huovila about smart and sustainable cities;
- No.211R - Smart cities for dummies;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in smart city implementation?
Summary of the book titled Smart Cities for Dummies from 2020 by Jonathan Reichental.
This is a great preparation to our next interview with Jonathan Reichental in episode 212 talking about smart city as an outcome.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how to implement smart cities. This book investigates the concept of smart cities and the steps required to establish one.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Smart cities enhance urban living by leveraging technology for sustainability and efficiency, focusing on innovations in transportation, energy, waste management, and climate response.
- The implementation of smart city initiatives requires flexible planning, broad stakeholder engagement, and adaptability, with a step-by-step approach from setting goals to executing solutions.
- Smart cities prioritize robust data governance and management, with an emphasis on using data effectively for improving city operations, decision-making, and enhancing residents' quality of life.
Find the book through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.003 - Interview with Frans-Anton Vermast about Amsterdam Smart City;
- No.028R - Enhancing sustainable urban development through smart city applications;
- No.090 - Interview with Matthew McCartney about African urban evolution
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 212 - interview with Dr Jonathan Reichental, CEO of Human Future, professor and advisor. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, smart city, uncontrollable progress, autonomous vehicles, kids books, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"We need to be the change we want to see."
Are you interested in regenerative economy? What do you think about best practice versus next practice? How can we properly preserve urban cultures?
Interview with Pearl Ng, the Head of Smart City, Innovation and Improvement at City of Casey. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, urban collaboration, good intentions, equal opportunities, and many more.
Pearl Ng is an experienced consultant committed to drive digital innovation through research, community engagement and professional development activities. Her mission is to be a catalyst for positive change by creating an enduring legacy, inspiring others to unleash their full potential, championing women in STEM, and using innovative strategy to shape our future cities.
Find out more about Pearl through these links:
- Pearl Ng on LinkedIn;
- Smart City at City of Casey;
- Australian Smart Communities Association website;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.090 - Interview with Professor Matthew McCartney about the connection between economy and cities;
- No.105 - Interview with Richard Morrison about NEOM from the engineering perspective;
- No.186 - Interview with Tom Bosschaert about planned cities;
- No.209R - Regenerative Economics
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in indicators for regenerative economics?
Summary of the book chapter titled Regenerative economies: a new approach towards sustainability from 2020 by Yashi Jain, part of No Poverty book, published as part of the Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals book series.
This is a great preparation to our next interview with Pearl Ng in episode 210 talking about the different economy types.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see what regenerative economy means. This chapter investigates the history of regenerative economics and its connection to sustainability.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Regenerative economics advocates for a paradigm shift towards sustainability by nurturing interconnected networks that respect Earth's resources, focusing on holistic development beyond mere profit.
- Regenerative economics emphasizes the application of principles from natural ecosystems to economic systems, promoting self-organization, resilience, and a proactive approach to addressing environmental and social issues.
- The regenerative approach calls for a fundamental redesign of the economy to prioritize resource efficiency, localized economies, and cooperative over competitive practices, aiming to regenerate ecosystems and communities for a sustainable future.
You can find the chapter through this link, and the book through this.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.090 - Interview with Matthew McCartney about economics and the city;
- No.171 - Interview with Nicole Garofano about circular economy;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 210 - interview with Pearl Ng, the Head of Smart City, Innovation and Improvement at City of Casey. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, urban collaboration, good intentions, equal opportunities, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"Smartness is dependent on the performance of the city."
Are you interested in resilience as thinking in activities? What do you think about the city as the place of innovation? How can we the sustainability pillars – economic, environmental and social aspects in a concentric way?
Interview with Professor Rudolf Giffinger, urban and regional development expert. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, smart cities, resilience, sustainability, thinking in activities, and many more.
Professor Dr. Rudolf Giffinger is a renowned expert in urban and regional development. With a background in Geography from the University of Vienna and further specialization in Regional Science and Urban Studies, Rudolf has extensively contributed to the study of urban decay, smart city development, and housing market dynamics. His work, emphasizing sustainable and resilient urban planning through ICT, has been published in numerous books and journals, establishing him as a leading figure in his field. He has held prestigious roles, including the head of the Centre for Urban and Regional Research at the Vienna University of Technology, and garnered international recognition with his publications on smart city and resilient urban development. Despite retirement, his influence continues through teaching and ongoing scholarly contributions.
Find out more about Rudolf through these links:
- Rudolf Giffinger on LinkedIn;
- Rudolf Giffinger on Google Scholar;
- Rudolf Giffinger at the Vienna University of Technology;
- Rudolf Giffinger at the European Smart Cities;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.001 - Smart Cities – Ranking of European medium-sized cities;
- No.090 - Interview with Matthew McCartney about urban externalities;
- No.156 - Interview with Fanni Melles about urban differences;
- No.207R - Defining indicator systems for liveable cities;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in indicators for liveable cities?
Summary of the book chapter titled Defining indicator systems for liveable cities from 2023 by Rudolf Giffinger and Hans Kamar, part of The Future of Liveable Cities book, published by Springer Nature.
This is a great preparation to our next interview with Professor Rudolf Giffinger in episode 208 talking about smart and liveable cities.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see what indicator systems we can use for liveable cities. This book chapter investigates what is involved in liveability and proposes a framework with a dual approach to capture the static and dynamic aspects of urban liveability.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Urbanization challenges cities to become innovative and resilient, integrating smart city technologies and sustainable development practices to address economic, environmental, and social pressures.
- The "liveable cities" concept emphasizes sustainability, smart innovation, and resilience, focusing on efficiency, adaptability, and enhancing the quality of life through community and technological integration.
- Developing liveability indicators requires a multidimensional approach that captures both static and dynamic aspects of urban development, necessitating a mix of quantitative and qualitative measures to assess and guide urban policies effectively.
You can find the chapter through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.001R - Smart Cities – Ranking of European medium-sized cities;
- No.131R - Inventing Future Cities (book summary);
- No.139R_The landscape and evolution of urban planning science;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in resilience as thinking in activities? What do you think about the city as the place of innovation? How can we the sustainability pillars – economic, environmental and social aspects in a concentric way?
Trailer for episode 208 - interview with Professor Rudolf Giffinger, urban and regional development expert. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, smart cities, resilience, sustainability, thinking in activities, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"For me the future is what can I change, what can I influence."
Are you interested in the future of cities as the notion of what the individual can change? What do you think about integrated approaches? How can we save character but create inclusion?
Interview with Amir Hussain, founder and CEO of Yeme Tech. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, the city as a place serving needs, the real estate bubble, integration, and many more.
As Founder CEO of Yeme Tech, Amir Hussain has developed data-led, solutions which enhance place and asset-based uplift using ESG benchmarking systems. Amir's personal experience of living within a polarised and disadvantaged community, forms a strong understanding of challenging places. Amir is a regular contributor to national and regional policy debates as well as leading objective discussions about exclusion and polarisation. As a Partner in solutions-driven Corporate Fund - ONG Capital, Amir brings a strong understanding of commercial deliverability using transformative large-scale projects particularly in Tier 2 places.
Find out more about Amir through these links:
- Amir Hussain on LinkedIn;
- @get_yeme as Yeme Tech on X;
- Yeme Tech website;
- Yeme Tech on LinkedIn;
- Yeme Tech on Instagram;
- Amir Hussain at Bradford Means Business;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.129 - Interview with Alan Donegan about urban situation influencing business;
- No.182 - Interview with Ted Baillieu about the challenges of retrofitting
- No.205R - Role of urban planning standards in improving lifestyle in a sustainable system;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how urban planning can improve lifestyles?
Summary of the article titled Role of urban planning standards in improving lifestyle in a sustainable system from 2023 by Abdullah Addas, published in the Sustainability journal.
This is a great preparation to our next interview with Amir Hussain in episode 206 talking about improving the urban experience through social approaches.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how new indicators measure urbanization developments regarding land use and neighbourhoods. This article proposes urban planning standards and transitions to improve the living quality in a sustainable residential area.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- There is a critical need for comprehensive urban planning standards to address the lack of essential services in residential areas, improving living and health conditions.
- Focusing on creating a sustainable and compact urban model that prioritises green spaces and public services can prevent suburban sprawl.
- Integrating green spaces into urban development is important to balance between built-up areas and accessible green spaces, enhancing urban living quality.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: The current study aims to propose urban planning standards and urban sustainability transitions to improve the living quality in a sustainable residential area. The planning of urban standards plays a vital role in improving the quality of living in any city. We present the intensity of land exploitation per inhabitant and the social infrastructure to determine a reasonable relationship between the housing development and the green spaces, type of services and indicators by considering the minimum requirement in establishing new sustainable systems and infrastructures. The research provides an in-depth analysis of urbanization developments through various indicators and addresses the exploitation of land use and the future of neighborhoods. New indicators have been developed, which include: the demographic indicators of demand for basic educational infrastructure depending on the current forecast; indicators to determine the exact space required for new infrastructure; academic indicators for each age group (i.e., nursery, preschool, junior and senior); and the minimum required urban green spaces (i.e., public parks, recreational areas and housing developments). The paper compares the proposed required areas and the standard area requirement according to the number of residents per hectare. It also considers the weighted average number of stories to the shared area in a plot. The research also develops a relationship between the proposed development intensity and the percentage share in the plot area, which provides the built-up area and the green area with leisure facilities. Then, we present the share in the plot area, calculated according to current indicators.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.162 - Interview with Warren Hill about the role of standards;
- 173R_Comparative analysis of standardized indicators for Smart sustainable cities;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 206 - interview with Amir Hussain, founder and CEO of Yeme Tech. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, the city as a place serving needs, the real estate bubble, integration, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Smartness is "making decisions with a range of credible information with as little bias as possible for the benefit of people and the future in mind."
Are you interested in carbon management solutions for individuals and small businesses ? What do you think about carbon elephant? How can we change the system we reside in?
Interview Josh Dry, Director of Business Development at Cogo. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, resilience, responsible land and property management, bank involvement in sustainability, and many more.
As the Director of Business Development at Cogo, Josh Dry provides carbon measurement and climate action solutions that help financial institutions throughout North America, Asia and the Pacific to help their business and retail customers understand, measure, and reduce their impact on people and the planet.
Find out more about Josh through these links:
- Josh Dry on LinkedIn;
- @1joshdry as Josh Dry on X;
- Cogo website;
- Cogo on LinkedIn;
- Cogo on YouTube;
- What's YOUR contribution to life? by Josh Dry on the Cogo website;
- Josh Dry on the Terra Nova Earth Talks podcast;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.003 - Interview with Frans-Anton Vermast about Amsterdam Smart City project;
- No.165 - Interview with Michael Healy about Smart Christchurch
- No.177 - Interview with Amelia Gaskill about climate anxiety propelling career change;
- No.203R - Too risky - The role of finance as a driver of sustainability transitions;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in the role of finance for sustainability?
Our summary today works with the article titled Too risky – The role of finance as a driver of sustainability transitions from 2022 by Björn Nykvist and Aaron Matlais, published in the Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions journal.
This is a great preparation to our next interview with Josh Dry in episode 204 talking about efforts to transform the financial sector.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how transitions towards sustainability can be mirrored in the financial sector. This article investigates what motivates the sector and how to govern a faster transition.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Sustainable and ethical investing, notably with the rise of ESG criteria, positions the finance sector as a pivotal force in driving sustainable economic transitions.
- The integration of finance in sustainability transitions, especially in sectors like renewable energy, requires clear policy directions and innovative public-private partnerships to overcome inherent risk aversion.
- Sweden's leadership in sustainable finance, especially through green bonds, demonstrates its role as a positive example for financial sustainability efforts globally.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: The finance sector has a long track record of engaging with sustainability issues, and policymakers and sector representatives agree that a transition to sustainability needs to be mirrored by rapidly expanding financing. Based on in-depth interviews with a broad range of actors in the Swedish finance sector, we show that despite a strong recognition of the challenges, the sector remains cautious towards risk. We explore what motivates the sector and how to govern a faster transition and find that informants strongly believe that the sector cannot move any faster without further government intervention. The preferred policy is the use of generic tools such as CO2 taxes, or for the government to step in and mitigate the risk. We conclude that a more ambitious narrative on how the private and public sector can collaborate to share risk is needed, as it is unlikely that the finance sector will lead the way.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.088R - The cost and benefits of environmental sustainability;
- No.161R - The perception of the quality of smart city solutions;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in carbon management solutions for individuals and small businesses ? What do you think about carbon elephant? How can we change the system we reside in?
Trailer for the episode 204 - interview Josh Dry, Director of Business Development at Cogo. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, resilience, responsible land and property management, bank involvement in sustainability, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"I don't think we can keep balancing things out, we have to try actually being better."
Are you interested in how the HVAC industry is contributing to climate change? What do you think about carbon offsetting? How can we create the right balanced circular economy?
Interview with Sam Ringwaldt, the CEO and co-founder of Conry Tech. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, public transport as technology, the shifting collective mind, localised living, and many more.
Sam Ringwaldt is a HVAC industry expert who has been a global champion for energy efficiency and sustainability in the built environment for over 20 years. Sam helped develop and brought to market world leading technologies such as the Turbocor compressor and Smardt chillers, which revolutionised the industry and delivered unparalleled energy and emissions savings. Frustrated by the constraints of current HVAC systems, Sam is now reinventing air-conditioning as the CEO & Co-founder of Conry Tech to make comfort sustainable, as comfort is currently responsible for 15% of Global energy related emissions.
Find out more about Sam through these links:
- Sam Ringwaldt on LinkedIn;
- as Sam Ringwaldt on X;
- Conry Tech website;
- Sam Ringwaldt at Conry Tech;
- Conry Tech on LinkedIn;
- Sam Ringwaldt at Research Commercialisation Global Town Hall;
- Sam Ringwaldt on the Products with Purpose podcast;
- Sam Ringwaldt about coming back to Australia at Forbes;
- Sam Ringwaldt about funds in Australia at GovTechReview;
- Sam Ringwaldt on SBS News about Global Cooling Pledge;
- Sam Ringwaldt on Ecogeneration;
- Sam Ringwaldt on Electrical Comms Data;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.171 - Interview with Nicole Garofano about circular economy;
- No.196 - Interview with Alan Pears about emissions;
- No.201R - Wreaking HVAC on our planet;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how our comfort contributes to climate change?
Summary of the white paper titled Wreaking HVAC on our planet – A Conry Tech report on the impact of comfort on our planet and the scale of the problem by Sam Ringwaldt, published on the Conry Tech website.
This is a great preparation to our next panel conversation with Sam Ringwaldt in episode 202 about the opportunities in air conditioning.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how heating, ventilation and air-conditioning contributes to pollution. This report proves the scale of the problem and solutions through better systems and energy efficiency.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- The HVAC industry is a significant contributor to global CO2 emissions, with its impact expected to grow as demand for air conditioning triples by 2050 due to rising global temperatures.
- Energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy sources, including heat pumps, can substantially reduce the environmental impact of HVAC, but their adoption is currently insufficient.
- Immediate global action and stricter regulations are necessary to transition to energy-efficient air conditioning, which could lead to significant reductions in CO2 emissions and support the shift to renewable energy.
Find the paper through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.120 - Interview with Matt Ferrell about renewable energy solutions;
- No.196 - Interview with Alan Pears about urban energy and emissions;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how the HVAC industry is contributing to climate change? What do you think about carbon setting? How can we create the right balanced circular economy?
Trailer for episode 202 - interview with Sam Ringwaldt, the CEO and co-founder of Conry Tech. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, public transport as technology, the shifting collective mind, localised living, and many more.
Find out more in the interview!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"A city designed for people on the extreme becomes a better place for everybody"
Are you interested in neurodiversity? What do you think about your experiences in the city? How can we improve urban experiences?
Panel discussion with Dr Kirsten Day and Lucas Gil Nadolskis about their understanding of neurodiversity in cities, visual and other experiences, bathrooms and smells, and many more.
Dr. Kirsten Day is a lecturer in Architecture at the University of Melbourne, specializing in Architectural Practice, Design Thinking, and Thesis Design Studio. She holds key roles, including Senior Academic Advisor for the Bachelor of Design and practicing architect and director at Norman Day + Associates Architects, with over two decades of professional experience. Her work emphasizes future scenarios and architectural change, evidenced through her involvement in Melbourne Design Week, the "Future Housing" conference, and research projects such as the ARC LIEF project on digital cultural collections access. Kirsten is deeply involved in architectural education and professional bodies, serving as Chair of the Education Committee for the Victorian Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects and an examiner for the Architects Registration Board of Victoria. Her research explores the contingent nature of architectural practice, emphasizing inclusivity and innovative design methodologies.
Find out more about Kirsten through these links:
- Kirsten Day on LinkedIn;
- @kirkday333 as Kirsten Day on X;
- Kirsten Day at Melbourne School of Design of The University of Melbourne;
- Kirsten Day website;
- Norman Day + Associates website;
- Design & Architecture with Kirsten Day episode of Career Perspectives with Palladians podcast;
- Kirsten Day previously on the WTF podcast's 39th episode;
Lucas Gil Nadolskis, with a BS in Computer Science and Neuroscience from the University of Minnesota and an MS in Biomedical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, is advancing his research as a Graduate Student Researcher in the Bionic Vision Lab. His work spans autonomous navigation, computer vision, brain-computer interfaces, and enhancing accessibility in data visualization. Lucas started his PhD in Dynamical Neuroscience at UC Santa Barbara in Fall '23, focusing on developing innovative cortical implants for the blind—a cause close to his heart, as he has been blind since age five. Beyond academia, Lucas enjoys music, travel, and audio-described content.
Find out more about Lucas through these links:
- Lucas Gil Nadolskis on LinkedIn;
- @lnadolskis as Lucas Gil Nadolskis on X;
- Bionic Vision Lab with Lucas Gil Nadolskis;
- Lucas Gil Nadolskis on the BME Graduate Spotlight;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.069 - Interview with Éva Kereszty about neurodiversity from the law;
- No.147 - Interview with Damien Hewitt about involving a wider range of people to planning;
- No.199R - Urban sensory map;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in multisensory urban experiences?
Summary of the article titled Urban sensory map: How do tourists “sense” a destination spatially? from 2023 by Huahua Li, Mimi Li, Huixia Zou, Yi Zhang, and Jinjing Cao, published in the Tourism Management journal.
This is a great preparation to our next panel discussion with Dr Kirsten Day and Lucas Nadolskis in episode 200 talking about experiencing the city not just through the visual cortex.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how sensory experiences are involved in spatial sensing. This article establishes a macro–meso–micro analytical framework to explore the relationships among sensory experiences and spatial environmental characteristics based on social media big data.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Multisensory experiences significantly enhance tourist engagement in urban environments, prioritizing both internal and external senses.
- Social media data analysis can reveal sensory landscapes guiding urban design and destination management towards a holistic sensory approach.
- Emphasizing multisensory environments contributes to humanistic city development, benefiting tourists and residents alike.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Tourism sensory experiences represent a spatially constrained and constructed process influenced by various environmental stimuli. Although growing academic attention has been devoted to sensory tourism, few studies have incorporated spatiality into investigations of sensory experiences. This study establishes a macro–meso–micro analytical framework to explore the relationships among sensory experiences and spatial environmental characteristics based on social media big data. This research also moves beyond the conventional five-sense framework to include a sixth sense—interoception. Results (a) uncover the spatial distribution and relationships among sensory experiences in a destination; (b) demonstrate associations between attraction types and sensory experiences; and (c) illustrate interactions between environmental attributes and sensory encounters. This study theoretically clarifies relevant antecedents, extends a sense-based framework, and multidimensionally enriches tourism sensory experiences; empirically offer guidance for sensory environment planning, marketing, and management. Results also produce methodological insights for adopting social media big data to capture sensory experiences.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.114 - Interview with Kelly Boucher about spatial teaching differently;
- No.138 - Interview with Luis Natera about consciously choosing where to live;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in neurodiversity? What do you think about your experiences in the city? How can we improve urban experiences?
Trailer for episode 200 - panel discussion with Dr Kirsten Day and Lucas Gil Nadolskis about their understanding of neurodiversity in cities, visual and other experiences, bathrooms and smells, and many more.
Find out more in the interview!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"Working in social service delivering, you become very aware of the peopleness of these systems."
Are you interested in solving challenges through service design? What do you think about local storytelling and knowledge? How can we be more involved in governance?
Interview with Talia Radywyl, the Head of Research and Capability at Today. We will talk about her vision for the future of cities, service design, governance made up of people, design as creative problem solving, and many more.
Natalia Radywyl PhD specialises in ethnography, design research, service design, systemic design, environment design and facilitation. Her clients have ranged from Fortune 500 and government, to NGOs and the community sector. Talia's project highlights reflect the impact areas she is most passionate about: wellbeing and health, social innovation, urban resilience, open access technology and knowledge, and immigration and refugee experience.
Find out more about Talia through these links:
- Natalia Radywyl on LinkedIn;
- Service designing the city by Natalia Radywyl;
- Reclaiming the Commons for urban transformation by Natalia Radywyl and Che Biggs;
- Occupying the Commons: A practice for citywide resilience by Natalia Radywyl;
- Nanotechnology and global sustainability by Donald Maclurcan and Natalia Radywyl;
- Natalia Radywyl on Google Scholar for further publications;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.093 - Interview with Professor Jeni Paay about human-computer interaction design;
- No.192 - Interview with Alison Scotland about policy-making;
- No.197R - Problem-solving design-platform model based on the methodological distinctiveness of service design;
- No.200 - NeurodiverCity - An 'eye-opening' conversation about bathrooms with Dr Kirsten Day and Lucas Gil Nadolskis;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in service design as creative problem solving?
Summary of the article titled Problem-solving design-platform model based on the methodological distinctiveness of service design from 2019 by Youngok Jeon, published in the Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity.
This is a great preparation to our next interview with Talia Radywyl in episode 198 talking about service design processes.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how wicked urban problems can be solved with service design. This article defines the meaning and core properties of service design, and proposes a six-step service design process model based on the interrelationships among these properties.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Service design focuses on developing human-centered solutions to complex problems across sectors like urban development and healthcare, emphasizing the enhancement of user experience.
- Service design integrates goods and services to meet customer needs sustainably, shifting from goods-dominant to service-dominant logic that values experiential over tangible offerings.
- The approach employs design thinking and participatory design to involve stakeholders in creating solutions, aiming to bridge the delivery gap between expected and actual service quality.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: This study explores the differentiated properties of service design in the context of the final value pursued by this methodology, avoiding the interpretation of pending issues to which service design is applied. First, the following were identified as the core properties of service design, differentiated from other design methodologies: “Design Thinking”, a creative problem-solving process; “User Experience Value”, the pursued goal; “Participatory Design”, a practical research methodology; and “Interaction between Users and Providers”, the core research scope of pending issues. Second, the study proposed a six-step service design process model based on the interrelationships between these properties. The “problem recognition” step identified a decline in the quality of user experiences and forms a self-awareness of dissatisfaction. Next, the “problem understanding” step conducts multidisciplinary cooperative research on dissatisfaction. Subsequently, the “problem deduction” step determines users’ unsatisfied desires through visualization of the core pending issues, and the “problem definition” step performs creative conception activities with problem-solving approaches for the unsatisfied desires. Further, the “problem-solving” step develops service design models, and finally, the “problem-solving strategy check” step confirms the utility of the models in a real-world application.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.021 - Interview with Bridgette Engler about the need for participatory design in foresight;
- No.058R - An adaptive learning process for developing and applying sustainability indicators with local communities;
- No.098R - Building social capital;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in solving challenges through service design? What do you think about local storytelling and knowledge? How can we be more involved in governance?
Trailer for the episode 198 - interview with Talia Radywyl, the Head of Research and Capability at Today. We will talk about her vision for the future of cities, service design, governance made up of people, design as creative problem solving, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"Energy efficiency reframes reality."
Are you interested in the 2nd and 3rd rate consequences of better energy management? What do you think about scope 1-2-3 emissions? How can we spread information better?
Interview with Alan Pears, one of Australia’s leading energy efficiency expert. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, regreening of cities, urban viability, NABER, and many more.
Alan Pears is one of Australia’s leading energy efficiency experts. He has worked in the sustainable energy and environment fields since the late 1970s, and been an expert adviser to federal, state and local governments across Australia, as well as business organisations, community groups and the private sector. His work spans all sectors of the economy, education and community action. He has been involved in low carbon urban design and green building projects, program and policy development, including building energy regulation, energy/climate rating of buildings, design of appliances and equipment. He is a Senior Industry Fellow at RMIT University and a Fellow at the University of Melbourne. Alan has received many awards including being made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2009.
Find out more about Alan through these links:
- Alan Pears on Wikipedia;
- Alan Pears at Energy Transition Hub;
- Alan Pears at RMIT;
- Alan Pears at The University of Melbourne;
- Alan Pears' articles at Renew Economy;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.120 - Interview with Matt Ferrell about renewable energy and energy efficiency;
- No.182 - Interview with Ted Baillieu about re-greening cities;
- No.195R - How can urban regeneration reduce carbon emissions?;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in decreasing urban emissions?
Summary of the article titled How can urban regeneration reduce carbon emissions? A bibliometric review from 2023 by Yan Liu, Meiyue Sang, Xiangrui Xu, Liyin Shen, and Haijun Bao, published in the Land journal.
This is a great preparation to our next interviewee, Alan Pears in episode 196 talking about urban emissions and regeneration.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how urban regeneration and emissions are connected in the scientific literature. This article provides an overview of the field and shows a gradual shift towards a systemic approach to buildings and their emissions.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Urban regeneration encompasses optimizing city layouts, enhancing energy efficiency, and integrating green spaces to create sustainable, low-carbon urban environments.
- Research gaps highlight the need for a deeper understanding of urban elements' CO2 reduction potential and broader strategies beyond individual projects.
- Urban regeneration is key to reducing carbon emissions in cities, tackling the challenges of rapid urbanization and high fossil fuel consumption.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: As urbanization continues to accelerate worldwide, the consequential rise in CO2 emissions has caused substantial environmental challenges. Urban regeneration has emerged as a promising approach to reducing carbon emissions and developing low-carbon cities. Even though both urban regeneration and carbon emissions reduction have been researched from various perspectives, a thorough review is still required to completely reveal their multifaceted relationship. Based on 231 papers published between 2001 and 2023, a bibliometric analysis was conducted to understand the overall trajectory and main focus of the existing research. Then, we qualitatively analyzed the main findings from bibliometric results in terms of key regeneration elements, specific regeneration strategies, research methodologies, as well as research trends and agendas. The results indicated that research in this field is gradually becoming more specialized and comprehensive. Buildings and energy have always been two key urban regeneration elements and research hotspots. Additionally, as a systematic project, reducing carbon emissions requires further exploration of other regeneration elements’ contributions and their interactions in the urban system, which needs the corresponding support of more specific regeneration strategies and research methodologies. These findings can advance the development of innovative and impactful pathways for low-carbon oriented urban regeneration, leading ultimately to sustainable cities.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.120 - Interview with Matt Ferrell about renewable energy solutions;
- No.181R - Built Environment prototyping for design-value;
- No.182 - Interview with Ted Baillieu about urban retrofit;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 196 - interview with Alan Pears, one of Australia’s leading energy efficiency expert. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, regreening of cities, urban viability, NABER, and many more.
Find out more in the interview!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"People are rattling the cages."
Are you interested in improving transportation systems? What do you think about urban retrofitting for better urban mobility? How can we judge urban transformation that requires behaviour change?
Interview with Oliver Stoltz, a strategic transport planner. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, false positives and real positives, urban mobility services, benefits of big events for the infrastructure, and many more.
Oliver is a strategic transport planner with a broad range of experience across growth, inner city and regional local government areas, He is on the front line of trying to lead behaviour change through strategy to support infrastructure changes for the population of tomorrow, in order to support active and public transport as the preferred mode of transport by the masses. Additionally, he has experience in the major event space, working in transport planning for multi-sport events both here in Australia and abroad.
Find out more about Oliver through these links:
- Oliver Stoltz on LinkedIn;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.182 - Interview with Ted Baillieu about retrofitting cities;
- No.193R - Transforming our cities: Best practices towards clean air and active transportation
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how to enhance urban air quality and active transportation?
Summary of the article titled Transforming our cities: Best practices towards clean air and active transportation from 2019 by Andrew Glazener and Haneen Khreis, published in the Current Environmental Health Reports journal.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Oliver Stoltz in episode 194 talking about urban mobility changes.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how urban transportation and clean air are connected. This article explores effective strategies for enhancing urban air quality and encouraging active transportation like walking and cycling, highlighting the significant overlap between these two areas and the positive impacts of integrated policy approaches.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- In 2015, ambient air pollution, especially fine particulate matter (PM2.5), was the fifth-leading cause of death globally, causing 4.2 million premature deaths, mainly in low- and middle-income countries in Asia, Africa, and the Eastern Mediterranean, with older adults most vulnerable.
- Motor vehicle reliance worsens air pollution and physical inactivity, linked to 3.2 million deaths yearly. Encouraging active transportation like walking and cycling could mitigate these risks.
- Clean air and active transportation are interlinked, with shifting to active transportation not only improving air quality but also boosting physical activity, enhancing urban health.
You can find the article through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.048 - Interview with Hussein Dia about urban transportation systems;
- No.136R - An analysis of the legal framework influencing walking in Australia;
- No.137R - Quantifying life quality as walkability on urban networks: the case of Budapest;
- No.138 - Interview with Luis Natera about active transport in different cities;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 194 - interview with Oliver Stoltz, a strategic transport planner. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, false positives and real positives, urban mobility services, benefits of big events for the infrastructure, and many more.
Find out more in the interview!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"If you don't know where you are heading, you can end up in a completely different place."
Are you interested in policy-making for sustainability? What do you think about the UN Sustainable Development Goals? How can we break the siloes for systems to talk to each other?
Interview with Alison Scotland, Executive Director at Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, advising policy-making, optimism as a choice, getting rid of policies, the time being right to change, and many more.
Alison Scotland is the Executive Director of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council, also known as ASBEC, a body of peak organisations committed to a vision of more sustainable, productive and resilient buildings, communities and cities. Her passion and expertise ley in collaborating with industry, government and third sector leaders to develop national policy and technical solutions that enhance the built environment. Alison’s experience encompasses public, private and non-profit organisations including Standards Australia, Sydney Water and NSW Health. Her work has seen her serve on several national policy and technical committees for the built environment. She is a Board member for Partner Housing Australasia and currently sits on a number of committees including the Residential Energy Efficiency Disclosure Initiative Governance Forum, NSW Government Clean Technology Technical Review Committee and national Urban Policy Forum. Alison has a Bachelor of Science (Enviro) and Communications, and a Master of Business Administration.
Find out more about Alison through these links:
- Alison Scotland on LinkedIn;
- ASBEC website;
- Alison Scotland at ASBEC;
- @ASBEC1 as ASBEC on X;
- Alison Scotland on the Building with BuildHer podcast;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.171 - Interview with Nicole Garofano about circular economy;
- No.190 - Interview with Adrian McGregor about the city as an organism;
- No.191R - Decision-making approach to urban energy retrofit;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in what is needed for decision-making regarding urban energy retrofit?
Summary of the article titled Decision-making approach to urban energy retrofit – A comprehensive review from 2023 by Lei Shu and Dong Zhao, published in the Buildings journal.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Alison Scotland in episode 192 talking about policy-making for better urban futures, like energy retrofit.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how to find more effective, sustainable and efficient solutions for urban energy retrofits. This article establishes 5 key categories of approaches to retrofit decision-making: simulation, optimization, assessment, system integration, and empirical study, highlighting the progress and future potential in this field.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Urban areas face a significant challenge with increasing energy demands, necessitating the transformation of urban buildings into energy-efficient structures due to environmental concerns.
- Retrofit projects in urban settings are complex, requiring a balanced consideration of technological advancements, economic factors, and societal impacts, and involve diverse decision-making strategies like simulation, optimization, and empirical studies.
- Looking ahead, there is a strong emphasis on adopting holistic and interconnected approaches in urban retrofitting, integrating various decision-making methods, and involving stakeholders to drive sustainable and efficient urban development.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: This research presents a comprehensive review of the research on smart urban energy retrofit decision-making. Based on the analysis of 91 journal articles over the past decade, the study identifies and discusses five key categories of approaches to retrofit decision-making, including simulation, optimization, assessment, system integration, and empirical study. While substantial advancements have been made in this field, opportunities for further growth remain. Findings suggest directions for future research and underscore the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, data-driven evaluation methodologies, stakeholder engagement, system integration, and robust and adaptable retrofit solutions in the field of urban energy retrofitting. This review provides valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners interested in advancing the state of the art in this critical area of research to facilitate more effective, sustainable, and efficient solutions for urban energy retrofits.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.120 - Interview with Matt Ferrell about renewable energy solutions;
- No.182 - Interview with Ted Baillieu about urban retrofit;
- No.196 - Interview with Alan Pears about energy emissions in cities;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in policy-making for sustainability? What do you think about the UN Sustainable Development Goals? How can we break the siloes for systems to talk to each other?
Trailer for episode 192 - interview with Alison Scotland, Executive Director at Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, advising policy-making, optimism as a choice, getting rid of policies, the time being right to change, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"We can ride this wave of decarbonisation to reach prosperity."
Are you interested in biourbanism? What do you think about Earth as a spaceship? How can we learn systems thinking for a more holistic approach?
Interview with Adrian McGregor, the founder and Chief Design Officer at McGregor Coxall. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, biourbanism, prosperity, adaptability, climate forecasting with digital twins, and many more.
Adrian McGregor is Founder and Chief Design Officer at McGregor Coxall, a BioLab-led urban design, landscape architecture and environment firm located in Australia and the UK. Adrian is the author of Biourbanism: Cities as Nature. Practicing globally, he is a Biourbanist, Landscape Architect and Adjunct Professor at the University of Canberra. Nominated as one of Sydney’s 100 most creative people, he designs new cities and helps existing cities enhance prosperity by planning for climate resilience. He received the Prime Minister of Australia’s award for Urban Design and has helped McGregor Coxall receive more than 200 international design awards.
Find out more about Adrian through these links:
- Adrian McGregor on LinkedIn;
- @adrianmcgregor as Adrian McGregor on Twitter;
- McGregor Coxall website;
- McGregor Coxall on LinkedIn;
- Adrian McGregor at McGregor Coxall;
- Biourbanism website;
- Biourbanism on LinkedIn;
- @Biourbanism1 as Biourbanism on X;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.135 - Interview with Paul Satur on prosperity;
- No.164R - A discussion of resilience and sustainability;
- No.189R - Biourbanism (book summary);
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in understanding cities are nature?
Summary of the book titled Biourbanism: Cities as nature – a resilience model for anthromes from 2022 by Adrian McGregor, published by Biourbanism Publishing.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Adrian McGregor, talking about biourbanism in episode 190.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how cities can be translated as part of nature. This book gives a new pathway for cities to decarbonise and increase their resilience to the climate crises.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Cities, responsible for a significant portion of global greenhouse gas emissions, have the potential to be central in addressing the climate emergency.
- The biourbanism model views cities as dynamic ecosystems, emphasizing the harmonious integration of various systems like food, water, energy, and technology to promote urban resilience and prosperity.
- The book proposes a paradigm shift in urban planning, advocating for cities to be designed as extensions of the natural world, focusing on ecological sustainability and human-nature connectivity.
Check out the book through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.178R - Brighter: Optimism, progress and the future of environmentalism (book summary);
- No.180 - Interview with Ben Vass about cities being the emergent property of urban agents interacting with each other and their environment;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 190 - interview with Adrian McGregor, the founder and Chief Design Officer at McGregor Coxall. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, biourbanism, prosperity, adaptability, climate forecasting with digital twins, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in microgrids? What do you think about decentralising cities and their services? How can we use our brainpower for the better urban future?
Interview with Rod Matthews, the Co-Founder and CEO of Brevian Energy. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, microgrids, resource management, efficiency, urban experiments and many more.
Rod Matthews is an experienced business technology consultant and Micro Grid Solution Provider with a background in aligning energy and technology initiatives with core business objectives. Rod is the Co-Founder and CEO of Brevian Energy, a renewable energy technology company providing customers with microgrids, based in California, US. As a subject matter expect in both the energy and technology sectors, he has had the opportunity to implement and maintain various types of business technologies and be accountable for their business justification and ROI payoffs. Deploying multiple technologies has provided him a unique understanding of the financial impact on the business. By understanding how these technologies will directly impact the “bottom line” of the business he is able to increase efficiency, grow the client base, and facilitate accessible communication. The goal of Brevian Energy is to bring affordable, reliable, renewable power to homes, businesses, and communities in every possible location.
Find out more about Rod through these links:
- Rod Matthews on LinkedIn;
- @RGMConsulting as Rod Matthews on X;
- Brevian Energy website;
- Brevian Energy on LinkedIn;
- RGM Consulting website;
Connecting links you might be interested in:
- No.120 - Interview with Matt Ferrell about renewable energies;
- No.182 - Interview with Ted Baillieu about urban asset management;
- No.187R - Microgrid communities;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in the sustainability of future energy systems?
Summary of the article titled Microgrid communities: disclosing the path to future system-active communities from 2022 by Martin Warneryd and Kersti Karltorp, published in the Sustainable Futures journal.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Rod Matthews in episode 188 talking about community microgrids.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how the community can be an active part of the energy system. This article examines the role and development of microgrid communities as key contributors to a sustainable and resilient energy future, focusing on their transition from passive consumers to system-active participants.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Microgrids transform communities into active energy participants, fostering their role in sustainable energy transitions.
- The development and success of microgrids are significantly influenced by local regulatory environments and regional conditions, as seen in Sweden and California.
- Microgrids enhance local resilience and sustainability, offering economic advantages and supporting renewable energy integration into existing grids.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: To increase sustainability in future energy systems, both technical and social measures must be taken. Microgrid communities offer local balancing of supply and demand, while also integrating the community as an active part of the energy system. This study investigates two cases of microgrid communities; how they were realized and what wider effects they offered its communities and other stakeholders. The study shows that the microgrid collaboration between community and utility offers a new organizational division that can overcome the traditional locked-in position of the utility. This brings forward communities as system-active participants and a sustainably beneficial energy system for the future.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.071R - Towards intelligently sustainable cities?
- No.120 - Interview with Matt Ferrell about renewable energy opportunities;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 188 - interview with Rod Matthews, the Co-Founder and CEO of Brevian Energy. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, microgrids, resource management, efficiency, urban experiments and many more.
Find out more in the interview!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"Make things that both work for today while they can become the bricks in the foundation of how we operate our cities of tomorrow."
Are you interested in sustainability as resilience, harmony, and wellbeing? What do you think about integrated sustainability? How can we learn from the past for a better future?
Interview with Tom Bosschaert, the founder and director of Except Integrated Sustainability. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, stages of grief in sustainability, Orchid City, the City of Hope, and many more.
Tom is the founder and director of Except Integrated Sustainability, and the visionary force behind its development. He is also the chairman of the Environment Committee of the World Institute for Change Management and Innovation (WICMI) in Switzerland. Tom founded Except at the age of 19 in 1999 with a mission to find systemic solutions for our societal challenges by combining science, business, design, and communication. In the past decades, he has developed several hundred projects globally, for groundbreaking sustainable cities, buildings, business, policy, and industry. Tom’s vision shows that we can flourish globally when we simultaneously integrate environmental, societal, economical, and technical aspects in our society. He is a frequent keynote speaker, and author of the Symbiosis in Development (SiD) framework and books.
Find out more about Tom through these links:
- Tom Bosschaert on LinkedIn;
- @Tom_Bosschaert as Tom Bosschaert on X;
- Except Integrated Sustainability website;
- Symbiosis in Development at Except;
- Symbiosis in Development website;
- Tom Bosschaert at Except with podcast links;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.105 - Interview with Richard Morrison about NEOM;
- No.184 - Interview with Alby Bocanegra about the 24h city;
- No.185R - Systems thinking as a paradigm shift for sustainability transformation;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in a paradigm shift for sustainability transformation?
Our summary today works with the article titled Systems thinking as a paradigm shift for sustainability transformation from 2022 by N. Voulvoulis, T. Giakoumis, C. Hunt, V. Kioupi, N. Petrou, I. Souliotis, C. Vaghela, WIH binti Wan Rosely, published in the Global Environmental Change journal.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Tom Bosschaert in episode 186 talking about integrated sustainability and systems thinking approaches.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how a holistic, integrated and interdisciplinary thinking can enable conditions for sustainability to emerge. This article advocates for a systemic approach to sustainability, emphasizing the need for comprehensive strategies that address interconnected environmental, social, and economic challenges.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Systems thinking is essential for addressing the interconnected nature of global sustainability challenges, moving beyond traditional, isolated approaches.
- Effective implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals requires transformative strategies that recognize the interdependencies among these goals.
- A paradigm shift in policy, education, and societal behaviour is crucial for achieving true sustainability, focusing on holistic solutions rather than symptomatic treatments.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted as reference and universal guidepost for transitioning to Sustainable Development by the United Nations in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, are intended to be used as a set of interconnected goals and global targets for ‘Transforming our world’, as the 2030 Agenda is titled. This is a far more challenging task than business as usual; it requires systems thinking for understanding the conditions that generate and propagate sustainability challenges, moving away from the reductionist and anthropocentric thinking that created them in the first place. Taking a systems approach to addressing these challenges has been gaining currency with academics and policymakers alike, and here we make the case for holistic, integrated, and interdisciplinary thinking that challenges assumptions and worldviews, crucially based on public participation and engagement, to create the enabling conditions for sustainability to emerge. System transformations require interconnected changes to technologies, social practices, business models, regulations and societal norms, an intentional process designed to fundamentally alter the components and structures that cause the system to behave in its current unsustainable ways, a paradigm shift enabling the transition to sustainability.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.020R - Antifragile (book summary);
- No.092R - The city as an urban interaction design platform;
- No.190 - Interview with Adrian McGregor talking about cities as complex organic systems;
- No.228 - Interview with Dominique Hes about system thinking;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 186 - interview with Tom Bosschaert, the founder and director of Except Integrated Sustainability. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, stages of grief in sustainability, Orchid City, the City of Hope, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"24-hour city embracing density and buzzing always"
Are you interested in the 24-hour city? What do you think about technology helping us being creative? How can we learn better from history?
Interview with Alby Bocanegra, the Chief Future Officer and Founder at The Urban Futurist Inc. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, collaboration, AI and smartness, human connections, and many more.
Alby Bocanegra currently serves as Chief Future Officer and Founder at The Urban Futurist Inc, a consultancy and advisory organization that is shaping the cities of the future. Prior to his role at Mastercard, Alby served the people of New York as Interim Chief Technology Officer in the Mayor’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer (MOCTO). He has dedicated his career to building expertise in talent architecture, business strategy, and performance management with a passion for civic tech. Alby spends his time studying future technologies and makes predictions of the impact and implications they’ll have on cities, the people that live in them and the ecosystems that will need to be developed to ensure that all can benefit. As an advisor and consultant, he shapes strategies, governance models and facilitates engagements focused on delivering a better tomorrow for people. Alby also lends his expertise as an Advisory Board Member on Digital Twins to the World Economic Forum.
Find out more about Alby through these links:
- Alby Bocanegra on LinkedIn;
- @albybocanegra as Alby Bocanegra on X;
- The Urban Futurist Inc. on LinkedIn;
- Alby Bocanegra at the Charter Cities Institute;
- Alby Bocanegra at the Word Urban Forum;
- Alby Bocanegra at the Smart Cities Coucil;
- Urban Futurism for Smarter Cities podcast with Alby Bocanegra;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.015 - Interview with Luke Housego about data and knowledge;
- No.126 - Interview with Corey Gray about beauty as a feature for sustainability;
- No.183R - 24-hour cities network;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in the 24-hour city?
Summary of the policy paper titled 24-hour cities network: Policy and strategy recommendations from 2023 by Andreina Seijas.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Alby Bocanegra in episode 184 talking the 24-hour city and its advantages.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see whether we are missing out without a night-time city. This article emphasizes the significance of nighttime economy and governance in contemporary urban planning, offering practical recommendations for cities to thrive 24/7.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- The transformation of nighttime perception in cities, from being associated with crime to a vibrant time for economic and cultural activities, is a fundamental shift in urban planning.
- The appointment of "night mayors" in over 60 cities worldwide highlights a proactive approach to governing and enhancing urban life during night hours, focusing on inclusivity and vibrancy.
- The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the significance of the nighttime economy, particularly in culture, nightlife, and hospitality, revealing its vital role in the overall urban ecosystem.
Find the article through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.090 - Interview with Matthew McCartney about economics and cities;
- No.106R - Smart cities as a platform for technological and social innovation in productivity, sustainability and livability;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 184 - interview with Alby Bocanegra, the Chief Future Officer and Founder at The Urban Futurist Inc.
We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, collaboration, AI and smartness, human connections, and many more.
Find out more in the episode!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"We have the most expensive construction industry but not the best quality."
Are you interested in urban retrofitting? What do you think about the materials used in the built environment? How can we provide better urban services?
Interview Ted Baillieu, the former Premier of Victoria and architect. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, affordability, cities with split personalities, getting families back in cities, regreening cities, and many more.
Ted Baillieu is an architect and a Victorian politician. During his time in Parliament 1999-2014, Ted served as Premier of Victoria and Minister for the Arts from 2010 to 2013, and held Shadow Portfolios in Tertiary Education, Training, Gaming, Planning and the Arts. Since 2013 Ted is currently an Adjunct Professor at Swinburne University, School of Design, and Melbourne University’s Honorary Enterprise Professor associated with the Faculty of Architecture, Building & Planning. He Co-Chaired the Victorian Government’s Cladding Task Force (2017-2019) and Chaired the Victorian Government’s ANZAC Centenary Committee (2013-2019). He has more than 20 years as a practicing architect (Mayne & Baillieu) and was formerly Trustee Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Trust, Board Member Tourism Victoria, Melbourne Comedy Festival and Australian Children’s Television Foundation, and Patron of Multicultural Arts Victoria.
You can find out more about Ted through these links:
- Ted Baillieu on LinkedIn;
- @TedBaillieu as Ted Baillieu on X;
- Ted Baillieu on Wikipedia;
- Ted Baillieu at the Parliament of Victoria;
Connecting links you might be interested in:
- No.048 - Interview with Hussein Dia about urban mobility opportunities;
- No.117 - Interview with Colin Chee about the small footprint living in cities;
- No.181R - Built environment prototyping for design-value;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how to make prototypes for the built environment?
Summary of the article titled Built environment prototyping for design-value from 2023 by Darcy Zelenko and Duncan Maxwell, published in the Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposium 2023.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Ted Baillieu in episode 182 talking about why experimenting with the built environment is very important.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how we could use prototyping to trial specific solutions. This article proves the prototyping is a value-adding activity but there are inherent fragmentations for the built environment disciplines.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Prototyping in the built environment, less common than in industries like engineering or software development, plays a crucial role in refining complex designs before construction, underscoring the need for its wider adoption and more integrated methods.
- While prototyping enhances design quality, communication, and decision-making efficiency, its underutilization in the built environment limits knowledge sharing and the adoption of efficient construction methodologies, such as Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA).
- There is a significant opportunity for advancement in the built environment by developing an integrated prototyping model that combines idea conceptualization and physical implementation, tailored to its unique requirements, which could transform practices and lead to more efficient, resource-saving buildings.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: The built environment is hindered by issues relating to laggard productivity, with practitioners looking to pursue sector-wide industrialisation and digitisation to improve this issue. Contrastingly, industries that have achieved widespread industrialisation and digitisation also possess developed prototyping cultures. Within these industries, prototyping approaches are tailored to suit the nature of the specific output product. Prototyping in the built environment acts as a tool for representation, testing, and communication. Prototyping approaches vary across the constituent disciplines with a lack of influential approaches or methods of the kind illustrated in other industries. This paper uses critical analysis to review prototyping literature from influential approaches found in engineering design, software development, and design management. These are compared to approaches used in the built environment disciples of architecture, engineering, and construction research. The findings confirm that prototyping is a value-adding activity, but suggest that prototyping cultures and outcomes in the built environment are inhibited by fragmentation that is inherent in the discipline. Future research could surround the development of prototyping approaches that enable practitioners to get the most out of the process. Such a protoyping approach would that also recognises that the creation of buildings requires both idea conceptualisation, and physical implementation to deliver quality outcomes.
Connecting episode you might be interested in:
- No.168 - Interview with Jennifer George about experimenting instead of trial and error;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 182 - Interview Ted Baillieu, the former Premier of Victoria and architect. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, affordability, cities with split personalities, getting families back in cities, regreening cities, and many more.
Find out more in the interview!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in city consciousness? What do you think about knowledge and knowledge-creation? How can we remove bad stuff to improve the good stuff?
Interview with Ben Vass, senior research engineer. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, space and time, threshold for bad experiences, opportunities in tools for improvements, and many more.
Ben Vass is a senior research engineer, graph shaman and data magician, and the kind of person who wants to build a Dyson swarm and explore the stars, while in the meantime wants to understand how this consciousness thing works. He is always standing between 2 worlds and trying to connect them. Due to his strange brain, he sees everything as a network of networks, and tries to find the next intellectual thrill. In the past he had worked on swarm intelligence projects, spectral graphs, fraud detection, and GNNs to name a few, and he contributes to Open Source whenever he can. Ben currently works on upgrading the world’s financial infrastructure to make it more transparent and verifiable. Everything is a network, you just don't see it yet, according to him. Ben’s voice can be very familiar because he is the voice in the intro. And he is my partner in crime.
Find out more about Ben through these links:
- Ben Vass on LinkedIn;
- Foundation by Isaac Asimov
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
- Network State Conference on YouTube
- TokCast by Brett Hall
- The Expanse series
- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
- The beginning of infinity by David Deutsch
- The Anthology of Balaji by
- New material list by AI
- Starlink website
- zero-knowledge proof
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.021R - Antifragile (book summary)
- No.182 - Interview with Ted Baillieu about Australian building habits
- No.222 - Interview with Adam Dorr about technological disruptions
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Today would be a research episode, but since it is 2023 Christmas time, I want to just wish you all relaxing holidays with or without celebrating Christmas, Merry Christmas if you do celebrate it, and a very Happy New Year!
We will have many interesting topics to discover and further discuss in 2024. I am already preparing those episodes and I am very excited about what will come!
First, this episode will be followed by a cherished interview with my partner, Ben Vass, data magician, graph shaman and overall space enthusiast.
Then in 2024 we will have guests from all over the world and many areas like
- policy,
- energy,
- advocacy,
- neurodiversity,
- research,
- space,
- weather,
- food production,
- circularity,
- and even more!!!
I have had so many great conversations that we will also ramp up the frequency of the interviews: from now, each Tuesday will bring a research episode, and each Thursday a new interview.
Plus, I am also working on some projects for the podcast, like a WTFGPT to ask questions about the previous episodes, or gaming space cities!!!
If you need some food for thought until then, check out the last research episode, No.178 about a brighter future and clean technology disruptions.
I hope you are well and also full with plans for the new year, see you then and thanks for tuning in.
Find the shownotes through this link.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in city consciousness? What do you think about knowledge and knowledge-creation? How can we remove bad stuff to improve the good stuff?
Trailer for the episode 180 - interview with Ben Vass, senior research engineer. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, space and time, threshold for bad experiences, opportunities in tools for improvements, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in a brighter future for our cities and humanity?
Summary of the book titled Brighter: Optimism, progress, and the future of environmentalism from 2022 by Adam Dorr, based on my reading experience and other summaries, linked in the shownotes.
Great preparation for our interview with Adam Dorr in episode 222, and just a refreshing outlook on the future.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see a brighter approach among the doom-and-gloom based on science and research. This book describes how human evolution and progress wipe out older, dirtier technologies, foster unprecedented prosperity, and open the door to mitigating environmental impacts.
I hope this gives you some food for thought this time of the year or anytime and how to move forward.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- The book emphasizes the potential of emerging technologies in energy, transportation, food, and labour to solve environmental issues while promoting economic growth.
- Dorr highlights that the shift towards sustainable, cleaner technologies is primarily driven by their economic advantages, not just ecological benefits.
- "Brighter" presents a new vision of environmentalism that integrates technological innovation and economic development as a path to a sustainable future.
You can find the book through this link.
Summaries used in this episode:
- RethinkX Disruption series with Adam Dorr;
- New Book 'Brighter' explores the future of environmentalism amidst the great technological transformation in over a century on PRNewsWire;
- Brighter on Goodreads;
Connecting links you might be interested in:
- No.177 - Interview with Amelia Gaskill about the passion of the younger generation;
- No.222 - Interview with Adam Dorr about a brighter future
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in intergenerational equity? What do you think about the younger generation fighting for a better future? How can we use our own voices to inflict change on the urban environment?
Interview with Amelia Gaskell, an environmental science student. We will talk about her vision for the future of cities, sustainability, intergenerational equity, climate anxiety, her origin story, and many more.
Amelia Gaskell is an avid environmentalist and student at Deakin University, who has recently undertaken an undergraduate Bachelor of Environmental Science following a transfer from a degree in Law. This change was inspired by a desire to pursue a greater interest in sustainability and ecological conservation amidst a greater demand for youth action in addressing the critical point Australia now faces in addressing the growing climate crisis. Amelia has volunteered with the AYCC and Blue Carbon Lab - experiences which have shaped her drive towards a better and more sustainable future for the City of Melbourne. Amelia is also a lover of all things outdoors, and regularly partakes in athletics and hiking with local groups across Victoria. This passion for community and connection is one which has been fostered by her family who only recently immigrated from Malaysia, and who share with her an understanding of the intricate relationships between people, the natural world, and the built environment.
Find out more about Amelia through these links:
- Amelia Gaskell on LinkedIn;
- as Amelia Gaskell on Twitter;
- Lowe, N, Gleeson, B, Green, R & Radovic, D. (2005) ‘What does sustainability mean for cities? Sustainable Homes, Sustainable Suburbs, UNSW Press, Sydney, Chapter 1 pp. 13-18
- M, Beyers B (2019) AREA AS CURRENCY How Much Biocapacity Does a Person Need? Ecological Footprint : Managing Our Biocapacity Budget Account, New Society Publishers (pp.20-38)
- Hamilton, C (2010) Requiem for a Species: why we resist the truth about climate change. Chapter 3: The consumer self
- Diamond, J. (2004) Collapse
- Podcast interview with Vivian Tam, Western Sydney University (WSU)
- Marris E (2020) The Case for Renewal, National Geographic, Washington, 237(4) pp. 18-20,22,24-26,28.
- Kolbert E (2020) The Case for Catastrophe, National Geographic, Washington, 237(4) pp. 14-21
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.101R - What we owe the future;
- No.159 - Interview with Michael Browne about Aboriginal values for planning;
- No.175R - Whose choice?;
- No.176R - Major transitions;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how young people change their fields of study?
Summary of the article titled Major transitions: how college students interpret the process of changing fields of study from 2023 by Blake R Silver published in the Higher Education journal.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Amelia Gaskill in episode 177 talking about how and why she changed her major to focus more on the environment.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how and why students change their majors as a key education transition. This article explores the complex experiences of college students changing majors, revealing emotional, logistical, and perceptual challenges during this significant educational transition.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Changing majors significantly impacts a student's identity and future aspirations, involving a deeply personal and emotional journey through phases of endings, exploration, and new beginnings.
- Each student's experience of changing majors is unique, influenced by a mix of personal values, academic interests, and external factors like family and career considerations.
- There is a need for holistic support in higher education, emphasizing that academic advising should be complemented with emotional and personal guidance to aid students through this transition.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: Selecting a major is one of the most consequential decisions a student will make in college. Though major selection is often conceived of as a discrete choice made at a particular point in time, many students change their majors at least once during college. This article examines the process of changing majors as a key education transition. Drawing from 38 interviews with college students at a public university in the USA who changed their declared major, this study explores the ways they make meaning of transitions between fields of study. Specifically, I ask: How do students describe their experiences navigating the process of switching college majors? Six themes emerged in relation to three phases of transition: endings, neutral zones, and new beginnings. These themes provide new understandings of students’ meaning making about their experiences moving between majors. In doing so, this study (1) demonstrates the value of studying major change as an important educational transition and (2) sheds light on the potential for employing theories of transition to understand non-normative and non-linear transitions in higher education. Implications for higher education research and practice are discussed.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.112R - Engaging with place;
- No.113R - Radical collaboration;
- No.114 - Interview with Kelly Boucher about pedagogy as a learning experience;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 177 - interview with Amelia Gaskell, an environmental science student. We will talk about her vision for the future of cities, sustainability, intergenerational equity, climate anxiety, her origin story, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how young people choose their careers?
Summary of the article titled Whose choice? Young people, career choices and reflexivity re-examined from 2015 by Jacqueline Laughland-Booÿ, Margery Mayall, and Zlatdo Skrbiš, published in the Current Sociology journal.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Amelia Gaskill in episode 177 talking about the younger generation and their passion regarding the future of cities.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how the next generation seems to choose their careers. This article presents how reflexivity is connected to choosing one’s career besides individualism and environment.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Individual choice in career paths might not be entirely free as it is deeply influenced by one’s socio-economic background.
- Reflexivity, the ability to critically assess and adapt one’s choices is often more pronounced among those from less privileged backgrounds.
- Enhancing reflexivity and critical self-awareness across all socio-economic groups could improve the equity and authenticity of career choices among young people.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: Young people making future career choices are doing so in an environment that often highlights the benefits supposedly wrought by individualisation and reflexive choice. It is argued that those who demonstrate reflexivity in their decision-making would have an advantage in the negotiation of future risks. The authors of this article agree with theorists who note that career choices are still strongly influenced by a person’s location in the class structure. However, unlike some writers who suggest youth from more privileged socio-economic backgrounds are more likely to evaluate risk and demonstrate reflexivity, the authors suggest the opposite. Interviews were conducted with young people aged 16–17 who are participating in an ongoing project designed to follow a cohort of young Australians from adolescence into later life. Our findings suggest that while a more privileged location may afford young people security from many potential risks and problems, this may in fact encourage a non-reflexive perspective and they may choose careers based on social norms rather than ability. Instead, we argue that it is young people from less privileged backgrounds who tend to demonstrate reflexivity in their career planning.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.112R - Engaging with place;
- No.113R - Radical collaboration;
- No.114 - Interview with Kelly Boucher about how to do pedagogy better to create agency
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in sustainable and smart cities? What do you think about the city as the scene of real change? How can we use urban rankings better?
Interview with Aapo Huovila, senior scientist at Technical Research Centre of Finland. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, keeping urban specifics, climate change, city as the place of real change, and many more.
Aapo Huovila is a Senior scientist at Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. His research is currently focused on evaluation of climate-neutral, sustainable and smart cities. He works as a project manager and senior researcher in research, innovation and commercial projects (for examples, NetZeroCities, Matchup Project or Sparcs). He is the chair of the “Monitoring & Evaluation” Task group within the EU H2020 Smart cities & communities research & innovation program and acts as subject editor in the journal IET Smart cities.
Find out more about Aapo through these links:
- Aapo Huovila on LinkedIn;
- @aapo_huovila as Aapo Huovila on Twitter;
- Aapo Huovila at the Technical Research Centre of Finland;
- Aapo Huovila on Google Scholar;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.008R - What are the differences between sustainable and smart cities?
- No.141 - Interview with Soheil Sabri about prediction and forecasting;
- No.173R
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in indicators for smart sustainable cities?
Summary ofh the article titled Comparative analysis of standardized indicators for Smart sustainable cities: What indicators and standards to use and when? from 2019 by Aapo Huovila, Peter Bosch and Miimu Airaksinen published in the Cities journal.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Dr Aapo Huovila in episode 174 talking about sustainable and smart cities.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see what indicators can help, really help cities in their smart and sustainable journey. This article offers guidance for city managers and policy makers to select the indicators and standards that best correspond to their assessment needs and goals.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Smart sustainable cities aim to leverage technological solutions while ensuring they address the genuine multifaceted needs of urban environments, and encompassing economic, social, environmental and cultural dimensions.
- Urban managers face the intricate challenge of selecting from a vast array of 'indicators' to monitor and track city progress.
- Balancing the dual aspects of 'smartness' and 'sustainability' is pivotal for cities, requiring a holistic approach that aligns with the city's unique context, and while standardized indicators offer a foundation, customization is essential to resonate with individual city characteristics and objectives.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: City managers need indicators for target setting, performance assessment, monitoring, management and decision-making purposes. The choice of the most suitable indicator framework is crucial, but difficult, as it requires expert knowledge. To help cities in their choice, this paper compares seven recently published indicator standards for Smart sustainable cities. A taxonomy was developed to evaluate each of their 413 indicators against five conceptual urban focuses (types of urban sustainability and smartness), ten sectoral application domains (energy, transport, ICT, economy, etc.) and five indicator types (input, process, output, outcome, impact). The results clearly discriminate between indicator standards suited for evaluating the implementation of predominantly smart city approaches versus standards more focused on sustainability assessment. A further distinction is possible in standards almost fully oriented towards impacts reached, and standards that allow for progress evaluation according to steps in the implementation process. Some standards provide a narrow focus on output indicators evaluating the progress in implementing smart urban ICT solutions (e.g. number of smart meters installed). Cities are encouraged to complement such evaluations with impact indicators that demonstrate the effects of those solutions. This paper provides guidance for city managers and policy makers to select the indicators and standard that best correspond to their assessment need and goals, and align with their stage in Smart sustainable city implementation.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.008R - What are the differences between sustainable and smart cities?;
- No.071R - Towards intelligently sustainable cities?;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 174 - the interview with Aapo Huovila, senior scientist at Technical Research Centre of Finland. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, keeping urban specifics, climate change, city as the place of real change, and many more.
Find out more in the interview!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in carbon-neutral cities?
Summary of the article titled Carbon-neutral cities: Critical review of theory and practice from 2022 by Aapo Huovila, Hanne Siikavirta, Carmen Antuña Rozado, Jyri Rökman, Pekka Tuominen, Satu Paiho, Åsa Hedman, and Peter Ylén, published in the Journal of Cleaner Production.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Dr Aapo Huovila in episode 174 talking about sustainable and smart cities.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see what carbon-neutrality can mean for cities. This article presents the theory and practice of carbon-neutral efforts in the urban context, exploring the gaps between research and practice.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Cities, as major global resource consumers and emission contributors, are central to achieving climate goals through sustainability initiatives.
- Ambiguities in the carbon-neutral city concept and varied emission scopes challenge consistent implementation and progress measurement.
- A holistic, systemic approach with collaboration among various stakeholders is essential for effective carbon neutrality transitions.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: Carbon neutrality has become central in policy discourse and cities’ climate actions are crucial to achieve this goal. Consequently, many cities have already published ambitious climate neutrality target years and are preparing for transition to climate neutrality. This study presents findings from the first ever literature review on the carbon-neutral city concept, covering definition, assessment approaches, and barriers and drivers for transition to carbon neutrality. These findings are combined with interviews with Finnish cities aiming at carbon neutrality to explore gaps between research and practice. More clarity is needed on the definition of carbon-neutral city concept and especially on the role of offsetting the emissions (a specific feature compared to other urban climate concepts). The lack of consistency in city carbon accounting methods and emission scopes making cities’ carbon neutrality goals incomparable, thus calling for harmonization and guidance on common assessment methods. In addition to research, climate networks play an important role in the transition to carbon neutrality. Cities have set ambitious goals and need support to develop action plans, assess actions, come up with creative and innovative ideas and increase collaboration with various stakeholders. Development of ways to support cities that have taken on ambitious carbon neutrality targets would benefit from more systematic research on transition to carbon neutrality from different contexts capturing the lessons learned. There is a need for methods that are flexible enough to accommodate adjustments to local conditions and needs, but also consider broader system transition.
Connecting links you might be interested in:
- No.088R - The costs and benefits of environmental sustainability;
- No.119R - Pessimism and optimism in the debate on climate change;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in circular economy? What do you think about raising the awareness about how we consume things? How can we plan our future based on the principle of longevity?
Interview with Nicole Garofano, the Head of Circular Economy Development at Planet Ark Environmental Foundation and the founder of UsePlasticBetter. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, circular economy, knowledge sharing, maker and repair spaces, indigenous connections, and many more.
Dr Nicole Garofano is the Head of Circular Economy Development for Planet Ark. In her role, Nicole is leading the ongoing strategic development of the Australian Circular Economy (ACE) Hub, the national reference platform for circular economy knowledge and collaboration in Australia. For more almost 20 years, Nicole has worked in environmental education and action with a focus on waste management and more recently, circular economy. She has designed and managed community-based initiatives to increase sorting, collection and processing of a range of packaging materials, including plastic. Nicole has a PhD from research focused on the plastic food and beverage packaging value chain, identifying both local and global innovation to improve chain activities and outcomes. Nicole is an Associate of the Australian Institute of Packaging.
Find out more about Nicole through these links:
- Nicole Garofano on LinkedIn;
- Nicole Garofano at Victoria's Big Build;
- Planet Ark website;
- Planet Ark on LinkedIn;
- Australian Circular Economy Hub website;
- Circularity website;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.110R - Global survey of Precious Plastic Projects;
- No.111 - Interview with Dave Hakkens about reinventing urban living;
- No.159 - Interview with Michael Browne about Aboriginal ideology;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in sustainable circular cities?
Summary of the article titled Sustainable circular cities? Analysing urban circular economy policies in Amsterdam, Glasgow, and Copenhagen from 2023 by Martin Calisto Friant, Katie Reid, Peppi Boesler, Walter J. V. Vermeulen, and Roberta Salomone, published in the Local Environment – The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Dr Nicole Garofano in episode 171 talking about circular economy.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see circular economy policy analysis. This article investigates current literature on circular economy policies and real examples to develop a new conceptual framework to circular economy discourses.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- The circular economy promotes resource conservation and recovery strategies like reuse and recycle, with cities playing a key role in its varied implementation and impact.
- Circular economy's implementation is often vague and leans towards a techno-optimist view, potentially neglecting the balance between economic growth and environmental protection.
- The circular economy and circular cities provide a key solution to unsustainable resource use, aiming to reduce environmental impacts and safeguard the biosphere amid rising consumption and ecological challenges.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: Cities play a central role in the circular economy (CE) as they are important centres of production and consumption, responsible for 80% of global GDP. European cities are particularly important due to their position of power in the global economy as major markets, and places of industrial and social innovation. Yet urban CE policies and discourses remain poorly researched and understood. This paper addresses this research gap by analysing and comparing the CE policies and discourses in different European cities to draw critical insights and recommendations. It does so by first reviewing academic literature on urban CE policies to develop a new conceptual framework to analyse CE discourses and policies. This framework is then used to analyse and compare the CE policies of three European cities: Glasgow, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen. Results show that technocentric approaches to CE are dominant in the three cities. Moreover, they have very limited social justice policies for a fair distribution of the costs and benefits of a CE transition. Key policy recommendations to address these shortcomings are thus proposed. The insights brought about by this paper are valuable for both practitioners and academics seeking to improve urban CE policies.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.088R - The costs and benefits of environmental sustainability;
- No.169R - Circular economy;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 171 - the interview with Nicole Garofano, the Head of Circular Economy Development at Planet Ark Environmental Foundation and the founder of UsePlasticBetter. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, circular economy, knowledge sharing, maker and repair spaces, indigenous connections, and many more.Find out more in the interview!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in circular economy?
Summary of the article titled Circular economy: a brief literature review from 2021 by Erick Hungaro Arruda, Rosangela Andrade Pita Brancalhao Melatto, Wilson Levy, and Diego de Melo Conti, published in the Sustainable Operations and Computers journal.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Dr Nicole Garofano in episode 171 talking about circular economy.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see circular economy as an effective tool to trigger sustainable developments. This article presents many understandings and the evolution of the circular economy in research, highlighting some future prospects for the concept.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Circular economy proposes a change in the extraction-production-disposal paradigm of the current linear economy.
- Circular economy is based on design of manufactured products with added value and maximum use in longer life cycles, creation of versatile products with multiple uses, restitution of solid waste to the industrial sector, and a systemic approach to supply chain management.
- Circular economy is presented as a concept of sustainability with the greatest probability of favourable economic development.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: Hitherto implemented economic mechanisms and development processes have led the planet to face numerous environmental and ecological depletion challenges. In light of this, Circular Economy emerges as an effective tool for triggering a sustainable development process. This article aims to present different perspectives and concepts of circular economy. To that end, a qualitative study was conducted and the methodology of systematic literature review was applied, so as to obtain solid knowledge about the theme, using the most recent and relevant articles. Scielo, Science Direct and Google Scholar database were the source of the articles that met the defined criteria, described in six steps: search key words; only scientific articles considered; publication between 2015 and 2020; in English; with 100 or more citations; relevant content to the theme. As a result, an extract of the researched articles and a comparison between the scientific literature on this subject is presented, showing some evolution of the aspects of the Circular Economy, such as designing of new products, emerging of new legislation and adoption by industry. Although the study was not conclusive on how the evolution of Circular Economy will take place, authors suggest future studies to assess the transition towards an economic circularity. Also, it is recommended that future studies consider case studies as a model for assessing Ciruclar Economy progress in the light of legislation and economic interests.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.110R - Global survey of Precious Plastic Projects;
- No.158R - Integrating Aboriginal cultural values into water planning;
- No.159 - Interview with Michael Browne about integrating Aboriginal values into planning;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in the difference between fairness and equity? What do you think about experimenting instead of trial and error? How can we use water more wisely?
Interview with Jennifer George, commercialisation expert and strategic thinker. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, empathy, trial and error being so last century, equity and many more.
Jennifer George is an experienced business leader/founder with more than 20 years’ experience building new companies and products by connecting multi-stakeholder relationships in renewables, engineering, and ICT technologies. Jennifer has broad sector knowledge and an extensive network of relationships in industry, academia, government, and non-government entities throughout Australia and across the world. Jennifer specialises in big picture, design thinking and offers proven leadership in orchestrating multi-million-dollar strategies and building relationships to create new commercially viable opportunities across fields. Jennifer’s pragmatic perspective is underpinned by an extremely broad range of practical, technical and financial skills across a variety of sustainable technologies that enable her to identify, position and implement complex into sustainable business solutions.
Find out more about Jennifer through these links:
- Jennifer George on LinkedIn;
- Jennifer George at Nakoudu;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.102R - What we owe the future (book summary);
- No.120 - Interview with Matt Ferrell about renewables;
- No.171 - Interview with Nicole Garofano about circular economy;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in why smart city initiatives fail sustainability?
Summary of the article titled Smart city beyond efficiency: Technology-policy-community at play for sustainable urban futures from 2020 by Tan Yigitcanlar, published in the Housing Policy Debate journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see what smart city initiatives overlook regarding sustainability. This article highlights the shortfalls around smart city conceptualisation and practice, and directs to a better approach.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- About two decades of smart city practice has revealed that rather than providing comprehensive and sustainable solutions to the problems of our cities and societies, the movement so far has mainly generated growth in the business portfolios of major technology, construction, and consultancy companies.
- The goal should be achieving sustainable developments, and moving toward holistic solutions by bringing together technology capabilities, good policy, and community support in building the cities of tomorrow and securing smart urban future for all.
- It is critical to find ways to convince authorities and the general public before it is too late of the urban need for a change in urban politics.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: Smart urbanization has become a popular discourse in urban policy circles across the world. This is due to the rising popularity of the smart city notion, the main premise of which is achieving heightened economic development, quality of life, and sustainability through the use of digital data and technology for generating urban service efficiency (Ahvenniemi, Huovila, Pinto-Seppä, & Airaksinen, Citation2017). The smart city movement has created numerous initiatives globally, but almost all of them have failed or lack adequate potential to generate sustainable urban futures (Cugurullo, Citation2018). The main reason behind this inadequacy is that current smart city practice portrays technologically determined and reductionist approaches to the city. These approaches overlook urban, human, and social complexities, and create conditions for new forms of social control, increased social inequality, and marginalization (Bina, Inch, & Pereira, Citation2020). This article highlights the fundamental shortfalls around smart city conceptualization and practice, and points to an approach that utilizes technology, policy, and community as interconnected and balanced drivers to secure sustainable urban futures for all.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.038R - But how bad this "smart city"!;
- No.168 - Interview with Jennifer George about better efficiencies and experimenting instead of trial-and-error
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 168 - interview with Jennifer George, commercialisation expert and strategic thinker. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, empathy, trial and error being so last century, equity and many more.
Find out more in the interview!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in synthetising a city’s intelligent to be smart?
Summary of the article titled What makes a city ‘smart’? from 2016 by Emine Mine Thompson, published in the International Journal of Architectural Computing.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see city governance using information and communication and sensing technologies. This article investigates the use of such tools by city governments and the shortcomings of such approaches.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- While data analytics, administrative control centres, social media, city apps, and other tools offer insights to the city itself here and now, the solutions, visions, and predictions about the city should not only rely on the technology and the data, but also include all stakeholders from the city in order to achieve smart but also human-centred urbanism.
- The smart city concept is not only for creating new holistic systems without siloes but also about improving current systems with an appropriate level of technological interventions.
- Overall, smart city agenda should be based upon long-term vision, people and processes as the main drivers.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: Taking advantage of information and communications technology tools and techniques for city administration, whether it is for urban planning activities, for transport solutions or many other purposes, is not a new concept. However, in order for a city to be classified as ‘smart’, a synthesis of intelligence that transcends mere utilisation is essential. This article analyses the increasing use of information and communications technology and sensing technologies in cities by examining this new way of city governing from a critical perspective. Existing projects and initiatives were investigated to find out how, and to what extent, these tools are being employed by cities. The advantages and the current shortcomings of smart city are also discussed in order to understand the viability of using these tools.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.132 - Interview with Michael Batty about data use in cities;
- No.156 - Interview with Fanni Melles about the need for a long term vision;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how to move and look forward to a better future after negative experiences? What do you think about resilience? How can we become more antifragile and creative for better futures?
Interview with Michael Healy, the Smart Cities Programme Manager at Christchurch City Council. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, smart city as the R&D department, the use cases for AI, conflux of natural effects, and many more.
Michael Healy’s interest in the use of technology and innovation to make improvements for business and the community has underpinned his work across both public and private sectors. He is focused on finding solutions and developing new ideas in partnership with the community that make a real impact in the city of Christchurch, its region, Canterbury and around the country of New Zealand. Christchurch is a leader in New Zealand innovation and, through the Christchurch City Council’s Smart Christchurch Programme, Michael is excited to play a part in making Christchurch a better place to be.
You can find out more about Michael through these links:
- Michael Healy on LinkedInS
- Smart Christchurch website;
- smartchristchurch.org.nz to reach out to Smart Christchurch;
- Michael Healy on The Smart Community Podcast;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.003 - Interview with Frans-Anton Vermast about Amsterdam Smart City;
- No.020R - Antifragile (book summary);
- No.042 - Interview with Professor Mark Burry about AI use in design practice;
- No.075 - Interview with Gavin Cotterill about digital twins;
- No.159 - Interview with Michael Browne about healthy environments and water management;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in whether a resilient community is a sustainable one?
Summary of the article titled A discussion of resilience and sustainability: Land use planning recover from the Canterbury earthquake sequence, New Zealand from 2015 by W.S.A. Saunders and J.S. Becker, published in the International Journal of Disaster Rick Reduction.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how sustainability and resilience are used within land use planning and natural hazard context. This article presents that a resilient community also needs to be sustainable partly for legislation, but also to ensure that the economic, social, cultural and environmental needs of future generations are met.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- A sustainable community needs resilience by definition to be able to bounce back from natural hazards and disasters.
- Another important contributor to resilience is ensuring that communities are engaged and empowered to take part in the land use planning process so that they can effectively contribute to reducing their own risks before and after a disaster.
- Recognising and accounting for a wider array of resilient factors may bring resilience closer to the concept of sustainability, and as a consequence, the goals of sustainability and resilience may become more closely aligned.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: The term ‘resilience’ is increasingly being used in a multitude of contexts. Seemingly the latest ‘buzz’ word, it can mean many things to many people, in many different situations. In the natural hazard context, the terms ‘sustainable planning’, and ‘resilience planning’ are now being used, often interchangeably. But from a natural hazard perspective, is a resilient community a sustainable one? In order to be sustainable, does a community need to be resilient? The purpose of this paper is to answer these two questions, and stimulate discussion on how the two terms are being used. The paper provides an overview of resilience and sustainability within a land use planning and natural hazard context, and discusses how they are interrelated. The New Zealand legislative requirements for resilience and sustainability are outlined, followed by the presentation of an example from the earthquake impacted city of Christchurch, New Zealand. This example outlines the planning response to the earthquakes, and the sustainable and resilient planning options being implemented. The discussion shows that a resilient community should also be a sustainable community, in order to meet legislative requirements, and – more importantly – to ensure the needs of future generations are met, economically, socially, culturally, and environmentally.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.023R - Smart cities and disaster resilience;
- No.163R - Rethinking resilience: reflection on the earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, 2010 and 2011
- No.165 - Interview with Michael Healy, the Smart Cities Programme Manager at Christchurch City Council;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 165 - interview with Michael Healy, the Smart Cities Programme Manager at Christchurch City Council. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, smart city as the R&D department, the use cases for AI, conflux of natural effects, and many more.
Find out more in the interview!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in rethinking resilience?
Summary of the article titled Rethinking resilience: Reflections on the earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, 2010 and 2011 from 2013 by Bronwyn Mary Hayward, published in the Ecology and Society journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how to rethink resilience after natural disasters. This article presents calls for expanding political imagination about resilience, to include areas of compassion and political resistance.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Human resilience is best understood as the interrelationships among the individuals and their community, environment, and social institutions and we need to always ask: resilience of what and for whom?
- Regardless of charges against people not being able to imagine for the long term, they are already exercising their political agency or their ability to imagine and effect desired change in new ways.
- Human prosperity and flourishing require more than resilience – it requires creative political imagination and agency, the ability to take action to shape our life circumstances.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: Resilience has emerged as a policy response in an era of public concern about disasters and risks that include fear of terrorism and environmental or economic catastrophe. Resilience is both a refreshing and a problematic concept. It is refreshing in that it creates new opportunities for interdisciplinary research and vividly reminds us that the material world matters in our social lives, political economy, and urban planning. However, the concept of resilience is also problematic. Widespread, uncritical calls for greater resilience in response to environmental, economic, and social challenges often obscure significant questions of political power. In particular, we may ask, resilience of what, and for whom? My reflection here was written in the context of the ongoing grief, disruption, and community protest in my home city of Christchurch, New Zealand, a city that experienced 59 earthquakes of magnitude 5 or more, and over 3800 aftershocks of magnitude 3 or greater between September 2010 and September 2012. From this perspective, I call for expanding our political imagination about resilience, to include ideas of compassion and political resistance. In my observation, both compassion, expressed as shared vulnerability, and resistance, experienced as community mobilization against perceived injustice, have been vital elements of grassroots community recovery.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.020R - Antifragile: Things that gain from disorder;
- No.023R - Smart cities and disaster resilience;
- No.165 - Interview with Michael Healy, the Smart Cities Programme Manager at Christchurch City Council;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in the smart city as making urban life easier for people? What do you think about standards and their uses? How can we use the urban lifecycle approach?
Interview with Warren Hill, enterprise account director at Appscore. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, combination of different visions, the use of standards, the economic concerns, and many more.
Warren Hill has over 30 years of experience in account management across four continents for consulting, software and infrastructure and managed service providers. Warren’s experience in large scale transformation programs has been utilised within various government and commercial enterprises to deliver positive outcomes to stakeholders, employees and citizens. Over the past 20+ years Warren has been based in Australia and managed a series of organisations growth, sales strategy and corporate strategy across APAC. Warren is chair of the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) in Victoria. Warren is on the Board of Standards Australia Smart Cities initiative. Warren is an ambassador for TechDiversity, MeetMagic.org and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
You can find out more about Warren through these links:
- Warren Hill on LinkedIn;
- @warrenmjhill as Warren Hill on Twitter;
- Appscore website;
- Warren Hill as the AIIA Victoria Council Chair;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.090 - Interview with Professor Matthew McCartney about urban economics;
- No.108 - Interview with Dr Anthony Kent about urban geography;
- No.171 - Interview with Nicole Garofano about circular economy;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in the privacy and security aspects of smart city solutions?
Summary of the article titled Perception of the quality of smart city solutions as a sense of residents’ safety from 2021 by Justína Zywiolek and Francesco Schiavone, published in the Energies journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how to examine the safety and level of satisfaction for the smart city. This article presents a methodology for examining residents’ satisfaction and potential threats in order to investigate undefined desires and identified and confirmed needs.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Smart cities and smart city communities can be defined as systems of people that interact and use the flows of energy, materials, services and financing to catalyse a sustainable economy, development, resilience and high quality of life.
- Perceiving risk and fear of privacy loss may induce people to avoid smart city solutions, question their quality and intention, and past studies emphasized that residents' satisfaction rose when they viewed their city’s intelligent solutions positively.
- The urban transformation to smart cities and better urban asset and resource management needs to incorporate citizens and their perceived risks to their privacy and security which cannot be disturbed.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Personalization, mobility, artificial intelligence, corporate life transferred to the online world—all these elements will shape all intelligent solutions, including those for cities in the future also in the field of energy management. A necessary condition is to determine which specific repetitive behaviors and features smart cities will have to meet in order to build an image among residents and adapt to their preferences and requirements and energy requirements. Smart cities were created to support residents in using various services, to give them the possibility of easy communication without time and local barriers. Therefore, high-quality smart solutions in cities significantly affect trust in the city and can affect its reputation. Given that the purpose of the article is to examine the perception of intelligent solutions also in the field of energy and their impact on the sense of privacy and security, different exchanges of perceptions of quality, the risks they pose to residents and their perception of what gives a picture, have been studied. The results of empirical research clearly showed that the safety and level of satisfaction with the activities carried out by the city have a significant impact on the perceived quality, which in turn has a positive impact on reputation. The authors proposed a methodology based on the Kano model for examining residents’ satisfaction in order to investigate undefined desires and identified and confirmed needs and to study the analysis of risk and potential threats. The study was in the form of a proprietary questionnaire that can be used in similar surveys on the satisfaction of residents; 2685 correctly completed questionnaires were analyzed and the results obtained after submission were included in management action plans. The city government has expressed an interest that the measures taken will be reviewed after one to two years.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.004R - Will the real smart city please stand up?
- No.162 - Interview with Warren Hill about securing things for citizens' use;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 162 - interview with Warren Hill, enterprise account director at Appscore. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, combination of different visions, the use of standards, the economic concerns, and many more.
Find out more in the interview!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in the city as the theatre for social action?
Summary of the article titled What is a city? from 1937 by Lewis Mumford, from the Architectural Record.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how the city can be understood beyond the usual suspects of people, infrastructure and networks. This article presents Mumford’s propositions about city planning and the human potential, both individual and social, of urban life.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- The city in its complete sense then is a geographic plexus, an economic organisation, an institutional process, a theatre of social action, and an aesthetic symbol of collective unity.
- Social facts are primary and the physical organisation of a city, its industries and its markets, its lines of communication and traffic must be subservient to its social needs.
- Instead of trusting the mere population growth to produce the theatre, we must seek these sociological results from deliberate action.
You can find the article through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.126 - Interview with Corey Gray about beauty for sustainability;
- No.183 - Interview with Ted Baillieu about previous planning influencing current urban life;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in the Aboriginal understanding of country? What do you think about water in cities? How can we become more connected to country itself?
Interview with Michael Browne, manager at Melbourne Water. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, aboriginal and indigenous ideas, what water means to country, resilience, and many more.
Michael is a proud Barkandji/ Wemba Wemba man who grew up in rural southern NSW. He completed a Bachelor of Engineering and as a result of his cultural connection to water and growing up witnessing the impact that drought can have on a community, has recognised the importance of and feels fortunate to have worked in the water industry for 20 years. Michael has recently been working within the Integrated Water Management Planning team at Yarra Valley where he has been focussing on place-making to ensure a continued focus is given to the importance of water and elevating the cultural knowledge and skills of Traditional Owners in planning for the future.
Find out more about Michael online through these links:
- Michael Browne on LinkedIn;
- Michael Browne on the Making Waves podcast series;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.027 - Interview with Richard Manasseh about water in cities;
- No.135 - Interview with Paul Satur about urban water management;
- No.158R - Integrating Aboriginal cultural values into water planning;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in Aboriginal value integration into water planning?
Summary of the article titled Integrating Aboriginal cultural values into water planning: a case study from New South Wales, Australia from 2019 by Bradley J. Moggridge, Lyndal Betterridge, and Ross M. Thompson, published in the Australasian Journal of Environmental Management.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how Aboriginal cultural values can enhance water management. This article investigates New South Wales’ government’s Aboriginal Water Initiative and provides insights into engagement and consultation.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Water management, its terminology, administrative structures and implementation, is complex, and this is not unique to Australia.
- Indigenous and Aboriginal involvement in water management can establish more culturally responsive and sustainable practices and trust.
- The AWI experience provides a set of approaches, experiences, protocols and principles for this engagement that can inform future water management initiatives.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: Australia is the driest inhabited continent on Earth and has an acute need to manage its water resources effectively. Australian Aboriginal peoples have a profound knowledge of surface water and groundwater which has allowed them to thrive for thousands of generations even in the most arid parts of the landscape. Aboriginal peoples place a high priority on protecting water, but the challenge is to ensure that their values are integrated into water planning. The Australian New South Wales (NSW) government’s Aboriginal Water Initiative (AWI) (2012-2017) sought to include Aboriginal cultural and spiritual values in water management. The AWI operated under the NSW Government’s Water Management Act 2000, which seeks to protect the cultural and spiritual values of water and the benefits to flow to Aboriginal peoples. Speaking from the perspective of the previous leader of the AWI, this article will reflect on its inception and structure, particularly focussing on approaches of engagement and consultation. These were highly structured and included a focus on cultural training and protocols and benefited from having Aboriginal staff involved. While ultimately discontinued in 2017, a reflection on the AWI provides useful insights into how engagement and consultation can be operationalised in water management and policy.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.159 - Interview with Michael Browne about Aboriginals in Australia
- No.171 - Interview with Nicole Garofano about circular economy and its roots in Aboriginal values
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 159 - the interview with Michael Browne, manager at Melbourne Water. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, aboriginal and indigenous ideas, what water means to country, resilience, and many more.
Find out more in the interview!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in both smartness and the city in the smart city concept?
Summary of the article titled Ontological review of smart city research from 2017 by Arkalgud Ramaprasad, Aurora Sánchez-Ortiz and Thant Syn, presented at the Twenty-third Americas Conference on Information Systems.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how academic research investigated smart cities in 2016. This article investigates how smartness is very much interesting for the research community, but the city seems largely unexplored in the smart city term.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- The introduced ontological framework approaches smart cities from smartness with structure, functions, focus and semiotics and city with stakeholders and outcomes which can be used to investigate any smart city initiative or research.
- In the investigated research, the authors found more focus on the structure aspect with systems and IT than on stakeholders and outcomes.
- Researchers should consider the interdisciplinary nature of the smart city research and must integrate technological, social, and urban aspect of the smart city with the aim to achieve the desired outcomes in a more unified approach.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: The meaning of the word “city” has evolved since the first urban civilization was labeled as such more than 5,000 years ago. The concept of Smartness in Cities appeared initially because of the advancements in information technology; now cities are working diligently towards being considered “Smart”. However, the term Smart City is still conceptually vague and sometimes biased towards the use of information technology, and not on the city. This article a) presents an ontological framework of Smart City which is logically constructed but grounded in the literature of Smart Cities, and b) maps 373 journal articles—published in 2016 on the topic “smart city”—onto the framework. The mapping reveals that Smart City research in 2016 mainly focuses on the Smart part of the framework, specifically the structural elements, while the City part remains largely unexplored.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.150P - What is academia's role in establishing the future of cities? Panel discussion;
- No.159I - Interview with Michael Browne about need to involve people;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"We are architects of our life, not victims of it"
!!!!Book giveaway details at the bottom!!!!
Are you interested in the city as the emergent property of the urban agents? What do you think about collective responsibility? How can we create better urban futures?
This is a very special celebratory birthday episode because I am interviewed by a very special guesthost – Ben Vass, Graph Shaman. Ben interviewed me because I finished my PhD and thought it is time to share my knowledge with you guys – using the birthday celebration as well. We talk about my vision for the future of cities, smarter cities and smarter approaches, collective responsibility, Vitruvian and many more.
Fanni Melles is a future of cities researcher, an architect by profession, and a project manager by experience, born in Hungary and now living in Melbourne, Australia. Her enthusiasm for the future of cities led her to create the WTFforCities? podcast (What is The Future for Cities?) where she summarises research articles and interviews people who are actively and consciously working for the better future of our cities. Fanni is completing her PhD studies at Swinburne University of Technology about the future of cities, smart cities, and their operationalisability in practice. Her unique ability is creating practical and orderly systems from chaos and ambiguity to answer questions and improve systems. Fanni firmly believes that cities are the emergent properties of the people living in them so she is working on helping people to have better urban influence. She is also convinced that each city needs a specific future and she wants to facilitate their transformation.
Ben Vass is the kind of person who wants to build a Dyson swarm and explore the stars, while in the meantime wants to understand how this consciousness thing works. He is always standing between 2 worlds and trying to connect them. Due to his strange brain he sees everything as a network of networks, and tries to find the next intellectual thrill. In the past he had worked on swarm intelligence projects, spectral graphs, fraud detection, and GNNs to name a few, and also he contributes to Open Source whenever he can. Everything is a network, you just don't see it yet, according to him.
Ben’s voice can be very familiar because he is the voice in the intro.
You can find out more about me through these links:
- Fanni Melles on LinkedIn;
- @fannimelles as Fanni Melles on Twitter;
- Fanni Melles website;
- Making future cities 'smarter' PhD thesis at Swinburne Research Bank
- WTF4Cities podcast on LinkedIn;
- WTF4Cities website;
- @WTF4Cities as WTF4Cities on Twitter;
- Fanni Melles on RTRFM On Record program;
- Fanni Melles on RRR ByteIntoIT radio;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.003 - Interview with Frans-Anton Vermast;
- No.138 - Interview with Luis Natera;
- No.147 - Interview with Damian Hewitt;
- No.154R - Smart city, smarter city, smarter approaches;
!!!!Book giveaway details!!!!
You can enter the giveaway to get one of the books very connected to this podcast:
- Antifragile from Nassim Nicholas Taleb,
- What we owe the future from Will MacAskill or
- Brighter from Adam Dorr
You only have to answer at least one of these questions on LinkedIn or twitter below the birthday episodes’ announcements.
- What did you learn this year from these episodes?
- What was the most interesting and important for you?
- What would you like to learn more about in the future?
- What action did you take after these episodes?
After a week, I will draw the winners and let you choose from the books whichever you prefer – very exhuberant audience members could even ask for my thesis if wanted, but the give-away is more
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
What action will you take to create a better future for cities, thus humanity?
The celebration of the second year of the podcast!
I would like to thank you all for joining me on this adventure. I am really grateful for your support. And I am especially thankful for my interviewees who took the time to appear on the podcast and share their ideas and insights. And stay tuned to learn what's ahead of us!
You can enter the giveaway to get one of the books very connected to this podcast:
- Antifragile from Nassim Nicholas Taleb,
- What we owe the future from Will MacAskill or
- Brighter from Adam Dorr
You only have to answer at least one of these questions on LinkedIn or twitter below the birthday episodes’ announcements.
- What did you learn this year from these episodes?
- What was the most interesting and important for you?
- What would you like to learn more about in the future?
- What action did you take after these episodes?
After a week, I will draw the winners and let you choose from the books whichever you prefer – very exhuberant audience members could even ask for my thesis if wanted, but the give-away is more about the books not my thesis. So answer at least one of the questions on LinkedIn or twitter in the coming week and you can enter the draw!
Let me know on LinkedIn or on Twitter @WTF4Cities to enter the giveaway or on the wtf4cities.com website where the transcripts and shownotes are available.
I hope this was an interesting summary for you as well, and thanks for tuning in during this year, I highly appreciate all of you!
And a final question for today: what action will you take to create a better future for cities, thus humanity?
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for the celebratory episode 156 - the interview with yours truly, Fanni Melles.
I am interviewed by a very special guesthost – Ben Vass, Graph Shaman. Ben interviewed me because I finished my PhD and thought it is time to share my knowledge with you guys – using the birthday celebration as well. We talk about my vision for the future of cities, smarter cities and smarter approaches, collective responsibility, Vitruvian and many more.
Find out more in the episode!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in why the smart city is complete rubbish?
We are starting our 2nd birthday celebration today!!!
Our summary today works with the presentation titled Smart City? Smarter City? Smarter Approach? The Smarter City Flywheel from 2023 by yours truly, Fanni Melles, presented at several companies as a result and evolution of my PhD research.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how the smart city idea can be useful for practice. This presentation investigates the history of smart cities and the potential evolution from there.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 things:
- There is no the smart city definition and shouldn’t be one.
- Smarter cities imply the always evolving nature of cities,
- while smarter approaches can be even more useful for practice. Since cities are already present, our approaches can be smarter, establishing a smarter approach or smarter city flywheel.
What can we do today toward the better and smarter future for our cities, and consequently our grandchildrens’ grandchildrens?
- Let’s help everyone understand that we don’t need THE smart city because cities are different in nature and one global idea cannot cover and assist cities in their quest to improve.
- Let’s expand our thinking from smart cities to smarter cities and smarter approaches which depend upon each location and direction – for example, extending our thinking from resilience to antifragility on that spectrum.
- Let’s help each city find its flywheel and smarter approaches. In this way, we can create the better future for our cities and humanity.
You can find the presentation through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.003I - Interview with Frans-Anton Vermast;
- No.156I - Interview with Fanni Melles, about the future of cities;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how to talk about sustainability for people to care? What do you think about education about sustainability? How can we become more connected and more data-driven at the same time?
Interview with Ana Enache, overall sustainability enthusiast and Chief of Staff at AppScore. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, not taking actions, technology as a neutral tool, smart and educated citizens, and many more.
Drawing on over a decade of experience delivering large scale banking technology projects, Ana has seen first hand the transformational power that successful digital implementations have on an organisation’s employees and customers. At Appscore, Ana’s central focus is on continuous business improvement. She works with all department heads to ensure processes drive smooth and efficient running internally and first class servicing of their clients. Quarterly and annual organisational goals are set and special projects executed as part of Appscore’s culture of active, positive change. Ana is passionate about how technology changes lives and is excited that we are only seeing the start of how digital will improve how the world functions. The belief that at Appscore they take an active role in shaping this change, means she loves connecting all parts of the business to deliver consistent, ongoing improvement for their people and customers.
You can find out more about Ana through these links:
- Ana Enache on LinkedIn;
- Ana Enache at Appscore;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.057 - Interview with Amélie Uhrig about individual steps we can take;
- No.060 - Interview with Gala Camacho about responsible technologies and steward ownership;
- No.120 - Interview with Matt Ferrell about renewables;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in where the three pillars of sustainability came from?
Summary of the article titled Three pillars of sustainability: in search of conceptual origins from 2018 by Ben Purvis, Yong Mao and Darren Robinson, published in the Sustainability Science journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how the three pillars of sustainability – social, economic and environment – came about. This article investigates the origins of sustainability and the gradual emergence of these pillars due to critics.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Sustainable ideas have been emerging since the 17th century but gained more aspects during the 20th century to include economic, environmental and social aspects and economic growth can be a solution to environmental and social challenges.
- Sustainable development was clearly defined in the 1987 Brundtland report as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
- Even though the origins of the three pillars are unclear, each of them is vital for sustainability and a clear understanding is crucial for proper implementation and decreased political nature.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: The three-pillar conception of (social, economic and environmental) sustainability, commonly represented by three intersecting circles with overall sustainability at the centre, has become ubiquitous. With a view of identifying the genesis and theoretical foundations of this conception, this paper reviews and discusses relevant historical sustainability literature. From this we find that there is no single point of origin of this three-pillar conception, but rather a gradual emergence from various critiques in the early academic literature of the economic status quo from both social and ecological perspectives on the one hand, and the quest to reconcile economic growth as a solution to social and ecological problems on the part of the United Nations on the other. The popular three circles diagram appears to have been first presented by Barbier (Environ Conserv 14:101, doi: 10.1017/s0376892900011449, 1987), albeit purposed towards developing nations with foci which differ from modern interpretations. The conceptualisation of three pillars seems to predate this, however. Nowhere have we found a theoretically rigorous description of the three pillars. This is thought to be in part due to the nature of the sustainability discourse arising from broadly different schools of thought historically. The absence of such a theoretically solid conception frustrates approaches towards a theoretically rigorous operationalisation of ‘sustainability’.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.008R - What are the differences between sustainable and smart cities?;
- No.036 - Interview with Magnus Moglia about urban regeneration and sustainability;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 153 - interview with Ana Enache, overall sustainability enthusiast and Chief of Staff at Appscore. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, not taking actions, technology as a neutral tool, smart and educated citizens and many more.
Find out more in the interview!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in the aesthetics of sustainable architecture?
Summary of the article titled Aesthetics of sustainability and architecture: An overview from 2020 by Aurelija Daugelaite and Indre Grazuleviciute-Vileniske, published in the Urban Studies journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see whether the aesthetics of sustainable architecture is distinguishable. This article investigates the question of sustainability aesthetics and the ways that it is expressed in the field of architecture.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- It is important to investigate how important are social, psychological and especially, aesthetic aspects of the sustainability architecture.
- Aesthetics is supposed to sense and eternalise the identity of the historical period and the society and newer concepts of aesthetics combine beauty, harmony, grandeur, tragedy, heroism, irony, etc.
- It is possible to create architecture as an attractive carbon free product which can literally be an advertisement for the alternative lifestyles and show that reduction in consumption does not necessarily mean a reduction in quality.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Sustainable development ‒ development that meets the needs of the present-day societies without compromising the possibilities of the future societies to meet their needs – became the predominant paradigm of planning policies. This concept with its environmental, social, economic and cultural dimensions has been applied to the field of architecture since the end of the 20th century. However, numerous researchers still notice techno-logical and ecological orientation of sustainable architecture and the lack of attention to its cultural, place-based and aesthetics aspects. The ques-tion may be asked if it is possible to distinguish the aesthetics of sustainable architecture. Thus, this research analyses the question of sustainability aesthetics and the ways that it is expressed in the field of architecture. In order to reach this aim: the quantitative and qualitative literature review on the questions of sustainability aesthetics and sustainability aesthetics in architecture was performed; the discussion of the notion of sustainability aesthetics and the aesthetic trends of sustainable architecture was developed based on the results of literature analysis.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.022R - Crypto cities;
- No.125R - Aesthetics of Sustainability;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in academia’s role in establishing the better future for cities? What do you think is not academia’s role? How can we improve academic research for the better future for cities?
This episode is a panel discussion where I invited back previous interviewees to answer some questions together and let them discuss the different viewpoints. The panellists were Professor Jeni Paay, Professor Richard Manasseh and Associate Professor Magnus Moglia about their understanding of academia’s roles, responsibilities, and opportunities in establishing the future of cities, the distinction between R&D and academic research, multidisciplinarity, academic needs, and many more.
Previous interviews with the panelists:
- No.027 - Interview with Richard Manasseh;
- No.036 - Interview with Magnus Moglia;
- No.093 - Interview with Jeni Paay;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in what is the role of academic researchers in establishing the better future of cities?
Our summary today works with the article titled Urban futures: systemic or system changing interventions? A literature review using Meadows’ leverage points as analytical framework from 2020 by Corina Angheloiu and Mike Tennant, published in the Cities journal.
This is a great preparation to the following Panel discussion in episode 150 with Jeni Paay, Richard Manasseh and Magnus Moglia conversing about academia’s role and responsibilities for the better future of cities.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see what needs to be changed to achieve sustainability through academic literature. This article presents the need to rethink not just outcomes but processes for urban transformations including the roles and agency of urban researchers.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- In academic research, there is a need to focus on processes as much as on outcomes and this article cautions against solely focusing on parameters while disregarding the feedback loops, system structure and mental models that are legitimised.
- The disproportionate focus on parameters poses the risk of supporting long-term target setting or infrastructural decisions that are not systemic which can result in falling short of acknowledging and interrogating the dominant worldview, values and paradigms underpinning them – only strengthening the status quo.
- When intervening in complex systems characterised by wicked problems, there are not good or bad interventions, but better or worse ones.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Urban-led change for sustainability is a key site of intervention in delivering the ambitions of the Sustainable Development Goals. Within this broad discourse, four umbrella concepts have emerged in recent decades: urban sustainability, urban transitions, urban transformation and urban resilience. This literature review aims to offer a qualitative assessment of the types of interventions currently being advocated for in academic-led literature. Firstly, the paper presents an overview of the concepts and summarises current gaps; secondly, it uses Donella Meadows' Leverage Points as analytical framework to categorise and discuss interventions supported in the literature. Our findings indicate that although the literature advocates for systemic change towards sustainability as an outcome of a large palette of urban interventions, less consideration is given to the means of achieving these. The findings highlight the need to focus on processes as much as on outcomes when advocating, devising or implementing interventions. This requires a process of understanding and negotiating trade-offs and the different worldviews and values that underpin them. Addressing this entails going beyond technocratic skills through cultivating reflexivity, effective communities of practice and new forms of organising for knowledge production, as well as interrogate our roles and agency as urban researchers.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.090 - Interview with Professor Matthew McCartney about research of different disciplines;
- No.132 - Interview with Professor Michael Batty about urban research and data use;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how smart city can be more than just top-down or bottom-up?
Our summary today works with the article titled Interstitiality in the smart city: more than top-down and bottom-up smartness from 2023 by Ryan Burns and Preston Welker, published in the Urban Studies journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how smart city can be more. This article investigates the interstitial actors that influence the ways in which the smart city manifests, through the case of Calgary, Alberta.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Smart city concepts have traditionally focused on the top and the bottom of the landscape, however, they have been influenced by the middle, the interstitial actors.
- These interstitial actors are neither passive recipients nor mere conduits for smart city policies, rather, they actively shape smart city programmes even if they are physically absent from the arenas of formal planning.
- This understanding opens new avenues for activists, policymakers and interstitial actors to intervene in smart city politics, towards more just cities.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: The critical research agenda on smart cities has tended to assume a largely top-down orientation in which powerful actors like the state and corporations enact programmes to embed Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) in the urban landscape. Because of the way research has framed this relation of power, the dominant response has been to seek social justice by either contesting these top-down exercises of (digital) power or by reconceptualising the smart city ‘from below’. In this paper, we join a growing chorus of voices recognising the importance of interstitial actors that influence the ways in which the smart city manifests. We draw on a five-year ongoing study in Calgary, Alberta, to examine two actor groups that are, properly, neither top-down nor bottom-up, but play an important role in envisioning, implementing and contesting how ‘smartness’ is framed. The first set of actors, situated between the top and bottom of the smart city hierarchy, are most prominently community associations, non-profit organisations and ad-hoc task groups. The second group is comprised of groups with different digital practices, whose spectre of marginalisation influences how digital systems are articulated and pursued. These actors strategically move between different interstices in order to enact particular kinds of political influence, and often influence smart cities by virtue of their absence, profoundly impacting urban political geographies of smartness.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.060 - Interview with Gala Camacho about responsible technologies and steward ownership;
- No.146R - Including marginalised communities in urban development and smart cities;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotesare also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how focusing on disability needs in technology can enhance the whole user experience? What do you think about smartness meaning simplification? How can we use AI for the better?
Interview Damian Hewitt, Head of Smart Cities and Future Mobility at SAGE Group. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, cities as lifestyle centres, agility for technology, collaboration, urban mobility, and many more.
Damian Hewitt is the Head of Smart Cities and Future Mobility at SAGE Group. He is responsible for developing and executing the strategic plan for delivering innovative technology to digitally connect communities as an important next piece of future mobility, people, and place. SAGE’s Smart Cities delivery model is supporting a whole of network approach by providing benefits like connected Public Transport, MaaS, Tourism, Emergency Services, Councils and Community, and the opportunity to focus on key initiatives, such as equitable transport supporting disability and age care needs, safer communities and other exciting initiatives that really make a difference in people’s lives.
You can find out more about Damian through these links:
- Damian Hewitt on LinkedIn;
- Damian Hewitt at SAGE Group;
- Smart Cities and Future Mobility at SAGE Group;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.048 - Interview with Professor Hussein Dia about urban mobility;
- No.138 - Interview with Luis Natera about electrification of urban mobility;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in the right to the city?
Summary of the article titled Human rights and the city: Including marginalised communities in urban development and smart cities from 2019 by Tina Kempin Reuter, published in the Journal of Human Rights.
This is a great preparation to our next interviewee in episode 147, Damian Hewitt, where we talk a lot about the need to include the marginalised groups into city development.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see what the right to the city means. This article focuses on the questions of how to build inclusive, fair and accessible cities and how to eliminate inequalities seen in urban communities.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- The localisation of human rights is a relatively new trend with two distinct narratives: first, rights in the city focuses on human rights implementation in cities, second the right to the city calls for all inhabitants to be able to fully enjoy and contribute to the city life with all of its services and advantages.
- To achieve a human-centred modern urban environment, cities need to involve marginalised communities, like people with disabilities, in urban planning, train the industry and policy-makers about the needs of marginalised communities and engage them actively in product development, design solutions, and problem solving.
- Cities can gain new knowledge and insights and become hubs of innovation, sites for new markets and models for other cities in the world and thus they will become key actors in the promotion, protection and implementation of human rights.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: The idea that the city belongs to all individuals inhabiting the urban space is grounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the New Urban Agenda, and it is referred to as “right to the city” or “rights in the city.” This article discusses how human rights relate to the city and its inhabitants, examines the meaning of the right to the city and human rights in the city in today’s urban environment, and deliberates how to transform cities into spaces that reflect fundamental human rights principles. By looking at the situation of marginalized groups in cities, the article focuses on the questions of how to build inclusive, fair, and accessible cities and how to eliminate inequalities seen in urban communities. Because technology is often cited as one way to foster integration of marginalized communities, special attention will be given to the smart city and the opportunities and challenges presented by information and communication technologies (ICTs) for human rights, accessibility, and inclusion. Using the case of persons with disabilities as an illustration, the article argues that urban development needs to be fundamentally transformed to live up to human rights standards. Only a multi-stakeholder urban design process will produce truly inclusive urban spaces that fulfill the right to the city.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.003 - Interview with Frans-Anton Vermast about Amsterdam's smart urban governance;
- No.069 - Interview with Dr Éva Kereszty about disability in the city;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotesare also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer for episode 147I - the interview with Damian Hewitt, Head of Smart Cities and Future Mobility at SAGE Group. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, cities as lifestyle centres, agility for technology, collaboration, urban mobility, and many more.
Find out more in the interview!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how to reduce complexity of the smart city business models?
Summary of the article titled Smart city and simplicity? Modular business models for smart cities from 2020 by Sari Peratalo, Petri Ahokangas, and Saara Pekkarinen, published on the EU’s Futurium platform.
This is a great preparation to our next interviewee in episode 147, Damian Hewitt, where we talk a lot about the smart city as simplicity.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see what business models can do to reduce complexity of smart cities. This article presents the modular business model as a required approach to smart city development and implementation.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Urban governance is the moderating and influencing factor in how our society works but it is often seen as underperforming for the citizens – thus it needs improvement which can be smart city with modular approach.
- Modularity is building complex products and systems from smaller subsystems that can be designed independently yet function together as a whole.
- The modular business model approach in smart cities brings together the different knowledge pieces and skills via lowering the boundaries of urban silos.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: This paper discusses a modular business model approach in the public smart city context. Up to date, the implementation of smart city business models has been challenging due to the complexity and fragmentation of the created models. This study aims at contributing to research by introducing a modular and simpler business model approach for smart cities.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.003 - Interview with Frans-Anton Vermast about Amsterdam's smart urban governance;
- No.138 - Interview with Luis Natera about consciously choosing where to live;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotesare also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in renewable technologies? What do you think about thinking inward and using present opportunities? How can we accept problems to improve them?
Interview with Morley Muse, cofounder of iSTEM Co and Renewable energy consultant. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, cities accommodating technology, equity, open-mindedness, and many more. So, let’s start with a proper introduction.
Dr Morley Muse is a Chemical, Environmental and Renewable Energy Engineer with expertise in wastewater treatment. She has worked across academia, government, and industry including in consulting and construction. As the co-founder of iSTEM Co, a research, consulting, and talent sourcing business that enables employment for women in STEM, Morley continues to encourage women, including women of colour and women from CALD backgrounds to further their careers in STEM. iSTEM Co. was nominated as a finalist for the Women in Digital awards and has recently launched DEIR, a recruit-tech platform that eliminates recruitment bias for women in STEM. DEIR has also received recognition in STEM and won the Lift women social impact award.
You can find out Morley through these links:
- Dr Morley Muse on LinkedIn;
- iSTEM website;
- Dr Morley Muse at iSTEM Co.;
- DEIR website;
- 'Be the change you have not seen' - profile on Dr Morley Muse at Women's Agenda;
- Dr Morley Muse as Elevate Advisory Group Member;
- Dr Morley Muse - the winner of 2022 Women's Agenda Leadership Awards;
- Dr Morley Muse at The Interacademy Partnership;
- A voice for women in STEM - Q&A with Dr Morley Muse at the APAC Outlook;
- Opportunities from treating wastewater with microalgae - Dr Morley at The Royal Society of Victoria;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.006 - Interview with Daniel Prohasky about improving current solutions;
- No.119R - Pessimism and Optimism in the debate on climate change;
- No.120 - Interview with Matt Ferrell about renewable energies;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how to use microalgae to treat wastewater?
Summary of the summary titled Extraction of microalgae as a form of wastewater treatment: Opportunities in biodiesel, biogas, biohydrogen, and volatile fatty acids production from 2023 by our next interviewee in episode 144, Morley Muse about their current work.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see what we can do to treat wastewater better. This summary presents the use of microalgae in wastewater treatment for the production of other resources.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Wastewater is basically any used water and its treatment is a public health and environmental issue which can be sustainably solved with microalgae.
- Letting microalgae consume the nutrient pollutants from the water results in microalgae waste which then can be used to create other resources, like biodiesel and biogas.
- The use of microalgae waste for wastewater treatment and energy production offers a range of benefits and opportunities for a more sustainable and resilient future.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.023 - Smart cities and disaster resilience;
- No.027 - Interview with Richard Manasseh about urban water treatments;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how to future-proof STEM education?
Summary of the article titled Becoming future-proof STEM teachers for enhancing sustainable development: A proposed general framework for a capacity-building programs in future studies from 2022 by Hanaa Ouda Khadri, published in the Prospects Journal.
This is a great preparation to our next interviewee in episode 144, Morley Muse, where we talk a lot about the need for STEM education.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see why it is important to include future studies to STEM education. This article presents why STEM needs to prepare students for an unpredictable future and the skills and basic knowledge that can be useful.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- In post-normal times, science, technology, engineering and mathematics, also known STEM fields need to prepare the students and the educators for the uncertainties and ambiguity of the future.
- Futures Studies, which could be involved in STEM education, is an application in strategic planning field that considers distinctive possibilities of the future, like possible futures, plausible futures, preferable futures and probable futures.
- Individuals and groups engaging in future studies or foresight explore the future from various perspectives in order to inform the current process of decision-making.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Post-normal times and post-normal science are characterized by contradictions, unknown unknowns and uncertainties, and complexity. These global grand challenges require a revolutionary shift in thinking and mindset on the part of teachers and students Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify new roles for STEM education that will prepare students for this post-normal world and the sustainability mindset it requires. STEM education supports sustainable development by building the capacities of future generations. The integration of Future Studies (FS) into STEM education practices is therefore critical to support efforts at sustainability and to ensure that students are competent 21st century problem-solvers. Building STEM students’ competencies in this area depends on their teachers having the appropriate knowledge and skills to integrate FS within their subjects. Therefore, Futures Studies should be included in STEM education teachers’ capacity-building programs. Based on a sample of 52 Egyptian university academics, this study revealed the basic knowledge and skills that should be included in a Future-Proof STEM teachers capacity-building program.
Suggested book - Imaginable by Jane McGonigall.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.021 - Interview with Bridgette Engeler about foresight;
- No.101 - What we owe the future (book summary);
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in the difference between prediction and forecasting? What tools do you think can improve urbanisation? How can we use digital twins better for improvements?
Interview with Soheil Sabri, Digital Delivery Lead for Urban Digital Twin at the Centre for Spatial Data Infrastructures and Land Administration at the University of Melbourne. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, cities as interconnected systems, migration, data types, prediction and forecasting, and many more.
Dr. Soheil Sabri is an Urban Planner and a Senior Research Fellow in Urban Analytics at the Centre for Spatial Data Infrastructures and Land Administration at The University of Melbourne. He leads research and development in Planning Support Systems and Urban Analytics. His research, practice, and teaching interests are about developing Urban Digital Twins, Multi-dimensional (3D/4D) Planning Support Systems, and analytical tools enabling planners and decision makers for evidence-based and data-driven future smart cities’ developments. He is co-chair of the Academic and Research Working Group in the Digital Twin Consortium, a member of PlanTech National Advisory Committee in the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA), and a member of the Spatial Digital Twin working group in Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI) Australia.
You can find out more about Soheil through these links:
- Soheil Sabri on LinkedIn;
- @soheilsabri as Soheil Sabri on Twitter;
- Soheil Sabri at The University of Melbourne;
- Soheil Sabri on Facebook;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No015 - Interview with Luke Housego about data and knowledge;
- No.075 - Interview with Gavin Cotterill about digital twins;
- No.139R - The landscape and evolution of urban planning science;
- No.140R - Creating digital twins to save our cities;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in the benefits and challenges of digital twins?
Summary of the article titled Creating digital twins to save our cities from 2023 by Soheil Sabri, Stephan Winter and Abbas Rajabifard, published on The University of Melbourne website.
This is a great preparation to our next interviewee in episode 141, Soheil Sabri, where we talk a lot about the digital twin technologies.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see what digital twins are capable of. This article presents insights to digital twins, their benefits and current boundaries with the hope of overcoming current urban challenges.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Digital twins can be used to improve urban sustainability, resilience, and efficiency.
- Digital twins can be used to monitor and analyse the performance of physical assets, simulate the effects of different scenarios, and improve collaboration between different stakeholders.
- Digital twins have the potential to transform the way we manage our cities.
You can find the article through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.027 - Interview with Professor Richard Manasseh about urban brains;
- No.075 - Interview with Gavin Cotterill about digital twins;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotesare also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in the boundaries and directions of urban planning science?
Summary of the article titled The landscape and evolution of urban planning science from 2023 by Milad Haghani, Soheil Sabri, Chris De Gruyter, Ali Ardeshiri, Zahra Shahhoseini, Thomas W. Sanchez, and Michele Acuto, published in the Cities journal.
This is a great preparation to our next interviewee in episode 141, Soheil Sabri, where we talk a lot about the urban planning science.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see what urban planning science is. This article presents insights how the science of urban planning has historically transitioned and where it is headed.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Urban planning is a multidisciplinary technical profession, and endeavour that aims to create better places and public spaces for people by balancing the built and natural environment.
- The current trajectories towards resilience, smart cities and urban green spaces reflect global concerns about climate change, natural disasters, and the influence of technological developments in smart urban planning and management.
- Urban planning science is evolving to help urban challenges, so should its education too: for example. urban resilience and smart cities are very specific and distinct domains that need a multi-disciplinary training approach to prepare urban planners and policy-makers in addressing climate change issues and leveraging emerging technologies for sustainable, productive and liveable cities.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: The science of urban planning has drawn on a wide range of disciplines and research perspectives. This makes it challenging to define the boundaries and directions of the field. Here, nearly 100,000 articles on urban planning are analysed to objectively determine divisions, temporal trends and influential references and actors of urban planning. In terms of the structural composition, four broad divisions are identified: (1) governance and policy, (2) economics and markets, (3) housing and (4) built and natural environment. In terms of the temporal evolution, the earliest trends were related to “welfare economics”, “agglomeration economies”, “urban economics”, and “urban growth machine”. During the 1980s and 1990s, the focus moved towards “regional policy and development”, “social welfare”, and “urban renaissance”. This trend continued during the 2000s and 2010s, heading to “urban morphology”, “participatory planning”, “urban sociology”, “global cities”, and “political economy”. The field has recently headed towards areas of “resilience”, “smart cities” and “urban green space”. These transitions have been derivative, and the paradigm shifts have been very gradual. Another key observation is a notable increase in author connectivity and international collaboration. The results provide objective insights into how the science of urban planning has historically transitioned and where it is headed.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.055R - Smartness that matters about urban water management;
- No.108 - Interview with Dr Anthony Kent about urban geography;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotesare also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested cities as beautiful monsters? What do you think about consciously choosing your city to live? How can be our procrastination regarding climate change a good thing?
Interview with Luis Natera, a software developer and geospatial network scientist. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, urban improvements, car electrification pros and cons, urban choices, and many more.
Dr. Luis Natera is an architect-network scientist focusing on understanding cities from the complex system perspective. He earned a Bachelor in Architecture and Master in Communication of Science and Culture at the Western Institute of Technology and Higher Education in Guadalajara, Mexico. He holds a Ph.D. in Network Science from the Department of Network and Data Science at the Central European University. He was a visiting research fellow at Center for Civic Media at the Media Lab of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Luis has experience working in the private and public sectors. His academic research interest revolves around urban mobility in multiplex urban networks, bridging urban planning and complex systems. Luis currently works as a software developer focusing in Climate Tech. On his free time he enjoys writing a newsletter about cities and technology.
You can find out more about Luis through these links:
- Luis Natera on LinkedIn;
- @natera as Luis Natera on Twitter;
- Luis Natera website;
- Luis Natera newsletter subscription;
- Luis Natera on Instagram;
- Luis Natera at CEU;
- Luis Natera at ANETLAB;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.048 - Interview with Professor Hussein Dia about urban mobility;
- No.137R - Quantifying life quality as walkability on urban networks;
- No.147 - Interview with Damian Hewitt about importance of autonomous vehicles;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how walkability and quality of life are connected?
Summary of the article titled Quantifying life quality as walkability on urban networks: The case of Budapest from 2019 by Luis Natera, David Deritei, Anna Vancso, and Orsolya Vasarhelyi, presented at the International Conference on Complex Networks and Their Applications.
This is a great preparation to our next interviewee in episode 138, Luis Natera, who talks a lot about urban mobility systems in the interview as well.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how we can quantify urban walkability. This article presents how to measure urban network walkability and its impact on quality of urban life, through the case of Budapest.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Investigating urban walkability can highlight important factors to consider for urban decision-makers and designers for improving the quality of life.
- Since the walkability of a neighbourhood is highly correlated with its liveability, both long distances and the lack of amenities affects suburban habitat lives negatively.
- Designing compact, liveable neighbourhoods, considering also the upcoming environmental crises is the number one priority of many cities worldwide.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Life quality in cities is deeply related to the mobility options, and how easily one can access different services and attractions. The pedestrian infrastructure network provides the backbone for social life in cities. While there are many approaches to quantify life quality, most do not take specifically into account the walkability of the city, and rather offer a city-wide measure. Here we develop a data-driven, network-based method to quantify the liveability of a city. We introduce a life quality index (LQI) based on pedestrian accessibility to amenities and services, safety and environmental variables. Our computational approach outlines novel ways to measure life quality in a more granular scale, that can become valuable for urban planners, city officials and stakeholders. We apply data-driven methods to Budapest, but as having an emphasis on the online and easily available quantitative data, the methods can be generalized and applied to any city.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.027 - Interview with Richard Manasseh about urban water management;
- No.047 - Interview Hussein Dia about urban transport;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotesare also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how the legal framework in Australia influences walking?
Summary of the article titled An analysis of the legal framework influencing walking in Australia from 2022 by Tracy Nau, Adrian Bauman, William Bellew, Billie Giles-Corti, and Ben J Smith, published in the Public Health Research & Practice journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how one potential urban mobility method, walking is influenced by legal frameworks. This article presents the shortcomings and opportunities for Australian legislation in encouraging walking.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Walking offers a vital policy target for governments seeking to increase populate physical activity because it is a prevalent and easy access behaviour across social groups and can be incorporated into daily life such as recreation or transport.
- Although much is known about the built environment design elements that promote walking, and tools have been developed to assess walkability, there is limited understanding about the statutory components of the system that direct and regulate changes to the built environment in Australia.
- More studies are needed to help decision-makers and advocacy groups to fully understand and utilise walkability, like longitudinal or cross-section investigations across the different jurisdictions.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Although walking is a priority in many strategic plans in Australian cities, there is limited understanding of the statutory components for delivering this. Confusion still exists despite substantial evidence about the built environment elements that promote walking and the availability of tools to assess walkability outcomes. This paper examines the characteristics and components of the legal framework that influence the walkability of built environments in Australian states and territories. We audited the form and nature of statutory components regulating the design of the built environment and used framework analysis to identify and compare the main statutory instrument/s that address walkability design considerations in each state and territory. Lawmaking for planning may involve the state/territory parliament, executive, ministers, government departments and/or statutory authorities. The state/territory planning Act is the primary legislation that sets out the framework for the prevailing planning systems. Its relevance to walkability arises from its planning objectives, the legal effect it confers to statutory instruments that support the Act’s implementation, and any processes or mechanisms to promote high-quality design outcomes. Most states and territories have developed jurisdiction-wide statutory tools that contain relevant design considerations for walking. These instruments influence walkability through objectives set for planning zones and aspects of development, and through criteria established to achieve the goals. Many jurisdictions use a combination of outcome and rules-based standards to achieve desired design objectives. The variability in jurisdictional approaches poses challenges, and raises uncertainty, about the scope and strength of legal support for creating walkable environments at the national level. Future policy surveillance and epidemiological analysis are needed to refine the specifications of laws that influence walking in Australia.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.048 - Interview with Hussein Dia about urban transport systems;
- No.138 - Interview with Luis Natera about urban walkability;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotesare also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in prosperous cities? What do you think about urban pessimism? How can we be more punk music tragic for the better future of cities?
Interview with Paul Satur, research fellow and lecturer at Monash Water Sensitive Cities and co-founder and CEO of Our Future Cities. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, urban status quos, sustainability, institutional mini-meism, and many more.
Dr. Paul Satur is the Co-Fonder and CEO of not for profit Our Future Cities (OFC). OFC seeks to broaden the dialogue in city shaping, encouraging people of diverse backgrounds, skill-sets and experiences to play a role in fast tracking sustainable transitions, through building deep and diverse connections with people and places. Paul is also an early career environmental and social science researcher within Monash Sustainable Development Institute’s Water Unit. His expertise is regularly sought for guidance on transformative systems processes, pathways and practices that best enable an empowerment and capacity building of diverse stakeholder groups in place-based and Integrated Water Planning and Management processes. Recently, Paul was recognized as the 2020 Australian Young Water Professional of the Year and through his work with OFC received the Stormwater Australian Award for Impact in Education and Policy. Paul currently sits on the International Water Resource Associations Task Force for Water and the SDGs, is a member of the National SDG6 Reference Group and continues to lead a number of multi-stakeholder initiatives that offer a voice to marginalized and traditionally less-heard groups in spaces of complex socio-ecological change. In his spare time, Paul is a punk music tragic, keen surfer and volunteers as a community radio broadcaster.
You can find out more about Paul through these links:
- Paul Satur on LinkedIn;
- @PaulSatur as Paul Satur on Twitter;
- Paul Satur at Monash University;
- Paul Satur at UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab;
- Our Future Cities website;
- Our Future Cities on LinkedIn;
- @ofc_au as Our Future Cities on Twitter;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.021 - Interview with Bridgette Engeler about questioning cities;
- No.093 - Interview with Professor Jeni Paay about pessimism;
- No.119R - Pessimism and optimism in the debate on climate change;
- No.120 - Interview with Matt Ferrell about tackling urban pessimism;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how social inequality influences domestic water and thus broader water sustainability issues?
Summary of the article titled Social inequality and water use in Australian cities: the social gradient in domestic water use from 2021 by Paul Satur and Jo Lindsay, published in the Local Environment – The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability.
This is a great preparation to our next interviewee, Paul Satur who deeply cares about water use and social inequality.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how the social gradient influences domestic water use. This article presents the complex social and environmental dynamics that shape water use in urban areas, and highlights the need for more equitable and sustainable water management strategies.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Sustainable, resilient and liveable water-sensitive cities should not just be for those with the capacity and resources to access them, but for everyone.
- Variability in economic, social, cultural and material resources profoundly influences the nature of water use practices and there is a social gradient in water use where community levels of advantage and disadvantage have an impact on the meanings, materials and competencies associated with water use.
- To ensure socially inclusive progress to water-sensitive cities and sustainability development in general, future implementations and initiatives will need to more effectively address the social gradient in water use.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: This paper explores the impact of social inequality on household water use in urban communities in first-world contexts, an under researched field. We report on an in-depth qualitative study of six communities in two Australian cities to determine the connections between levels of social advantage and household approaches to water use. The different meanings, materials and understandings that underpin domestic water use in each of these communities are documented. We found these elements were influenced by socio-economic status alongside broader systems and infrastructures, technologies and biophysical influences in each city context. Socially advantaged communities used water for leisure and luxury while disadvantaged communities struggled to meet their health and welfare needs. We propose that there is a social gradient in urban water use, which influences the types of sustainability and levels of resilience and liveability people can achieve in cities. The implications for ensuring socially inclusive urban sustainability are discussed.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.027 - Interview with Richard Manasseh about urban water management;
- No.135 - Interview with Paul Satur about water use in cities;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotesare also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how multifunctional urban spaces can contribute to increasing the quality of urban life in dense cities?
Summary of the article titled Multifunctional Urban Spaces – a solution to increase the quality of urban life in dense cities from 2020 by Atieh Ghafouri and Christiane Weber, published the Manzar journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how urban spaces can be designed and managed to promote social inclusion, community engagement, and sustainable development in the face of rapid urbanization and increasing density. The article presents the potential of these spaces to provide a range of social, cultural, and recreational amenities that meet the diverse needs of urban residents.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- The main goal is to improve the quality of life in densely populated cities and this can be achieved through efficiency but we must be able to create spaces for new functions – we must create multifunctional spaces.
- A multifunctional space could be identified with these two characteristics: allow different functions, actors and different users to use it and fulfill the different roles a space might have in line with the environmental, economical and social sustainability.
- When multifunctional cells are put together with a comprehensive vision, the benefits are much more significant than the sum of the advantages each cell could achieve individually.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: As urban population increases, cities face a dilemma on one hand, the horizontal growth causes devastating effects on the environment, and on the other hand, vertical growth leads to a decrease in the quality of life of citizens and causes a variety of mental illnesses. This dilemma has left city managers with a complex puzzle: a city that must be able to accommodate more people with minimal interference ensuring their optimum quality of life. This research presents the idea of multifunctional urban space design as a solution to the mentioned problem. The definition of multifunctional spaces in this research has been investigated using its definition in agriculture and environmental studies. The hypothesis of this research is based on the fact that the comprehensive definition can take a new perspective on urban design, improving the functional performance of existing urban spaces and thus reducing the need to build new facilities while maintaining the quality of life in dense cities. The research method is qualitative and based on bibliographic studies. First, the notion of functional performance and multifunctional space definition are examined in disciplines that produce a more specific interpretation of the subject, and then the definition of concepts is extended to urban design and urban space, highlighted and discussed.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.135 - Interview with Paul Satur about multifunctional urban spaces;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotesare also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in inventing the future of cities? What do you think about urban evolution? How can we predict the future of the city?
Interview with Michael Batty, Bartlett professor of planning. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, history and future urban evolutions, city as a way of life, the urban machine, and many more.
Michael Batty is a British urban planner, geographer and spatial data scientist, and Bartlett Professor of Planning in The Bartlett at University College London. He has been Director—now Chairman—of the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, set up when he was appointed to UCL in 1995. His research and the work of CASA is focused on computer models of city systems. He was awarded the William Alonso Prize of the Regional Science Association in 2011 for his book Cities and Complexity, the same prize a second time for his book The New Science of Cities in 2017–2018, the University Consortium GIS Research Award in 2012, and the Lauréat Prix International de Géographie Vautrin Lud, the so-called 'Nobel for geography', in 2013. In 2015, he was awarded the Founder's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society and in 2016, the Gold Medal of the Royal Town Planning Institute. He also received the Senior Scholar Award of the Complex Systems Society in September 2016.
You can find out more about Michael through these links:
- Michael Batty on LinkedIn;
- @jmichaelbatty as Michael Batty on Twitter;
- http://www.complexcity.info/ Michael Batty's website;
- Michael Batty's address: University College London, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4TJ
- Michael Batty at UCL;
- Inventing Future Cities (book) on Amazon;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.027 - Interview with Richard Manasseh about the urban brain;
- No.087 - Interview with Paul Brookbanks about organic urban evolution;
- No.108 - Interview with Dr Anthony Kent, economic geographer;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how can we create better, more sustainable cities for the future?
Summary of the book titled Inventing Future Cities from 2018 by Michael Batty, published by The MIT Press.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Michael Batty as the books present how he thinks about the future of cities.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how interdisciplinary collaboration and technologies can transform urban life. The book presents the opportunity and call for us to create cities that are more efficient, equitable and liveable for all.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Cities are complex systems that can be understood and improved using a scientific approach, because we can gain a better understanding of the relationships between different urban systems and make more informed decisions that can help create more efficient and sustainable cities.
- Collaboration and interdisciplinary approaches are key to creating better cities and innovative solutions to complex urban challenges which also includes engaging with local communities, and empowering citizens to participate in the planning and design of their cities.
- The future of cities is not predetermined, but by working together and embracing new ideas and technologies, we can create cities that are more sustainable, equitable, and liveable for all.
You can find the book through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.037R - Big data, smart cities and city planning;
- No.130R - A new framework for very large-scale urban modelling;
- No.132 - Interview with Michael Batty data use in urban areas;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotesare also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how large-scale urban modelling going beyond the usual land use and transport interactions?
Summary of the article titled A new framework fro very large-scale urban modelling from 2021 by Michael Batty and Richard Milton, published in the Urban Studies journal.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Michael Batty as he is an expert on urban data management.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how the urban models can be expanded. This article presents a new framework including extensive spatial systems, population, employment, and distributed social interactions, which allows the running of hundreds of ‘what if?’ scenarios.
As the most important things, , I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- As technology progresses, our abilities to model urban scenarios widen to test and investigate different ‘what if?’ scenarios in urban decision-making.
- The models enable us to create evolutionary design processes that continually improves the search for ever-better urban futures.
- The models need to be embraced by users who have enough skill and awareness to be able to use them in planning support to generate plans to test ‘what if?’ style predictions.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: The generation of ever-bigger data sets pertaining to the distribution of activities in cities is paralleled by massive increases in computer power and memory that are enabling very large-scale urban models to be constructed. Here we present an effort to extend traditional land use–transport interaction (LUTI) models to extensive spatial systems so that they are able to track increasingly wide repercussions on the location of population, employment and related distributions of spatial interactions. The prototype model framework we propose and implement called QUANT is available anywhere, at any time, at any place, and is open to any user. It is characterised as a set of web-based services within which simulation, visualisation and scenario generation are configured. We begin by presenting the core spatial interaction model built around the journey to work, and extend this to deal with many sectors. We detail the computational environment, with a focus on the size of the problem which is an application to a 8436 zone system comprising England, Scotland and Wales generating matrices of around 71 million cells. We detail the data and spatial system, showing how we extend the model to visualise spatial interactions as vector fields and accessibility indicators. We briefly demonstrate the implementation of the model and outline how we can generate the impact of changes in employment and changes in travel costs that enable transport modes to compete for travellers. We conclude by indicating that the power of the new framework consists of running hundreds of ‘what if?’ scenarios which let the user immediately evaluate their impacts and then evolve new and better ones.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.037R - Big data, smart cities and city planning;
- No.042 - Interview with Mark Burry about digitalised city;
- No.132 - Interview with Michael Batty data use in urban areas;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotesare also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in creating your own future? What do you think about urban stability and entrepreneurship? How can we charge into the future?
Interview with Alan Donegan, founder at Rebel Business, Entrepreneur and Finance School. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, people and collaboration, healthy competition with abundance mindset, governments doing less of stupid things, and many more.
Alan founded Rebel Business School in 2012 with Simon Paine after they thought there must be a better way to start a business, without debt and without formal business plans. Since then, Rebel Business School become a global movement in Colombia, Morrocco, New Zealand and more. Alan went on to launch The Rebel Entrepreneur podcast and then Rebel Finance School with his wife Katie. Alan and Katie reached financial independence in 2019 and now travel the world writing, playing and eating everything!
You can find out more about Alan through these links:
- Alan Donegan on LinkedIn;
- @AlanDonegan as Alan Donegan on Twitter;
- alandonegan.com website;
- Rebel Business School website;
- Rebel Entrepreneur podcast;
- Rebel Finance School website;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.003 - Interview with Frans-Anton Vermast about Amsterday Smart City;
- No.030 - Interview with Ville Sirviö about Estonia and Finland's e-governance;
- No.120 - Interview with Matt Ferrell about pessimism and resources;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how cities and entrepreneurship are connected?
Summary of the article titled Entrepreneurship in cities from 2021 by Sam Tavassoli, Martin Oschonka, and David B. Audretsch, published in the Research Policy journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how cities influence entrepreneurship and vice versa. This article presents which are the best performing cities in terms of knowledge spillovers and economic performance.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- The extent of density and diversity matters greatly in shaping economic vitality – meaning quality entrepreneurship.
- It is not just firms and industries that matter for knowledge spillovers, but ultimately the people who differ from one another not just in terms of human capital but in their personalities too, which is a key ingredient driving knowledge spillovers.
- What may really matter is how people in cities unlock their agentic tendencies to help turn a favourable city environment into economic outputs.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Impactful, growth-oriented entrepreneurship is a major research and policy focus. Building on arguments put forward by Jane Jacobs more than 50 years ago, we propose that local knowledge spillovers in a city are enhanced by human agency in that city (e.g. local psychological openness). This effect is critically amplified by the catalyst function of a favorable structural city environment that not only connects these agentic people (via urban density), but also facilitates the production and flow of new knowledge for these connected agentic people (via a diverse industry mix). This three-way interaction effect was confirmed in our empirical investigation of quality entrepreneurship across the MSAs (cities) in the US, using a large-scale dataset of the psychological profiles of millions of people. Local openness shows a robust positive effect on the level of quality entrepreneurship. This effect is further strengthened by a favorable structural city environment (i.e. high density and diversity) by up to 35%. Reviving Jacobs’ people focus, the results indicate that the best performing cities in terms of knowledge spillovers and economic performance are those that are not only home to, and attract, agentic people, but also empower these people by means of a physical and industrial city landscape that enables them to act in more innovative and entrepreneurial ways, as envisioned by Jacobs. We discuss the policy implications of our findings and an agenda for future research.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.090 - Interview with Professor Matthew McCartney about economic sides of cities;
- No.108 - Interview with Dr Anthony Kent about economic geography;
- No.129 - Interview with Alan Donegan about entrepreneurship and city connections;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotesare also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how urban futures have changed over time?
Summary of the article titled Urban futures – Idealization, capitalization, securitization from 2022 by Austin Zeiderman and Katherine Dawson, published in the City – Analysis of Urban Change, Theory, Action journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how our imagination has changed regarding our cities’ futures. This article presents insights into forms of urban future-making and thinking, which lays the groundwork to identify what is at stake in imagining the future of cities in one way or another.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- A consensus has emerged in the first decades of the 21st century: the global future is an urban future, but the urban future is a centrally important problem.
- The urban future probably will remain a strategic terrain of social and political struggle and the authors hoped the presented knowledge will support the efforts of urban scholars, practitioners, activists and citizens alike to engage, critically, creatively and constructively – with the city of tomorrow today.
- By taking stock of both historical perspectives and contemporary possibilities, we can learn to better understand the imaginary and material processes that bring cities into being and perhaps even how to shape them in widely beneficial and truly inclusionary ways.
You can find the article through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.021 - Interview with Bridgette Engeler about questioning cities;
- No.072 - Interview with Tamás Mezős about the importance of urban history;
- No.135 - Interview with Paul Satur about the term city;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotesare also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in beauty as a sustainability element? What do you think about people being pragmatic for change and transformation? How can we create successful cities?
Interview with Corey Gray, engineer and director of the Smart Cities Council by Everyone. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, successful cities in the past and future, human pragmatism in regards to climate change, smartness vs intelligence, and many more.
Since 1992 Corey Gray, a qualified Illumination Engineer, has been a prominent figure in the Smart City and IoT space. Founder and now Global Chairperson of LVX Global, Corey is an active member of global industry groups including Australian Smart Communities Association, Institute of Public Works Engineers Australasia and Silicon Valley based global technology industry group LMI, as well as multiple charitable boards. Fuelled by a deep passion for place and our collective future on this planet, Corey currently serves as Global CEO of the Smart Cities Council driving cross-sector collaboration, capacity and capability.
You can find out more about Corey through these links:
- Corey Gray on LinkedIn;
- Smart Cities Council website;
- Corey Gray at LVX;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.015 - Interview with Luke Housego about data, information and knowledge;
- No.090 - Interview Professor Matthew McCartney about economics and governance;
- No.117 - Interview with Colin Chee about beautiful living and people as urban strengths;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in aesthetics for sustainable progress?
Summary of the article titled Aesthetics of Sustainability: a transdisciplinary sensibility for transformative practices from 2011 by Sacha Kagan, published in the Transdisciplinary Journal of Engineering & Science.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how transdisciplinary and complex approaches can inform aesthetics of sustainability. This article presents aesthetics of sustainability and its importance for a global environmental transformation process towards more sustainable societies.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Specific artistic expressions and aesthetic practices can enhance our selves of belonging and sustainability.
- We need aesthetic sustainability to learn not to be afraid of complexity and the aesthetics of sustainability must include complexity and the interconnectedness of social, political and economic aspects of modern societies.
- We all can experience our environment in this paradigm shifting way through simple walking when we become more conscious of our environment, probably leading some transformation in our surroundings.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Contemporary western societies are marked by symptoms of a culture of unsustainability, rooted in problematic modes of knowing the reality, across social systems, whether in the sciences, arts or other fields. Transdisciplinary researchers across the world are already aware of these issues and working on resolving them. To contribute to these efforts and focus on a perspective which potential may have been receiving too little attention so far, this article is introducing how a sensibility to transdisciplinarity and complexity can inform aesthetics of sustainability, and why this matters for a global (environ)mental transformation process. The relevance of this approach is discussed with the field of ecological art and the practice of walking.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.114 - Interview with Kelly Boucher about a new approach to place and space;
- No.126 - Interview with Corey Gray about beauty as a sustainable aspect;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in whether smart city is a utopia or a neoliberal ideology?
Our summary today works with the article titled Smart cities: Utopia or neoliberal ideology from 2017 by Giuseppe Grossi and Daniela Pianezzi, published in the Cities journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see an investigation into the smart city concept’s values and ideas. This article presents that smart city is a neoliberal ideology and not a utopia through the example of the Italian city Genoa.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- The paper suggests that, despite private corporations and cities promoting the smart city as a revolutionary utopia, this paradigm is an expression of the neoliberal ideology.
- The emphasis on fancy technological solutions risks diverting attention away from issues that require a long-term urban-planning based approach driven by the political and ethical willingness of municipalities.
- A democratic-inspired utopia is needed, and cities have a role in creating such utopia in enabling counter-discourses through a wider discursive engagement of citizens.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: This paper develops a critical understanding of the smart city by investigating the values and ideas that underpin this concept and how they are translated into practice. It suggests that, despite private companies and municipalities promoting the smart city as a revolutionary utopia, this utopia is, on the contrary, an expression of the neoliberal ideology. The case study of the Italian city of Genoa shows that the smart city utopia acts as a generator of a collective imaginary while promoting the interests of business elites and diverting the attention away from urgent urban problems, such as urbanization. The neoliberal ideology influences the framing of these problems by favoring business-led technological solutions rather than political and long-term urban planning. The study suggests that this business-led utopia has important implications in terms of accountability of the actors involved.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.034R - Actually existing smart citizens;
- No.107R - Planning the post-political city;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in sustainable urban transport and development? What do you think about urban sustainability in Australia versus the world? How can we lead by example?
Interview with Alex Louey, the managing director and co-founder of AppsCore Digital. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, urban sprawl, urban mobility, responsibilities, and many more.
As one of Appscore’s founding partners, Alex leads a team of more than 150 Australian-based digital experts. Even with 300 product builds on the market – accessed by millions of people around the world – Alex remains true to why he moved into digital technologies. Specifically; to make the lives of Australians a little easier, to make Australian businesses more productive and to help Australia grow and evolve in the digital world. Alex’s work at the helm of Appscore is driven by the chief principle of “continuous innovation”. He consistently mentors his team toward industry excellence. Whether it’s the technology Appscore works with, the way customers are serviced or how projects are delivered, as the digital landscape continues to move at breakneck speeds, so does the evolution of Appscore.
You can find out more about Alex through these links:
- Alex Louey on LinkedIn;
- AppsCore website;
- Alex Louey archive on The PR Hub;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.048 - Interview with Hussein Dia about mobility and urban transportation;
- No.120 - Interview with Matt Ferrell about leading by example;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how urban sprawl affects sustainable urban development?
Summary of the article titled Urban sprawl and its impact on sustainable urban development: a combination of remote sensing and social media data from 2021 by Zhenfeng Shao, Neema S. Sumari, Aleksei Portnov, Fanan Ujoh, Walter Musakwa and Paulo J. Mandela, published in the Geo-Spatial information Science journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how urban sprawl affects urban services. This article presents the case of Morogoro in Africa, and the results that sensing and population data can be useful for interpreting urban sprawl and access to urban services.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Urban sprawl generally refers to the unrestricted growth in many urban areas of housing, commercial development and roads over large expanses of land with little concern to urban planning.
- Urban expansion has had significant impacts on poverty, living conditions and environmental quality within the sprawl areas of the Morogoro urban municipality, and with that, ecosystem services supporting human and natural populations also declined.
- Planning and regulation need to lead to a planned and sustainable future that will be ecologically sensitive, support conservation and biodiversity and provide a safe habitation for urban dwellers.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract:
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in smart cities as a functional instrument to influence public debate and policy?
Our summary today works with the article titled Smart City appropriation by local actors: An instrument in the making from 2019 by Jonathan Desdemoustier, Nathalie Crutzen, Mario Cools, and Jacques Teller, published in the Cities journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how the different urban actors understand and appropriate the smart city concept. This article presents that smart city, indeed, can be an instrument and that each actor follows their own logic.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- The smart city emerged as a new way of imagining, organising, and managing the city and its flows.
- The smart city can be considered an instrument that could be appropriated by actors as either a functionalist instrument or as a public policy instrument.
- Urban actors – politicians, public servants, private actors, members of the civil society and researchers – appropriate the smart city through both types of instruments without a homogenous view, which means that smart city approaches need clarity when established.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: The literature on Smart Cities lacks of research on how actors understand and appropriate the Smart City. This paper questions in an innovative way their appropriations of the phenomenon. Smart City is considered as an instrument, following the theory of Lascoumes and Le Galès (2007). Is the Smart City a functional instrument: a kind of evidence and a pragmatic solution at disposal or a public policy instrument: not neutral, provoking debates and influencing policies? An empirical analysis is carried on based on a survey among 193 Belgian actors active in the domain. The results show that the Instrument theory is relevant to analyse the actors' appropriation, which do not follow a homogeneous trend. In fact, each actor follows his own logics which will be interesting to study.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.082R - Beyond defining the smart city;
- No.091R - The political premises of contemporary urban concepts;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in sustainable and renewable technologies? What do you think about urban sustainability and its implementation? How can we create even better future for the next generations than we have? Stay tuned for the answers from Matt Ferrell!
Interview with Matt Ferrell, YouTube creator specialising in sustainable and renewable technologies. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, being stuck on Earth, sustainable solutions and their availability, human pessimism and how to tackle it, and many more.
Matt Ferrell lives in the Boston area and is a UI/UX designer by trade, but has always been obsessed by technology and how it works. In 2018 he started his YouTube channel, Undecided with Matt Ferrell, to focus on sustainable and smart technologies, which has gained over 1 million subscribers. He’s spoken at Fully Charged Live among other industry conferences while also advising multiple sustainable tech startups.
You can find out more about Matt through these links:
- Matt Ferrell on LinkedIn;
- @mattferrell@mastodon.social as Matt Ferrell on Mastodon;
- mattferrell.com website;
- Undecided with Matt Ferrell website;
- Undecided with Matt Ferrell on Youtube (special recommendations based on the conversation: Solar panels plus farming?; How the CO2 battery could be the future of energy storage?; 2 Brearkthroughs that could solve the fresh water crisis; The future of solid state wind energy - no more blades);
- @UndecidedMF as Undecided on Twitter;
- Matt Ferrell's journey with their prefabricated home - YouTube video (1st episode);
Connected episodes you might be interested in:
- No.027 - Interview with Richard Manasseh about holistic approaches yet small actions;
- No.119R - Pessimism and optimism in the debate on climate change;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in why we have pessimistic and optimistic views on climate change?
Summary of the article titled Pessimism and optimism in the debate on climate change: A critical analysis from 2021 by Anders Nordgren, published in Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how our attitudes can influence this debate. This article presents why such attitudes, concerns and opportunities are present.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- There is an observable pessimism and optimism in the debate on climate change, and a person can be pessimistic in some aspects and optimistic in others.
- Pessimism and optimism were found in a varying degree in climate change as an unmitigated or poorly mitigated process, mitigation of climate change or specific measures of mitigation.
- The diversity of approaches can be due to the uncertainty of scientific climate models and the political and ideological assumptions on the measures taken.
You can find the article through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.007 - World scientists' warning of climate emergency;
- No.093 - Interview with Professor Jeni Paay about pessimism;
- No.120 - Interview with Matt Ferrell about tackling urban pessimism;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in ICT solutions to reduce urban energy use?
Our summary today works with the article titled Smart sustainable cities – Exploring ICT solutions for reduced energy use in cities from 2014 by Anna Kramers, Mattias Höjer, Nina Lövenhagen and Josefin Wangel, published in the Environmental Modelling and Software journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how ICT – information and communication technology – can help reducing urban energy use. This article presents an analytical framework for ICT opportunities to be combined with household functions that use energy.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- A city can become smart and sustainable by having climate targets and using ICT strategically to help achieve those targets – because ICT has great potential in highlighting potential issues with energy use for example.
- In order to turn the potentials into real savings, cities need to explore the opportunities thoroughly and investigate how they can best support the implementation of different ICT.
- Businesses need to learn how best to design and implement ICT solutions that decrease energy use.
You can find the episode through this link.
Abstract: This article explores the opportunities of using ICT as an enabling technology to reduce energy use in cities. An analytical framework is developed in which a typology of ICT opportunities is combined with a typology of household functions, i.e. all the activities that require energy. The energy used for household functions is calculated using a consumption-based lifecycle perspective. The analytical framework is intended to be of use to researchers, city and regional authorities and ICT companies interested in acquiring a better understanding of how ICT investments could contribute to reduce energy use in cities.
Connected episodes you might be interested in:
- No.008R - What are the differences between sustainable and smart cities?
- No.120 - Interview with Matt Ferrell about urban energy use, among others;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in small footprint living? What do you think about the effects of good neighbour relationships? How can we create more compassionate designs? Stay tuned for the answers from Colin Chee!
Interview with Colin Chee, the creative director of the Never Too Small Youtube channel. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, compassionate design, needed urban conversations, people as the urban strengths, and many more.
Colin Chee is the creative director of Never Too Small, a YouTube channel dedicated to showcasing the best in small footprint design and living. His videos interrogate how smart architecture and innovative design can be used to transform small spaces and the future of our cities, and have grown a fan base of almost 1.8million YouTube subscribers off of 110 million views in just 4 years. Never Too Small has recently published their first book, Never Too Small: Reimagining Small Space Living: a curation of their favourite designs from around the world. To get a copy head to their website www.nevertoosmall.com.
Find out more about Colin through these links:
- Colin Chee on LinkedIn;
- colinchee_nts as Colin Chee on Instagram;
- NeverTooSmall website;
- NeverTooSmall on YouTube;
- nvtsmall as NeverTooSmall on Instagram;
- @nvtsmall as NeverTooSmall on Twitter;
- Interview with Colin Chee on the Medium;
- NeverTooSmall on The Guardian;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.057 - Interview with Amélie Uhrig about steps you can take for a more sustainable urban living;
- No.111 - Interview with Dave Hakkens about sustainable urban living;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in small footprint living?
Our summary today works with the article titled Small is beautiful? Stories of carbon footprints, socio-demographic trends and small households in Denmark from 2021 by Tullia Jack and Diana Ivanova, published in the Energy Research & Social Science journal.
This episode is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Colin Chee in episode 117 talking about small foot print living with its advantages and disadvantages.
Plus, since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how household size is connected to carbon footprints. This article presents different Danish cohorts and opportunities to decrease their footprints with storytelling and policy-making.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Humanity is increasingly living in single or double occupant households but these lifestyles add greatly to our negative impacts on the environment.
- Storytelling could be a way to help people understand their possibilities in decreasing their carbon footprint in an empathetic way, working toward socially and environmentally sustainable futures.
- Policy-makers need to take into account the change in lifestyles and create requirements for city dwelling to be more sustainable in single and double occupant households.
You can find the article through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.027 - Interview with Professor Richard Manasseh talking about more sharing opportunities;
- No.117 - Interview with Colin Chee talking about small footprint living;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in post-anthropocentric cities after smart ones?
Our summary today works with the article titled Towards Post-Anthropocentric Cities: Reconceptualising smart cities to evade urban ecocide from 2019 by Tan Yigitcanlar, Marcus Foth, and Md Kamruzzaman, published in the Journal of Urban Technology.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how to change current smart city approaches to evade a most likely urban ecocide. This article presents the next step in smart city evolution with post-anthropocentric cities.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Smart city have gone through the intelligent city, the smart city and the responsive city phase, and probably it is time for to evolve further for its fourth generation.
- The biggest challenge now is to find a way to change our mentality and politics on urban transformation.
- Urban evolution and smart cities arrived to cross road where the next decisions need to include more sustainable ideas and more-than-human elements.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: This short piece acts as a coda to this journal’s special issue on “Smart Cities and Innovative Technologies.” First, it provides a retrospective view of the origins of the smart city concept. The paper, secondly, presents the most recent perspectives on the new interpretations of the smart city notion. It then provides a commentary on the potential directions for a better reconceptualization of smart cities to evade a most likely urban ecocide. Lastly, the short communication concludes by asking two critical questions: (a) Will urban scholars, planners, designers, and activists be able to convince urban policymakers and the general public of the need for a post-anthropocentric urban turnaround? (b) How do the public, private, and academic sectors along with communities pave the way for post-anthropocentric cities and more-than-human futures?
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.071R - Towards intelligently sustainable cities? From intelligent and knowledge city programmes to the achievement of urban sustainability;
- No.091R - The political premises of contemporary urban concepts: the global city, the sustainable city, the resilient city, the creative city, and the smart city;
- No.117 - Interview with Colin Chee about small and sustainable urban living;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in pedagogy as the agency of teaching and learning? What do you think about radical relearning about how we interact with our environment? How can we learn from children? Stay tuned for the answers from Kelly Boucher!
Interview with Kelly Boucher, a scholar, education consultant and breakthrough coach. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, pedagogy, radical relearning, the need to slow down, and many more.
Kelly Boucher is an independent scholar, education consultant and a personal breakthrough coach. She helps organisations across the education sector activate collective critical dialogue to ‘think otherwise with the world’. By facilitating robust exchanges within theory and practice, Kelly nurtures and develops research culture within education settings. This in turn helps teachers reconceptualise what teaching and learning could be. Kelly’s recent publications focus on place and materials as relational learning opportunities for children. In 2019 her work was cited as a best practice scenario for children’s learning by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Her book chapters Radical Collaboration: Flipping the Paradigm on Learning; (2021) and Radical Trust: Attending and Attuning to The World (2022) are Amazon #1 International Bestsellers. In the personal coaching space, she supports individuals (teachers or otherwise) to transform their everyday lives from burnt out to joyful by becoming curious life-long learners and active citizens of the now. Kelly thinks with concepts, lives slowly on Dja Dja Wurrung country and is cultivating her own inner ecology next to a huge eucalyptus tree.
You can find out more about Kelly through these links:
- Kelly Boucher on LinkedIn;
- @BoucherArts as Kelly Boucher on Twitter;
- Kelly Boucher website;
- Kelly Boucher's e-book for your use;
- Dialogues with Materials with Kelly Boucher at Reggio Emilia Australia;
- How to get through it - Leunig Cartoon (facebook link) mentioned in the discussion;
- What is pedagogy?;
- Unruly Racoons;
- Wild City;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in radical collaboration as an education form?
Our summary today works with the chapter titled Radical collaboration: flipping the paradigm on learning from 2021 by Kelly Boucher, from the book titled Collaboration, visionaries share a new way of living.
This episode is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Kelly Boucher in episode 114.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how to think otherwise of life and place. This chapter presents radically collaborative ways of living well with the world and others in glorious multiplicity and complexity.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Pedagogy is a term usually used to describe the art of teaching and learning or the agency that joins teaching and learning, but it can evolve to an active dialogue and being in relation with the world.
- Being in relation can mean, according to Aboriginals, that the boundaries between humans and nature are blurred because everything is animate.
- Through being in relation and radical re-learning, we take up our responsibility and step into radical collaboration with the world.
You can find the book through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.099 - Interview with Noel Tighe about leaving ego outside for the best outcomes in design processes;
- No.114 - Interview with Kelly Boucher about radical collaboration and unlearning;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how to embed Aboriginal perspectives in early childhood education regarding space?
Our summary today works with the chapter titled Engaging with place – Foregrounding Aboriginal perspectives in early childhood education from 2017 by Catherine Hamm and Kelly Boucher, from the book titled Found in Translation: Connecting reconceptualist thinking with early childhood education practices.
This episode is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Kelly Boucher in episode 114.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see the different aspects of how to engage with place, and in a broader sense with our environment. This chapter presents the Aboriginal worldviews which are in a relationship with space including human and non-human elements.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Pedagogy and curriculum can be situated as knowledge mobilization – ways to enact knowledge, rather than just storing content and in situating place as a pedagogical contact zone, we acknowledge that places are always in a state of entanglement of human and more-than-human others.
- Being present opens spaces to rethink pedagogies as a way to think with concepts and ideas, rather than thinking about or consuming content.
- Learning to be affected’ term can be useful to make room for understanding place as a generative pedagogical zone which attends to the ways in which places are entangled in all kinds of bodies and works to disrupt the linear thinking of place.
You can find the chapter through this link, and the book through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.078 - Interview with Ammon Beyerle highlighting the importance of aboriginal ideas;
- No.114 - Interview with Kelly Boucher about creating new pedagogical appraoches;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in sustainable living? What do you think about creating settlements from the ground up? How can a city be overwhelming and impressive?
Interview Dave Hakkens, an industrial designer, inventor and an overall pioneer. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, decentralisation, sustainable living options and research, and many more.
Dave Hakkens is a Dutch industrial designer. He gained fame with his two graduation projects: PhoneBloks, a concept for modular telephones, and Precious Plastic, a movement to develop and promote machines and organizations for plastic recycling. After Precious Plastic and PhoneBloks gained momentum, Dave helped to set up One Army, as the group of people from around the world working on global problems affecting the planet and humanity. One Army has five different projects currently: Precious Plastic, PhoneBloks, Story Hopper, Fixing#Fashion, and Project Kamp where Dave spends most of his time. Project Kamp is prototyping a new way of living on planet Earth working on regenerative land management, sustainable building, permaculture, water retention systems, renewable energy, how to peacefully live together and more. This project aims to solve the problem of sustainable living. Dave is seen by many as an example of a new generation of designers who have set themselves the goal of improving society by sharing knowledge.
You can find out more about Dave through these links:
- Dave Hakkens on LinkedIn;
- @davehakkens as Dave Hakkens on Twitter;
- davehakkens as Dave Hakkens on Instagram;
- Dave Hakkens on Wikipedia;
- One Army website;
- Project Kamp website;
- Project Kamp on Youtube;
- projectkamp as Project Kamp on Instagram;
- Dave Hakkens on Dezeen;
- Precious Plastic website;
- Dave Hakkens on Precious Plastic on the Next Nature website;
- Dave Hakkens in Innovators Under 35 at MIT Technology Review;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.048I - Interview with Professor Hussein Dia about public transport;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in plastic recycling and reuse?
Our summary today works with the report titled Global survey of Precious Plastic Projects: A summary of findings from 2020 by Dr Wouter Spekkink, Dr Malte Rödl, and Professor Martin Charter, supported by the Precious Plastic Team and the Sustainable Consumption Institute of University of Manchester.
Precious Plastic was a previous endeavour of our next interviewee, Dave Hakkens in episode 111.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how a grassroots movement like Precious Plastic can create a community with active users and projects. This report presents the projects and workspaces connected to Precious Plastic through the analysis of user questionnaires.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Precious Plastic was founded by Dave Hakkens but currently is grown to be an international grassroots movement to recycle and reuse plastic locally.
- The movement represents a practical approach to environmentalism in which people go beyond campaigning to make a difference in the world and literally bring alternatives into practice.
- The movement created a glocal community with small local initiatives but global online outreach sharing knowledge and starting business opportunities from plastic recycling with open source machines, workspaces and product ideas.
You can find the report through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.018 - Interview with María Jose Yanez about sustainable urban living and developments;
- No.111 - Interview with Dave Hakkens about sustainable living and their next project, Project Kamp;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how much sustainability substance is in urban visions?
Our summary today works with the article titled How much sustainability substance is in urban visions? An analysis of visioning projects in urban planning from 2015 by Beatrice John, Lauren Withycombe Keller, Armin Wiek, and Daniel J. Lang, published the Cities journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see whether visionary urban planning can help with economic decline, social injustices and environmental degradation. This article presents recommendations for urban future visioning processes based on 9 global examples to integrate better sustainability substance.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Cities are hubs of social interaction, trade, and innovation. Yet, they face sustainability challenges of economic decline, social injustices, and environmental degradation. Urban planning is a critical instrument to cope with these challenges. Visioning, the process of constructing desirable future states, can provide direction for sustainability-oriented planning and decision-making and is increasingly used in this capacity. However, there is ample evidence that urban visions are often not designed along a robust set of sustainability principles. We analyze nine explicitly sustainability-related urban visions from Sweden, Germany, Ireland, Canada, USA, and Australia with respect to their sustainability substance, i.e. in how far they, broadly and in detail, adhere to sustainability principles. Using rough set analysis, we identify a number of procedural components that enable or obstruct the inclusion of sustainability substance in urban visions. Results indicate that the sampled urban visions do not substantially and comprehensively include sustainability substance, instead narrowly focus on optimizing the built environment, for example. Furthermore, the sustainability substance of visioning processes benefits from stakeholder engagement that includes capacity building, whereas some other types of participation obstruct the inclusion of sustainability substance. The study concludes with recommendations for visioning processes to yield urban visions with sustainability substance inclusive of a diverse and integrated set of sustainability principles.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in economic geography? What do you think about the political influence on cities? How can we put on environmental lenses on cities?
Interview Dr Anthony Kent, economic geographer, researcher and educator. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, community empowerment, dependencies on political systems, dysfunctional dystopias, wealth generation machines, and many more.
Anthony Kent is an economic geographer. He is Program Coordinator for the Sustainability and Urban Planning Program at RMIT University and is affiliated with the Centre for Urban Research, also at RMIT University. His research focus is on second-tier cities, industrial agglomerations and labour markets. He also consults, teaches and researches on the urban geography of Indonesian cities. He is Associate Editor for Urban Policy and Research and has previously consulted for the Victorian Auditor General's Office and the Knowledge Sector Initiative, Jakarta and was formerly Secretary for the UN-affiliated Eastern Regional Organisation for Planning and Human Settlements.
You can find out more about Anthony through these links:
- Anthony Kent on LinkedIn;
- @ynohtna1959 as Anthony Kent on Twitter;
- Anthony Kent at RMIT University;
- Anthony Kent at Centre for Urban Research of RMIT University;
- Anthony Kent on Google Scholar;
- Anthony Kent on smart cities at Council Magazin;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.087I - Interview with Paul Brookbanks about landscape architecture and nature in cities;
- No.090I - Interview with Matthew McCartney about economics and cities;
- No.107R - Planning the post-political city - recommended by Anthony Kent;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how much the political system influences cities?
Our summary today works with the article titled Planning the post-political city: exploring public participation in the contemporary Australian city from 2018 by Crystal Legacy, Nicole Cook, Dallas Rogers, and Kristian Ruming, published the Geographical Research journal.
This is a great preparation for the discussion with the next interviewee, Dr Anthony Kent.
Plus, since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see the political constraints influencing cities and their futures. This article presents the investigation of informal and formal decisions and plannings and their effects on urban areas.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- The authoritative and expert-led technocratic planning and decision-making processes of the 20th century are changing for more inclusive and participatory ones.
- However, consensus-based politics and decision-making do not allow challenging questions and debates to establish the real better future for cities, so they need to embrace agonistic approaches.
- Perhaps, in the end, the most important feature of informal planning movements is not their size but their unique capacity to articulate urban futures that embrace a philosophy of equity within uncertain social and environmental futures.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: This special section examines the possibility of meaningful debate and contestation over urban decisions and futures in politically constrained contexts. In doing so, it moves with the post-political times: critically examining the proliferation of deliberative mechanisms; identifying the informal assemblages of diverse actors taking on new roles in urban socio-spatial justice; and illuminating the spaces where informal and formal planning processes meet. These questions are particularly pertinent for understanding the processes shaping Australian cities and public participation today.
Connecting episodes that might interest you:
- No.078I - Interview with Ammon Beyerle about agonistic participation;
- No.108 - Interview with Dr Anthony Kent about how the political framework influences the city and its future;
You can find the transcripts through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in smart city as a platform for technological and social innovation?
Our summary today works with the book chapter titled Smart cities as a platform for technological and social innovation in productivitiy, sustainability, and livability: A conceptual framework from 2021 by Hyung Min Kim, Soheil Sabri, and Anthony Kent, from the book titled Smart Cities for technological and social innovation, published by Elsevier. Anthony Kent will be the next interviewee on the podcast so this is a great opportunity to understand his ideas a bit better in advance.
Plus, since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see smart cities as innovation platforms. This chapter presents the evolution of cities from ordinary to smart and the potential social and technological innovations.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Cities are the manifestations of human settlements with a wide range of social and economic activities and they are important because people in cities are important.
- Smart cities are the spatial outcome of technological and social innovation and in turn, they are platforms to facilitate innovations.
- Smart city is not an end status but a dynamic platform to guide, support and expedite new urban changes via innovations and when the smart city is conceptualised in this manner, any human settlement can be smart.
You can find the chapter through this link.
Abstract: Despite a great deal of attention paid to smart cities, the conceptual framework for understanding them has been partial at best. This chapter establishes a holistic framework to define and evaluate smart cities through three core objectives that any city wants to improve—productivity, sustainability, and livability. Although smartness includes a wide range of aspects within a city, it should tackle the complexity of urban challenges internally and externally generated. Thus, adaptive capacity is becoming more and more important, requiring timely innovation. The chapter asserts cities are and should be a platform for technological and social innovation to enhance these three urban cores. Creating smart cities via innovation is not a one-way process, but reciprocal. Innovation can create smart built environments, and, in turn, smart cities engender innovation. There are many successful evidences and documented examples of both technology-oriented initiatives and social innovation strategies worldwide. However, there is limited understanding of the combined view on technological innovation or social innovation that can contribute to meeting urban challenges. Furthermore, how the urban future might benefit from interdependency and interactions of the elements in these two concepts has not been fully explored. The research will set an agenda for measurement of cities’ performance in productivity, sustainability, and livability from both technological and social innovation perspectives.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes and transcript are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Interview with Richard Morrison, Industry Director, Technology Advisory APAC at AECOM. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, transport links as veins, urban renewal, and many more.
With over 23 years industry experience, Richard Morrison leads AECOM’s Industry Director, Technology Advisory APAC. A highly experienced Smart Cities advisor, Richard has led projects such as the Smart City Strategy for Bradfield, NSW’s Smart City; to Neom a Giga project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
You can find out more about Richard through these links:
- Richard Morrison on LinkedIn;
- @ICT_Ninja as Richard Morrison on Twitter;
- Richard Morrison as a speaker at the Sydney Build 2023 expo;
- Richard Morrison as part of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat;
Connecting episodes, that might interest you:
- No.006I - Interview with Daniel Prohasky talking about planning for the future;
- No.069I - Interview with Dr Éva Kereszty talking about the importance of urban services;
- No.075I - Interview with Gavin Cotterill talking about cyber security;
- No.078I - Interview with Ammon Beyerle talking about affordability in design;
- No.090I - Interview with Matthew McCartney talking about establishing new cities;
- No.096I - Interview with Chris Maher talking about housing affordability;
- No.099I - Interview with Noel Tighe talking about opportunities being the other side of concerns;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in city of NEOM and its history and future?
Our summary today works with the book chapter titled The story of NEOM city: opportunities and challenges from 2019 by Alshimaa Aboelmakarem Farag, from the book titled New cities and community extensions in Egypt and the Middle East, published by Springer.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see one of the biggest new city developments and this is a great preparation for the next interview with Richard Morrison. This chapter presents NEOM’s history, opportunities and challenges. Plus, I also included the ChatGPT service’s summary and pros and cons as a treat at the end of the episode.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- NEOM is planned to be a hub for advanced technology, renewable energy, and innovative industries, and is intended to be a model for future urban development.
- The biggest opportunities are advanced technology and innovation, sustainability, and quality of life for this project.
- The biggest challenges are the costs, displacement, political instability, unknown timeline, only branding without substance, economic downturn, and social challenges.
You can find the chapter through this link.
Abstract: The story of NEOM city starts when the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the launch of NEOM, the futuristic megacity, on the conference “Future Investment Initiative” in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at 24 October 2017. The Project’s promoters aspire to brand a new land where a plethora of unique development opportunities that could contribute to make NEOM a global hub for trade, innovation, and knowledge. The creative class around the world has been invited to participate in creating NEOM, with promises of a new life in a beautiful nature free place, and an independent economic zone with its own laws, taxes, regulations, and no restrictions. Future technology in transportation, growing and processing food, healthcare, internet of things, and digital air all should contribute to providing NEOM’s residents a unique lifestyle. The project that starts with a fanfare might face a number of challenges, whether at the present or in the future such as the abstention of investor’s participation in such a current economic situation in KSA after the decline of world oil price, resistance of conservatives, the neighbors countries’ supporting, in addition to the time challenge. There is also a fear of repeating the failed experiments as Saudi kingdom will not be able to bear its costs. The shortage of literature and references has been a big challenge when to write this article in such time, four months after the formal announcement of launching NEOM. However, this article raises several questions and inquires that help to predict future challenges that might face the decision makers and can be addressed if recognized early.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on wtf4cities.com website, where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in human stigmergy and how it works?
Our summary today works with the article titled A survey of environments and mechanisms for human-human stigmergy from 2005 by H. Van Dyke Parunak, presented at the Second International Workshop of E4MAS in Utrecht.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see the schema to analyse stigmergy among humans. This article presents the examples and suggests how the use of stigmergy can be extended.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Stigmergy is the notion that an agent’s actions leave signs in the environment, signs that it and other agents sense and that determine their subsequent actions.
- Stigmergic systems can generate robust, complex, intelligent behaviour at the system level, even when the individual agents are simple and individually nonintelligent because intelligence resides not in a single distinguished agent, nor in each individual agent but in the interactions among the agents and the shared dynamical environment.
- Human stigmergy has been based on non-digital systems, however, with the advent of information technology, it can be advanced with special attention to the highlighted aspects like transparency and simulation.
Abstract: Stigmergy (the coordination of agents through signs they make and sense in a shared environment) was originally articulated in the study of social insects. Its basic processes are much simpler than those usually used to model human-level cognition. Thus it is an attractive way to coordinate agents in engineered environments such as robotics or information processing. Stigmergic coordination is not limited to insects. Humans regularly use environmentally-mediated signals to coordinate their activities. This paper develops a schema for analyzing stigmergy among humans, discusses examples (some using a computational environment and others antedating digital computation), and suggests how the use of such mechanisms may be extended.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Today would be an interview, but since it is 2022 Christmas time, I want to just wish you all relaxing holidays with or without celebrating Christmas, Merry Christmas if you do celebrate it, and a very Happy New Year!
We will have many interesting topics to discover and further discuss in 2023. I am already preparing those episodes and I am very excited about what will come!
In the meantime, if you need some food for thought check out the last research episode, No.101 about longtermism and what we owe the future.
I hope you are well and also full with plans for the new year, see you then and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in what we owe the future?
Summary of the book titled What we owe the future from 2022 by William MacAskill, based on my reading experience and other summaries.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see what future prospects are there for the really long run and how we can influence them. This book describes the unprecedented opportunities for humanity to influence the future and its numerous generations for the better or worse. I hope this gives you some food for thought this time of the year or anytime and how to move forward.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Longtermism is the idea that positively influencing the longterm future is a key moral priority of our time, not just making things less bad, but actually making them better.
- There are actions we can take to influence the future based on the presented exemplary problem areas and prevent existential risks.
- If we make wise choice today, our grandchildren’s grandchildren will thrive, knowing we did everything we could to give them a world full of justice, hope and beauty.
Summaries used:
- What we owe the future review - a thrilling prescription for humanity by Oliver Burkeman, The Guardian;
- What we owe the future: a review and summary of what I learned by Michael Townsend, Giving What We Can;
Learn more about the risk areas and actions at 80000hours.org.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in the different meanings and implementations for smart cities from different viewpoints? What do you think about the solutions smart cities could provide? How can we bridge the gap between the different approaches?
This episode is the first panel discussion where I invited back previous interviewees to answer some questions together and let them discuss the different viewpoints. The panelists were Gavin Cotterill, Bridgette Engeler, Luke Housego, Daniel Prohasky, and Lilly Ryan. You will hear the Research Seminar recording of the Smart Cities Research Institute at Swinburne University of Technology.
Previous interviews with the panelists:
- No.006 - Interview with Daniel Prohasky;
- No.015 - Interview with Luke Housego;
- No.021 - Interview with Bridgette Engeler;
- No.063 - Interview with Lilly Ryan;
- No.075 - Interview with Gavin Cotterill;
You can find out more about Noel in the shownotes.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in the citizen engagement in urban areas and its effects? What do you think about the need for updating our educational systems? How can professionals check their egos?
Interview with Noel Tighe, architect and associate director at Denton Corker Marshall. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, the citizen’s role, educational reforms, giving back to the environment, and many more.
Noel Tighe is an Associate Director at Denton Corker Marshall. Registered in the United Kingdom he is a member of both the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Australian Institute of Architects. In career spanning 30+ years, he has undertaken leading roles on multi-award-winning projects in the commercial, education and civic sectors, in Australia, Europe and Southeast Asia. Noel is a Green Star Accredited Professional and has brought this knowledge to lead projects with award winning sustainable credentials including:
- Manchester Civil Justice Centre in the UK
- Asia Square in Singapore
- Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology at the University of Technology, Sydney
He has extensive experience in the restoration and adaptive reuse of heritage buildings on projects such as:
- Hampton Court Palace in the UK
- Abbotsford Convent in Collingwood, Melbourne
- New exhibition galleries at the Heritage Listed Australian War Memorial in Canberra
Noel has demonstrated a commitment to informing and empowering communities to the development of their local environment. This experience was instrumental for the successful campaign to preserve Melbourne's Abbotsford Convent for community use and later works to convert the estate into one of Australia's leading arts precincts.
You can find out more about Noel in the shownotes.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.015I - Interview with Luke Housego about Mortal Engines :D ;
- No.031R - City attachment and use of urban services;
- No.069I - Interview with Dr Éva Kereszty about needed educational reforms;
- No.078I - Interview with Ammon Beyerle about uncomfortable but needed and robust conversations;
- No.086R - Advancing landscape sustainability science;
- No.087I - Interview with Paul Brookbanks about the connection to the environment;
- No.093I - Interview with Jeni Paay about research raising questions which are uncomfortable;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how to create social capital for the 21st century?
Our summary today works with the article titled Building social capital: A learning agenda for the twenty-first century from 1997 by Patricia A. Wilson, published in the Urban Studies journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how to create the so many times required social capital – which will also be partially our topic with Noel Tighe, the next interviewee in episode 99. This article presents the importance of social capital and how professionals can participate in building it.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Social capital is the propensity for individuals to join together to address mutual needs and to pursue common interest and it is needed because it increases a community’s productive potential and the cultural will to solve community problems collaboratively.
- The concept of the social capital also lends legitimacy to the idea of the individual in the community: each person is defined not just alone but in relationship to others.
- The successful community is not a collection of atomistic individuals bumping into each other’s self-interest, but rather is a network, a web of individuals-in-community and experts and professionals can help such networks with proper tools and skills.
You can find the article through this link.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in smart cities to enhance quality of life for urban inhabitants?
Summary of the article titled A multilevel method to assess and design the renovation and integration of smart cities from 2015 by B. Mattoni, F. Gugliermetti, and F. Bisegna, published in the Sustainable Cities and Societies journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see a smart city approach which tries to be holistic but specific. This article presents the assessment and design method where the city is considered as a whole human organism integrating each parts.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- The main objective of a smart city project is to visualise the city as a unique organism and coordinate all the different aspects in order to appropriately manage their reciprocal influences among the axes.
- The authors suggested three territorial cells – region, city and district, and five axes – economy, energy, environment, community and mobility, in which actions can be established based on the local context.
- All of this needs integration and interoperability of the different sectors to fully utilise the city’s network nature and involve all stakeholders, citizens, representatives and local businesses based on the smart city vision.
You can find the article through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.001R - Smart cities
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in creating proper urban connections? What do you think is the architect’s job in the urban fabric? What kind of approach is needed for the future of cities?
Interview with Chris Maher, an architect and city planner and the director and national portfolio leader for urban development at Hames Sharley. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, urban vital energy, distinct urban characteristics, and many more.
The last 30 years has seen Chris Maher working in architecture and urban design throughout the UK, Hong Kong, and Australia. Now, he resides in Perth, Western Australia where he is a Director and the National Portfolio Leader for Urban Development at Hames Sharley. Chris is on a mission to continue to articulate the importance of economic rigour and social understanding in the delivery of environmentally responsive place-based design. The value of good design innovation and creativity is more important than ever and is essential to ensure sustainable outcomes in the future of our built world. Strategic thinking and careful, considered leadership has enabled Chris to build teams ready to imagine and deliver well researched contextual designs. These designs include city centre waterfronts, educational, heritage and mixed-use developments in the UK, Hong Kong, and throughout every major city in Australia. Understanding clients and their values together with an ability to collaborate and clearly communicate with the community and all stakeholders is a unique and vital skill Chris provides throughout each project lifecycle. Chris is also a Design Advisor to many local and state government agencies such as the WA State Design Review Panel, The MRA and Development WA and has sat on the Board of several non-for-profits, dedicated to ensuring Western Australia becomes a state of creativity.
You can find out more about Chris through these links:
- Chris Maher on LinkedIn;
- @ as Chris Maher on Twitter;
- Chris Maher at Hames Sharley;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.012I - Interview with Kieran Leong about people's natural experiences and connections
- No.018I - Interview with María Yanez about new types of housing;
- No.031R - City attachment and use of urban services: Benefits for smart cities;
- No.046R - Analysis and comparison of Smart City initiatives;
- No.072I - Interview with Dr Tamás Mezős about urban character;
- No.087I - Interview with Paul Brookbanks about creating connections with nature
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in social housing quality and its effects on the tenants’ life?
Our summary today works with the article titled Housing as a social determinant of health and wellbeing: developing an empirically-informed realist theoretical framework from 2020 by Steve Rolfe, Lisa Garnham, Jon Godwin, Isobel Anderson, Pete Seaman, and Cam Donaldson, published in the BMC Public Health, which is part of Springer Nature.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how urban social housing quality influences human wellbeing and health, which will be discussed in detail with the next interviewee, Chris Maher in episode 96. This article presents a theoretical framework to understand the less tangible aspects of housing experience on health and wellbeing.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Social housing and renting can impact tenants’ health and wellbeing so how we do it must be properly set up to create the best outcomes.
- Quality renting service and quality housing influence the tenants’ experiences in a positive way, improving health and wellbeing.
- Investigating and improving these aspects can even operate as public health intervention and prevention in the lives of tenants.
You can find the article through this link.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in the three main domains involved in smart cities?
Our summary today works with the article titled Defining smart city: A conceptual framework based on keyword analysis from 2014 by Farnaz Mosannenzadeh and Daniele Vettorato, published in the Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see the smart city concepts’ keyword analysis and its results. This article presents the three main domains involved in smart cities, and a framework to translate smart city to each of these domains.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Smart city is a holistic approach that aims to address recent urban challenges and exploit recent opportunities provided by the advancements in technology and urbanisation.
- Smart city needs to include ICT, integrate different domains, collaborate across stakeholders, and invest in social capital and innovation.
- Each city needs to find its own smart city meaning based on their specifics answering the questions of why, who, what, how, when and where.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: “Smart city” is a concept that has been the subject of increasing attention in urban planning and governance during recent years. The first step to create Smart Cities is to understand its concept. However, a brief review of literature shows that the concept of Smart City is the subject of controversy. Thus, the main purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework to define Smart City. To this aim, an extensive literature review was done. Then, a keyword analysis on literature was held against main research questions (why, what, who, when, where, how) and based on three main domains involved in the policy decision making process and Smart City plan development: Academic, Industrial and Governmental. This resulted in a conceptual framework for Smart City. The result clarifies the definition of Smart City, while providing a framework to define Smart City’s each sub-system. Moreover, urban authorities can apply this framework in Smart City initiatives in order to recognize their main goals, main components, and key stakeholders.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in interaction design? Do you think we have the knowledge to save the world? What is the purpose of academic research?
Interview with Jeni Paay, professor of human-computer interaction design and the leader of Centre for Design Innovation at Swinburne University of Technology. We will talk about her vision for the future of cities, interaction design, the digital city and twins, the need for discovering uncomfortable truths, and many more.
Professor Jeni Paay is a leading international researcher in Human Centred Computing. She is Professor of Interaction Design at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia and the Director of the Centre for Design Innovation in the School of Design and Architecture. She is also a Program Director of the “Future Urban Living” program in Swinburne’s Smart Cities Research Institute. Jeni has a transdisciplinary background spanning architecture, computer science, and Human-Computer Interaction. Her research areas include: Design Methods; Interaction Design for Mobiles, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality; Digital Health; Interaction Design for Smart Spaces and Digital Twins; Design for Digital Workspaces and User Experience Design.
You can find out more about Jeni through these links:
- Jeni Paay on LinkedIn;
- @jenipaay as Jeni Paay on Twitter;
- Jeni Paay website;
- Jeni Paay as Professor of Interaction Design in the School of Design and Architecture at Swinburne University of Technology;
- Centre for Design Innovation led by Jeni Paay at Swinburne University of Technology;
- Future places for living led by Jeni Paay at the Smart Cities Research Institute;
Connecting episodes that might interest you:
- No.042 - Interview with Professor Mark Burry about digitalised cities;
- No.069 - Interview with Dr. Eva Kereszty about educational development;
- No.075 - Interview with Gavin Cotterill about digital twins
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in the connection between interaction design and the city?
Our summary today works with the book chapter titled The city as an urban interaction design platform from 2014 by Martin Brynskov, and the book’s title is Urban Interaction Design: Towards City Making.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how interaction design can be part of cities because we will talk about it in detail with the next interviewee, Professor Jeni Paay, in episode 093. This chapter introduces the connection, issues and concerns about urban interaction design.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Cities are complex systems with interconnected layers and actors interacting with each other.
- Urban interaction design can improve those interactions and citizen engagement with tools, services and products, but these should always remain the means to achieving better participation, and be accessible and usable for the people.
- Today and in the coming future, urban interaction design has the opportunity to impact the aspirations of civic engagement and make it a more profound, direct, effective and diverse experience of engaging in public issues.
You can find the book and chapter through this link.
You can find the transcripts through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in contemporary urban concepts, like sustainable and resilient city, and their political premises?
Summary of the article titled The political premises of contemporary urban concepts: the global city, the sustainable city, the resilient city, the creative city, and the smart city from 2018 by Tali Hatuka, Issachar Rosen-Zvi, Michael Birnhack, Eran Toch, and Hadas Zur, published in the Planning Theory and Practice journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how these urban concepts compare. This article presents their juxtaposition and the possibility of them becoming prescriptive for decision-makers and developers.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Urban futures, like the global, sustainable, resilient, creative and smart cities are individually presented in the literature, while in practice they are used together, so there is a gap for researchers to bridge.
- These ideas can lose their cores and meanings in implementation because they are morphed to the specific city’s economy and political structure – these can be cured with constructive criticism and revisions.
- These concepts should be in the planners and decision-makers’ toolbox rather then prescriptive ideas, to use them for real change in urban areas with attention to how they will affect people’s lives.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Numerous studies have focused on the global city, the sustainable city, the resilient city, the creative city, and the smart city, analyzing their politics, ideologies, and social implications. However, the literature lacks synthetic analysis that addresses these concepts by juxtaposing them and exploring their similarities and differences. This paper provides synthetic analysis, followed by a discussion of the concepts’ competing and complementary logics of governance and citizenship. The concluding section addresses the importance of taking into account these diverse concepts as political ideas and discusses how these concepts become a prescriptive mix promoted by public officials and private developers.
You can find the transcripts through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Interview with Matthew McCartney, professor of development economics and researcher at the Charter Cities Institute. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, the pace of urbanisation, economic concepts in urban areas, intratrade in Africa, and many more.
Professor Matthew McCartney spent twenty years as an academic at the School of African and Oriental Studies, University of London (2000-2011), and at the University of Oxford (2011-21). He has been a visiting Professor at Universities in China, Pakistan, India, Japan, South Korea, Poland, and Belgium. He is a development economist by background with a teaching and research specialization in the economic development of India and Pakistan after 1947. He has published, supervised, and taught on economic issues relating to industrialization, technology, trade, the role of the state, investment and economic growth, and human development issues relating to nutrition, employment, education, poverty, and inequality. He has also worked for the World Bank, USAID, EU, and UNDP in Botswana, Georgia, Bangladesh, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Jordan, Bosnia, and Zambia. He holds a BA in Economics from the University of Cambridge, an MPhil in Economics from the University of Oxford, and a Ph.D. in Economics from SOAS, University of London. His latest book is the outcome of two years of research-based in China and Pakistan ‘The Dragon from the Mountains: The CPEC from Kashgar to Gwadar’ and was published by Cambridge University Press in 2021.
You can find out more about Matthew through these links:
- Matthew McCartney at the Charter Cities Institute;
- Interview with Matthew McCartney and Junaid Qureshi, the director of European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS) about Pakistan, China and CPEC
- Matthew McCartney speaking at EFSAS Seminar on CPEC in EU Parliament;
- The Dragon from the Mountains book by Matthew McCartney, published by Cambridge University Press;
- The Dragon from the Mountains book by Matthew McCartney on Amazon;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.060I - Interview with Gala Camacho about responsible technologies;
- No.072I - Interview with Tamás Mezős about urban characteristics;
- No.087I - Interview with Paul Brookbanks about the rate and pace of urbanisation;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in Africa and its opportunities with railway?
Summary of two blog posts titled: African Railways could go bankrupt but this is not necessarily a bad thing and It will be the best of times, it will be the worst of times: thinking about the contemporary African railway mania from 2022 by Matthew McCartney published on the Charter Cities Institute website.
Matthew will be the next interviewee and this episode provides some background information on some topics we will discuss.
Additionally, since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how the African continent is progressing with railways. These articles present the contemporary situation, challenges and possible benefits of railways across Africa.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Although historical evidence proves that railways are basically bad financial investments, they are important for long-term economic growth, like education, broadband internet and good governance.
- Railways can help long-term economic growth with making urbanisation, transportation and industrialisation easier, which later lead to paying for the railways.
- The economic growth driven by railways can lead to institutional change.
You can find the first post through this link and the second through this.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in sustainable solutions but unsure about their economic benefits?
Summary of the article titled The costs ad benefits of environmental sustainability from 2021 by Paul Ekins and Dimitri Zenghelis, published in the Sustainability Science journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how the sustainable solutions compare to their financial investments. This article presents that no conventional cost-benefit analysis is appropriate in this case because it can understate the longterm benefits of sustainable solutions.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Starting early by credibly steering expectations, inducing innovation and directing investment is in all cases better than delay because ‘grow now and clean up later’ is the second highest cost option, only the existential costs of never cleaning up are higher.
- There are three broad environmental strategies to deliver sustainable economies: decarbonisation to reduce the level of global warming, detoxification to reduce the emissions or impacts of other pollutants, and dematerialisation to reduce the environmental impacts associated with resource extraction, conversion, and processing.
- A cost-effective low-carbon, resource-efficient transition can generate a cleaner, quieter, more secure, innovative, and productive economy for all countries at all stages of development.
You can find the article through this link.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in landscape architecture, its potential to tackle climate change, and how to connect regional and urban areas more?
Interview with Paul Brookbanks, a principal landscape architect at spiire. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, landscape architecture, population increase and the resulting innovation, holistic views, and many more.
Paul Brookbanks is an Australian design leader with extensive public and private sector experience in landscape architecture and urban planning. With 24 years’ experience his diverse skills encompass robust problem-solving abilities, long lasting client partnerships and a legacy of built work success. Paul’s design philosophy emphasizes innovation. He seeks to create places that engage environmental, cultural and social aspirations through adventurous creativity and practical knowhow. Paul has worked on a wide range of decorated projects including top honour awards for Wuxi Lihu Waterfront Parklands, China receiving Waterfront Centre Top Honour Award in 2005 and recently the Regional and Infrastructure Awards for ACT Healthy waterways AILA Awards in 2020. Paul has a passion for working with local communities to shape meaningful connections between people and place and between nature and culture.
You can find out more about Paul through these links:
- Paul Brookbanks on LinkedIn;
- Paul Brookbanks at spiire;
- ACT Healthy Waterways described by Indesco
Connecting episodes which might interest you:
- No.012I - Interview with Kieran Leong about design evoking human natural feelings and biophilia
- No.043R - Shifting from sustainability to regeneration
- No.067R - Theoretical underpinnings of regenerative sustainability
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in landscape sustainability science and its application?
Summary of the editorial article titled Advancing landscape sustainability science: theoretical foundation and synergies with innovation in methodology, design and application from 2020 by Chuan Liao, Jiangxiao Qiu, Bin Chen, Deliang Chen, Bojie Fu, Matei Georgescu, Bhunyang He, G. Darrel Jenerette, Xia Li, Xiaoyan Li, Xin Li, Bading Qiuying, Peijun Shi, and Janguo Wu, published in the Landscape Ecology journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how landscape sustainability science as a place-based, use-inspired science can improve the dynamic relationships between ecosystem services and human well-being. This article presents the theoretical foundation of landscape sustainability science, discusses recent innovations and examines the applications to address sustainability challenges.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight three aspects:
- Landscape sustainability science is rooted in sustainability science, resilience, landscape ecology, and many others to bring sustainability to the practice with various innovations such as modelling and scenario investigations.
- Landscape design – as any intentional configuration of landscape compositions for providing ecosystem services and meeting societal needs – provides a platform for scientists and stakeholders to apply scientific knowledge to support decision-making on landscape change.
- The strong sustainability perspective suggests that long-term regional sustainability can only be achieved by integrating context-based sustainability in urban, agricultural and natural landscapes to minimize the regional ecological footprint.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Our society has entered in an era of Anthropocene, in which people and their activities dominate almost all ecosystems on the planet. In the context of growing uncertainties, landscape sustainability science (LSS), as a place-based, use-inspired science, aims to understand and improve the dynamic relationship between ecosystem services and human well-being. In this editorial, we identify the major theoretical foundations of LSS, discuss recent innovations in research methodology to advance LSS, summarize the extension of LSS through landscape design and geo-design, and examine the application of LSS for addressing sustainability challenges across multiple landscapes. We highlight that long-term regional sustainability can only be achieved by integrating context-based sustainability across agricultural, urban, and natural landscapes so as to minimize the regional ecological footprint and make advancement towards achieving the sustainable development goals.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in how the concept of stigmergy applies to human cooperation?
Summary of the article titled Stigmergy in human practice: Coordination in construction work from 2012 by Lars Rune Christensen published in the Cognitive Systems Research journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how the concept of stigmergy, the concept of coordination coming from the study of bugs translates to the study of humans. This article compares bug and human coordination and explores the utility of stigmergy for human practice through the example of construction work.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
- Stigmergy is a concept of cooperation from entomology, but it can be translated to human context.
- In the human context, stigmergy means the distributed cooperative work tasks that are integrated by individual actions based on previous individuals’ actions.
- The complex collaboration of construction work can be seen and interpreted as human stigmergy with the addition of forward-looking mindfulness to improve connected tasks.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Stigmergy is a concept of coordination that may be employed to analyse human practice in complex work settings such as the building process. However, the concept of stigmergy was not originally developed in order to describe human practice, rather it was developed within the field of entomology i.e. the study of social insects. Transposing the concept of stigmergy from the field of entomology to the study of human practice raises a central question: Does the concept of stigmergy add anything to our ability to account for the coordination of human cooperative work? We will argue that it does. We will (1) explicitly compare and delimit the concept of stigmergy to well-established concept describing human coordinative practices and show that it differs from these concepts, and we will (2) apply the concept of stigmergy to an analysis of the coordination of construction work in order to explore the utility of the concept in the analysis of human practice.
You can find the transcripts through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.008I - Interview with Andrew Lizzio about swarm intelligence and stigmergy;
- No.018I - Interview with María Yanez about a different approach to development industry;
- No.057I - Interview with Amélie Uhrig about individual actions around climate change;
- No.073R - Smart communities initiatives about community involvement;
- No.083R - Operationalising a concept: The systematic review of composite indiator building for measuring community disaster resilience about the need for individuals' participation;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Interview with Jacek Urbanowicz, an architect at COX Architecture and co-founder of Tunarch.org, architecture discovery platform that focuses on helping clients find the right designer through the contents of their work. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, the urban representation of Maslow’s pyramid, democratised decision-making, and many more.
Jacek Urbanowicz is a Melbourne-based, design technology specialist, registered architect with a decade of professional experience and an entrepreneur. His best features orbit around: building strong relationships with teams, computational design, all-round project delivery and logical problem-solution analysis. Jacek graduated from Poznan University of Technology, Poland and gained initial experience in Barcelona, Beirut and Shanghai. After working on award-winning projects at Bates Smart office, he joined COX Architecture where he develops many significant, large-scale projects.
Jacek is also a co-founder of a new architecture discovery platform: Tunarch. The name comes from "Tuning Architecture", as it allows users to publish and explore design works through data-driven lenses and provides practical tools for designers and real estate clients of all scales and building types. Core benefits of using Tunarch are: well organized key project information, understanding the market landscape, searching convenience and accuracy. At tunarch.org you can manage your design portfolio with ease and grow your business opportunities.
You can find out more about Jacek online through these links:
- Jacek Urbanowicz on LinkedIn;
- Tunarch.org website;
- Tunarch on LinkedIn;
- Tunarch on Instagram;
- Tunarch on Youtube;
- Cox Architecture website;
- Superforecastering: The art and science of prediction - book from Philip E. Tetlock and Dan Gardner;
- Melbourne Connect website at The University of Melbourne;
- Melbourne Accelerator Velocity Program in which Tunarch participated;
Connecting episodes which might interest you:
- No.020R - Summary of Antifragile (book) by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- No.021I - Interview with Bridgette Engler, foresight specialist and futurist
- No.075I - Interview with Gavin Cotterill about smart cities and digital twins and their usability for testing design solutions digitally first
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Summary of the article titled Operationalizing a concept: The systematic review of composite indicator building for measuring community disaster resilience from 2017 by A. Asadzadeh, T. Kötter, P. Salehi, and J. Birkmann, published in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how to build indicators for an overarching community disaster resilience assessment. This article introduces an assessment framework to measure community disaster resilience while also investigating hierarchical, and inductive assessment methods.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: The measurement of community disaster resilience through the development of a comprehensive set of composite indicators is becoming increasingly commonplace. Despite this growing trend, there is neither an agreement upon a standard procedure nor a comprehensive assessment of existing measurement frameworks in the relevant literature. To tackle these challenges, this study (1) proposes an overarching eight-step procedure for composite indicator building and (2) develops a meta-level assessment framework to allow for a systematic review of existing disaster resilience measurement frameworks in application of composite indicator building. This meta-level framework was established on the basis of the proposed eight-step composite indicator building procedure and qualified with the introduction of 19 dimensions and 36 metrics for quality assessment. In order to select relevant disaster resilience measures for this analysis, the study applied a systematic survey to collect measures based on four inclusion criteria: community-based, multifaceted, quantitative, and operationalized. Accordingly, 17 resilience measurement frameworks were chosen for further analysis in this review. The results of the quality assessment demonstrated that, from the theoretical perspective, resilience assessments originate from either the socio-ecological or engineering fields and can be classified into two main types of resilience indices and tools. This differs from results of the methodological perspective, which indicate that resilience measures can be characterized as deductive or similar to hierarchical and inductive assessments.
You can find the transcripts through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.023R - Smart cities and disaster resilience
- No.044R - Measuring community disaster resilience in the Latvian context
- No.056R - A place-based model for understanding community resilience to natural disasters
- No.074R - Resilient urban planning: major principles and criteria
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Trailer to episode 084I for the interview with Jacek Urbanowicz, an architect at COX Architecture and co-founder of Tunarch.org, architecture discovery platform that focuses on helping clients find the right designer through the contents of their work. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, the urban representation of Maslow’s pyramid, democratised decision-making, and many more.
Summary of the article titled Beyond defining the smart city – Meeting top-down and bottom-up approaches in the middle from 2014 by Jonas Breuer, Nils Walravens, and Pieter Ballon, presented at the Eight International Conference INPUT 2014 titled Smart City – Planning for Energy, Transportation and Sustainability, and published in the Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see an investigation into the bottom-up and top-down smart city approaches and where they can meet. This article introduces what smart city can mean for the different stakeholders and the consequences of its interpretation.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: This paper aims to better frame the discussion and the various, divergent operationalisations and interpretations of the Smart City concept. We start by explicating top-down approaches to the Smart City, followed by what purely bottom-up initiatives can look like. We provide a clear overview of stakeholders’ different viewpoints on the city of tomorrow. Particularly the consequences and potential impacts of these differing interpretations and approaches should be of specific interest to researchers, policy makers, city administrations, private actors and anyone involved and concerned with life in cities. Therefore the goal of this article is not so much answering the question of what the Smart City is, but rather what the concept can mean for different stakeholders as well as the consequences of their interpretation. We do this by assembling an eclectic overview, bringing together definitions, examples and operationalisations from academia, policy and industry as well as identifying major trends and approaches to realizing the Smart City. We add to the debate by proposing a different approach that starts from the collective, collaboration and context when researching Smart City initiatives.
You can find the transcript through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
- No.046 - Analysis and comparison of Smart City initiatives, talking about Living Labs
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you?
Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Interview with Nataly Arevalo, an environmental designer, urban researcher, and lecturer. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, environmental behaviour research, human sensing and its effects of psychology, and many more.
Nataly is a PhD in environmental designer, urban researcher, and lecturer. She applies evidence from environmental behaviour research into architecture and urban design. Her inspiration to pursue the field of environmental behaviour was inspired through her parents who practice architecture and psychology. Another motivation to connect the human mind with the environment sparked during her career as a semi-professional triathlete back in her native country - Ecuador. Through both motives, she understood the importance of training our minds to feel better in our environments where we work, live, and play. Since then, she has carried out intercontinental research focused on achieving higher levels of community well-being and supporting on the translation of people’s views into urban designs and policy-making. Particularly, she conducts research around the fields of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, neuroarchitecture, and environmental psychology chanelling into the development of publications, workshops, training, and design studio curriculums. Currently she explores a better way to bridge the fields of Architecture and Psychology engaging in conversations published on her website.
You can find out more about Nataly through these links:
- Nataly Arevalo website;
- Nataly Arevalo on LinkedIn;
- @natalyarch as Nataly Arevalo on Twitter;
- Amos Rapoport, the environmental designer mentioned in the discussion;
- Introduction to psychology course from Bloom mentioned in the discussion;
Connecting episodes which might interest you:
- No.012 - Kieran Leong, architect and principal at the Melbourne Office of DesignInc company, talking about human and natural experiences in the focus of the design process
- No.039 - Interview with Kirsten Day, architect and lecturer at the University of Melbourne, talking about neurodiversity
- No.069 - Interview with Dr. Éva Kereszty, doctor, teacher and forensic medical expert, talking about different disabilities
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Summary of the article titled Functionality between the size and indicators of smart cities: A research challenge with policy implications from 2018 by Kamila Borsekova, Samuel Koróny, Anna Vaňová, and Katarína Vitálišová, published in the Cities journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see an investigation into the connection between smart cities and city sizes. This article identifies the most significant indicators of smart cities that can divide smart cities into size categories and future policy challenges.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: The paper focusses on the concept of a smart city and its specific components in relation to size of the city. Smart cities are a topic whose key importance is being increasingly recognised across both academic disciplines and urban planning. The idea of a smart city is a dream of urban planners all over the world, and a subject of many research and business initiatives as well as policy debates. As cities vary considerably in size, it is important to ask if the size influences the level of selected indicators of smart cities. Our main presumption is that the development level of indicators of smart cities varies in cities of different size. Our scientific objective is to find a simple understandable model linking the categorical variable “city size” to a group of smart city indicators. Our data set contains 26 smart city indicators for 158 European smart cities, divided into two sizes: medium-sized cities and larger cities. We draw from the methodology of “European Smart Cities” elaborated by the Vienna University of Technology (Project ID: 314704) that classify European smart cities and smart city indicators by considering their size. Analysing the statistics by using decision tree modelling, we identify the most significant indicators of smart cities that can divide smart cities into size categories with impressive 96.2% correct classification. Besides excellent classification result based on real empirical data, several research results overturn common assumptions about smart cities. Based on the research results the paper also highlights intriguing future challenges in smart city research and policy development. Several research results have policy implications and might be useful for urban planners, policy representatives and decision makers.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you?
Let me know on Twitter@WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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The celebration of the first year of the podcast!
I would like to thank you all for joining me on this adventure. I am really grateful for your support. And I am especially thankful for my interviewees who took the time to appear on the podcast and share their ideas and insights. Stay tuned for a special announcement at the end of the episode!
You can find the shownotes through this link and the transcript through this link.
Head over to the wtf4cities.com website for more information, or get in touch on Twitter @WTF4Cities.
Thanks for tuning in during this year, I highly appreciate all of you!
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Interview with Ammon Beyerle, architect, urban designer, and lecturer. We talk about their vision for the future of cities, participatory design, the 3 ecologies, affordability, and many more.
Ammon Beyerle is a practicing architect, urban designer, and academic with a speciality in participatory design. They recently completed a PhD in participation in architecture and urban design (2018); and have 18 years teaching experience across a broad range of design, theory and technical subjects at 4 universities in Melbourne, Australia. Ammon’s PhD was by creative works, including work from their architectural practice, and focussed on agonistic pluralism. This means rather than pursuing the rational ideology of consensus, embracing tensions, frictions and action in design processes. Prior to starting their own practice, Ammon worked in a structural engineering atelier in Paris on public projects across Europe, China and Africa; in international architectural practices in Japan and Melbourne; and then in community activism and sustainability in Melbourne. Ammon’s architectural practice here studio, has a base in both the City of Melbourne, and the regional city of Ballarat, Victoria. Over 12 years, here studio has led projects in community development, placemaking, and social enterprise, and embedded participatory design methods via running events, newsletters, art installations, startups and action research. For the past 6 years especially, here studio and Ammon have strived to prove that architecture can be accessible to everyone, making it their business to deliver more than 150 modest budget residential renovations, extensions and new homes across Victoria, Australia.
You can find out more about Ammon through these links:
- Ammon Beyerle on LinkedIn;
- @ammonbeyerle as Ammon Beyerle on Twitter;
- here studio website;
- residential projects with here studio;
- Ammon Beyerle on the here studio website;
- Participation in Architecture: agonism in practice - Ammon Beyerle's PhD research on the here studio website
- Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, December 2009, which influenced Ammon a lot
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the article titled Steering into the Skid – Arbitraging human and artificial intelligences to augment the design process from 2020 by Geoff Kimm and Mark Burry, presented at the 40th Annual Conference of The Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture and published in their proceedings Volume 1: Technical papers, keynote conversations.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how artificial intelligence can be noted as an ally instead of a risk, at least in the design processes. This article investigates how can architects arbitrage an ever-changing gap between maturing AI and mutable social expectations.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: What if any perceived risks of lost authorship and artistic control posed by a wholesale embrace of artificial intelligence by the architectural profession were instead opportunities? AI’s potential to automate design has been pursued for over 50 years, yet aspirations of early researchers are not fully realized. Nonetheless, AI’s advances continue to be rapid; it is an increasingly viable adjunct to architectural practice, and there are fundamental reasons for why the perceived “risks” of AI cannot be dismissed lightly. Architects’ professional role at the intersection of social issues and technology, however, may allow them to avoid the obsolescence faced by other roles. To do this, we propose architects responsively arbitrage an ever-changing gap between maturing AI and mutable social expectations—arbitrage in the sense of seeking to exercise individual judgment to negotiate between diverse considerations and capacities for mutual advantage. Rather than feel threatened, evolving architectural practice can augment an expanded design process to generate and embed new subtleties and expectations that society may judge contemporary AI alone as being unable to achieve. Although there can be no road map to the future of AI in architecture, historical misevaluations of machines and our own human capabilities inhibit the intertwined, synergistic, and symbiotic union with AI needed to avoid a zero-sum confrontation. To act myopically, defensively, or not at all risks straitjacketing future definitions of what it means to be an architect, designer, or even a professionally unaligned creative and productive human being.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the article titled Smart innovative cities: The impact of smart city policies on urban innovation from 2018 by Andrea Caragliu and Chiara F. Del Bo, published in the Technological Forecasting & Social Change journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see whether smart city initiatives increase the likelihood of innovation in high-tech, ICT and technology with patent application. This article investigates European metropolitan areas and their smart city initiatives with regards to affecting urban innovation.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Smart City policies have attracted relevant attention and funding over the last few years. While the time seems now ripe to conclude that such policies have a positive impact on urban economic growth, the picture is much less clear when looking at the microfoundations of this effect. In this paper we look at the urban innovation impact of Smart City policies. In fact, typical Smart City projects imply the involvement not only of major multinational corporations, along with local public authorities, but also of local companies, typically with the aim to translate general technological solutions to the local needs. A new data set collected for these analyses comprises data on Smart City features for 309 European metropolitan areas, Smart City policy intensity, and urban innovation outputs. The latter are proxied by calculating total patent applications to the European Patent Office between 2008 and 2013. Patent counts also include technologically narrower classes, namely high-tech, ICT, and specific Smart City technologies patent applications. Propensity Score Matching estimates suggest that cities engaging in Smart City policies above the EU average also tend to patent more intensively. This effect is stronger for high-tech patents, while decreases for more narrowly defined technological classes. This last result suggests possible technological spillovers from technologies directly involved in Smart City policies.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Interview with Gavin Cotterill, consulting director of the Cohesive Group's Asia Pacific Digital Practice and co-chair of the Smart Cities Council Digital Twin Task group. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, the smart cities and digital twins, innovation, and many more.
As a Consulting Director within the Asia Pacific Digital practice, Gavin Cotterill helps large private infrastructure and government organisations in transforming them from an analogue organisation to a data driven organisation by adopting Building Information Modelling, Geospatial, IoT and Digital Twin technologies. The results of his work can be seen through better economic returns for taxpayers or shareholders, happier and more empowered employees, improved service delivery and social outcomes. He specialises in transformation strategy development, business case development and large-scale business transformation implementation delivery. Gavin has experience leading teams across multiple regions and cultures including Australia, UK, and Asia. He is increasingly involved in how data as asset can help deliver value to infrastructure owners and governments.
Gavin’s passion for a digital future for our cities and built environment sees him involved in several initiatives such as co-chairing the Smart Cities Council Digital Twin Task group and assisting Standards Australia Smart Cities standards reference group. He has also directly supported the development of the international standard for Building Information Management.
You can find out more about Gavin through these links:
- Gavin Cotterill on LinkedIn;
- @gavincotterill as Gavin Cotterill on Twitter;
- Cohesive Group website;
- Smart Cities Council website;
- Digital Built Australia podcast with Gavin Cotterill and Adam Beck;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the article titled Resilient urban planning: major principles and criteria from 2014 by Ayyoob Sharifi and Yoshiki Yamagata presented at the 6thInternational Conference on Applied Energy, and then published in Energy Procedia.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see the implications of the resilience concept for the sustainability of urban areas. This article proposes a conceptual framework to assess resilience and urban sustainability based on a set of criteria and their interrelations.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: The notion of resilience is rapidly gaining ground in the urban sustainability literature. The frequency of recent incidents including natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes, and also difficulties caused by the economic downturn has highlighted the vulnerability of human settlements and makes the appropriate consideration of resilience in the planning for future of urban areas of vital significance. Development of an assessment framework for evaluating the extent of resiliency of urban areas can be an effective way of incorporating resiliency-related issues into the urban planning process. For this purpose, it is necessary to clarify the implications of the resilience concept for the sustainability of urban areas. It is also important to identify resilience-related principles and criteria that should be embedded in the framework for assessing the resiliency of urban environments. This study involves an initial review of the literature on resilience and urban sustainability to extract a comprehensive set of criteria that can be used to develop an urban resilience assessment system. Moreover, it tries to design a conceptual framework, illustrative of the inter-relations between these various set of criteria. Criteria for assessment of the resilience of urban areas are divided into several main themes that cover environmental, economic, social, and institutional dimensions of sustainability. These themes would further be broken down into major criteria to account for important relevant areas such as land use, infrastructure, health, etc. The output of this study can be used as the basis for defining a set of precise indicators that will constitute a potential assessment tool for measuring the resilience of urban developments. The resilient assessment process has the capacity to provide decision makers with a clear and comprehensive picture of the resilience of the development proposal and supports them in making better informed decisions.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the article titled Smart communities initiatives from 2004 by Helena Lindskog presented at the 3rd ISOneWorld Conference, 2004.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see different smart community approaches. This article compares these different approaches and presents how the co-operation between countries, regions and smart communities functions.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Information Communication Technology (ICT) is literally changing every aspect of our life as citizens, employees, employers, parents, friends and as members of any type of community. We are changing the patterns of our professional and social lives. It is not surprising that a great emphasis is put on the possibilities that this new technological development can offer for local communities, governments and their citizens in order to increase quality of life, education, job opportunities and general prosperity. The concept Smart Community was first used in 1993 in Silicon Valley, California, when the area experienced a recession that was deeper than the national economic downturn, and predicted to last longer. Silicon Valley business leaders, community members, government officials and educators decided together to help jump-start the region. Today the concept of Smart Community is widely used. The Smart Communities phenomenon is global in the sense that it exists all over the world as well as local since it is often based on local initiatives. In the Smart Communities Guidebook, developed by the State University of San Diego (1997), Smart community is described as "a geographical area ranging in size from neighborhood to a multi-county region whose residents, organizations, and governing institutions are using information technology to transform their region in significant ways. Co-operation among government, industry, educators, and the citizenry, instead of individual groups acting in isolation, is preferred. The technological enhancements undertaken as part of this effort should result in fundamental, rather than incremental, changes." This article compares different approaches towards the phenomenon of Smart Communities, similarities and differences, how the co-operation between countries, regions and Smart Communities function and if there are any lessons learned.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Interview with Dr Tamás Mezős, architect, engineer, architectural historian, among others. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, building archaeology, history of cities, and many more.
Dr Tamás Mezős graduated as a civil engineer and an architect in Budapest and since then has collected more qualifications than one could count. Tamás specifically focuses on architectural and monumental conservation, currently working on multiple projects across Europe. He also tought generations of young architects about the history of architecture and the connecting links across the different time periods. Tamás was also the head of Department of History of Architecture and of Monuments at the university, while also the President of the National Office of Cultural Heritage. He published extensively in his research areas including History and Theory of Architectural Conservation, building archaeology and diagnostics, theoretic reconstruction of Roman buildings and restoration works in Hungary, Italy, Germany and Austria.
You can find out more about Tamás through these links:
- Tamás Mezős website (HUN);
- Tamás Mezős as a professor on LinkedIn;
- Tamás Mezős' Wikipedia page;
- M&M Architektész Építész Iroda website (HUN);
- Tamás Mezős with M&M on LinkedIn;
- Tamás Mezős on Google Scholar
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the article titled Towards intelligently sustainable cities? – From intelligent and knowledge city programmes to the achievement of urban sustainability from 2013 by Vittorio Gargiulo Morelli, Margot Weijnen, Ellen Van Bueren, Ivo Wenzler, Marke de Reuver, and Luca Salvati, published in the Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how intelligent and knowledge city programmes can contribute to urban sustainability. This article suggests that their main efficacy lies in supporting cities through optimization, innovation and behaviour changes.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: In the quest for achieving sustainable cities, Intelligent and Knowledge City Programmes (ICPs and KCPs) represent cost-efficient strategies for improving the overall performance of urban systems, especially when compared with the costs of physical restructuring and/or retrofitting projects. However, even though nobody argues on the desirability of making cities “smarter”, the fundamental questions of how and to what extent can ICPs and KCPs contribute to the achievement of urban sustainability lack a precise answer. In the attempt of providing a structured answer to these interrogatives, this paper presents a methodology developed for investigating the modalities through which ICPs and KCPs contribute to the achievement or urban sustainability. Overall, our research suggests that ICPs and KCPs can potentially contribute to all three dimensions of sustainability (i.e. economic, social and environmental), but their main efficacy lies in supporting cities achieve a sustainable urban metabolism through optimization, innovation and behavior changes.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the article titled Citizen-centred big data analysis-driven governance intelligence framework for smart cities from 2018 by Jingrui Ju, Luning Liu, and Yuqiang Feng, published in the Telecommunications Policy journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see an investigation into citizen-centred big data with data-to-decision research from concept to operation. This article proposes a framework for the use citizen-centred big data analysis to drive governance intelligence in smart cities from two perspectives: urban governance issues and data-analysis algorithms.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Sensors and systems within rapidly expanding smart cities produce citizen-centered big data which have potential value to support citizen-centered urban governance decision-making. There exists a wealth of extant conceptual studies, however, further operational studies are needed to establish a specific path towards implementation of such data to governance decision-making with analytical algorithms that are appropriate for each step of the path. This paper proposes a framework for the use of citizen-centered big data analysis to drive governance intelligence in smart cities from two perspectives: urban governance issues and data-analysis algorithms. The framework consists of three layers: 1) A data-merging layer, which builds a citizen-centered panoramic data set for each citizen by merging citizen-related big data from multiple sources in collaborative urban governance via similarity calculation and conflict resolution; 2) a knowledge-discovery layer, which plots the citizen profile and citizen persona at both individual and group levels in terms of urban public service delivery and citizen participation via simple statistical analysis techniques, machine learning, and econometrics methods; and 3) a decision-making layer, which uses ontology models to standardize urban governance-related attributes, personas, and associations to support governance decision-making via data mining and Bayesian Net techniques. Finally, the proposed framework is validated in a case study on blood donation governance in China. This research highlights the value of citizen-centered big data, pushes data-to-decision research from conceptual to operational, synthesizes previously published frameworks for citizen-centered big data analysis in smart cities, and enhances the mutual supplement cross multiple disciplinaries.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Interview with Dr Eva Kereszty, doctor, teacher and forensic medical expert, among others. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, urban services, holistic thinking, expanded disability meaning, and many more.
Dr Eva Kereszty graduated from Semmelweis University with forensic medicine and insurance medicine and from Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest with administrative law specialisations. She spent time in the US and various European countries in short-term fellowships. Eva teaches forensic medicine and insurance medicine, health law, patients’ rights, and public administration to graduate and post-graduate students in the Hungarian and English language programs at the medical and law faculties. She was the head of the 2-year post-graduate licence program for medical professionals in law, and she was awarded the „Best Teacher of the Course” award by the students several times.
Eva participated in the preparations for the European Union accession of Hungary in the Hungarian ministry. She represented Hungary in the High-Level Committee for Health and the Governmental Committee of the European Social Charter. Eva also supervised and participated in the legislation of legal tools in health., e.g. the Health Act of Hungary.
You can find out more about Éva through these links:
- Dr Éva Kereszty on LinkedIn;
- Dr Éva Kereszty at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences;
- Dr Éva Kereszty on ORCID;
- Dr Éva Kereszty on Google Scholar;
- Dr Éva Kereszty at the Hungarian Doctoral Council;
- Halottak, akik köztünk élnek - book by Dr Éva Kereszty (HUN) - Dead who live among us (rough translation for the title);
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the article titled Measuring urban sustainability: the potential and pitfalls of city rankings from 2012 by Phil McManus, published in the Australian Geographer journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see an investigation into Sydney’s sustainability. This article discusses how Sydney could become more sustainable and identifies why normative urban sustainability rankings should be recognised for their potential while simultaneously being treated with caution.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Measuring the sustainability of a city, and ranking the city against other cities, is increasingly seen as a way to achieve urban sustainability. A number of studies have highlighted how Sydney is unsustainable, with two recent ranking exercises appearing to confirm these findings by placing Sydney below many other Australian cities for urban sustainability. These two exercises are situated within international moves towards ranking cities. The article explores the assumptions and criteria used by Mercer in its Eco-City Index and the Australian Conservation Foundation in its Sustainable Cities Index. The conclusion discusses how Sydney could become more sustainable, and identifies why normative urban sustainability rankings should be recognised for their potential while simultaneously being treated with caution.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the article titled Theoretical underpinnings of regenerative sustainability from 2015 by John Robinson and Raymond Cole, published in the Building Research & Information journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see the difference between regenerative sustainability and regenerative development and design. This article discusses the relationship between regenerative sustainability and regenerative design.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Over the past half century, a discourse emphasizing environmental constraints and limits has both informed and provided many valuable ways of responding to complex environmental problems and has strongly shaped green building practices and associated environmental assessment methods. This paper delineates the concept of ‘regenerative sustainability’ – a net-positive approach to sustainability that is rooted in the notion of ‘procedural sustainability’ and a particular stream of constructivist social theory. The paper contrasts this to the concept of ‘regenerative development and design’ which, although having many commonalities, is based on different philosophical underpinnings. Since the origins of regenerative sustainability and regenerative design lie primarily in the social and ecological domains respectively, understanding their relationship is of importance in formulating approaches for the successful co-evolution of human and natural systems. The paper describes this relationship between regenerative sustainability and regenerative design, including a discussion of some of the key points of convergence and divergence between them, and concludes with an exploration of the practical implications of the regenerative sustainability concept.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Interview with Johan Tijssen, the director of HempBlock Australia. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, the city itself, urban reevaluation, and many more.
Originating from Holland, multi-lingual Johan Tijssen is a key figure in the development of the hemp building industry in Australia. He has developed certification, manuals and training programs to meet the growing interest and demand for hemp as a sustainable building material. Johan is passionate about protecting the planet for future generations and minimising the impact of traditional materials used throughout the construction industry. Johan equally focusses on smooth, fast and simple building processes using longer lasting and efficient materials.
You can find out more about Johan through these links:
- Johan Tijssen on LinkedIn;
- HempBlock Australia website;
- @HempBlockAu as HempBlock International on Twitter;
- Johan Tijssen Building&Design website;
- Johan Tijssen GeoBeam website;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the article titled Smart cities concept and Challenges – Bases for the assessment of smart city projects from 2016 by Andres Monzon, published at the International Conference on Smart Cities and Green ICT Systems.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see a smart city assessment tool with city challenges and their available possibilities. This article introduces a project guide as a tool for implementing smart city projects that efficiently respond to complex and diverse urban challenges without compromising their sustainable development while improving the quality of life of their citizens.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: ASCIMER (Assessing Smart Cities in the Mediterranean Region) is a project developed by the Universidad Politecnica of Madrid (UPM) for the EIBURS call on “Smart City Development: Applying European and International Experience to the Mediterranean Region”. Nowadays, many initiatives aimed at analysing the conception process, deployment methods or outcomes of the -referred as- Smart City projects are being developed in multiple fields. Since its conception, the Smart City notion has evolved from the execution of specific projects to the implementation of global strategies to tackle wider city challenges. ASCIMER´s project takes as a departure point that any kind of Smart City assessment should give response to the real challenges that cities of the 21st century are facing. It provides a comprehensive overview of the available possibilities and relates them to the specific city challenges. A selection of Smart City initiatives will be presented in order to establish relations between the identified city challenges and real Smart Projects designed to solve them. As a result of the project, a Projects Guide has been developed as a tool for the implementation of Smart City projects that efficiently respond to complex and diverse urban challenges without compromising their sustainable development and while improving the quality of life of their citizens.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the article titled The network state from 2021 by Balaji Srinivasan, usually known as Balaji, published on the 1729 website.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see a possible future state. This article introduces the network state, what it means and how one can be started.
You can find the article through this link.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Interview with Lilly Ryan, lead security specialist at Thoughtworks. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, safety and security, public and private spaces, the ghost in the machine, and many more.
Lilly Ryan is a lead security specialist at Thoughtworks, and also serves on the board of Digital Rights Watch. Lilly has delivered presentations across the globe on web application security, privacy education, and the history of technology-related issues. You can catch her talking security on the OWASP DevSlop Show or occasionally having opinions on Byte Into IT.
You can find out more about Lilly through these links:
- Lilly Ryan on LinkedIn;
- @attacus_au as Lilly Ryan on Twitter;
- Lilly Ryan website;
- Thoughtworks website;
- Digital Rights Watch website;
- OWASP DevSlop Show youtube channel;
- Byte Into IT website;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the article titled Urban Eutopia vs smart city from 2015 by Marina Montuori, published in the Festival Architettura Magazine.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see specific design actions based on the use of reversible, low-tech and low-impact building systems of urban regeneration. This article introduces integrated procedures to focus on adaptive maintenance to update architectural objects in order to restore high typological and performance standard.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Urban regeneration should focus on a methodological and interdisciplinary approach, entrenched in the territories. Therefore, this paper promotes specific design actions, based on the use of reversible, low tech and low impact building systems. The “integrate” procedures focus on an “adaptive maintenance” (with character: “preventive” and “corrective”) able to “update” the architectural objects in order to restore high typological and performance standard, qualitatively increased.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the article titled Conceptualising smart city with dimensions of technology, people and institutions from 2011 by Taewoo Nam and Theresa Prado, published at the 12th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see their collected core factors for establishing a smart city based on contemporary examples. This article offers strategic principles aligning to the three main dimensions of smart cities: integration of infrastructures and technology-mediated services, social learning for strengthening human infrastructure, and governance for institutional improvement and citizen engagement.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: This conceptual paper discusses how we can consider a particular city as a smart one, drawing on recent practices to make cities smart. A set of the common multidimensional components underlying the smart city concept and the core factors for a successful smart city initiative is identified by exploring current working definitions of smart city and a diversity of various conceptual relatives similar to smart city. The paper offers strategic principles aligning to the three main dimensions (technology, people, and institutions) of smart city: integration of infrastructures and technology-mediated services, social learning for strengthening human infrastructure, and governance for institutional improvement and citizen engagement.
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Interview with Gala Camacho Ferrari, data scientist and director at Diagonal Works. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, steward ownership, responsible technologies, collaboration, and many more.
Gala is a mathematician and programmer, with a background in education, optimisation and all-things data. She is a Data Scientist and Director at Diagonal, where she is responsible for data science and built-environment analytics. Gala's experience is in strategic technical leadership, the design and implementation of algorithms and models within the urban planning and civil infrastructure space, and mathematical optimisation. Gala is passionate about using analytics to explore and break down urban and social inequalities.
You can find out more about Gala through these links:
- Gala Camacho Ferrari on LinkedIn;
- @GalaCF as Gala Camacho on Twitter;
- Gala Camacho Ferrari website;
- Diagonal Works website;
- @diagonalworks as Diagonal Works on Twitter;
- Design Justice, the book Gala mentioned in the interview;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the article titled Smart city and horizon – beyond every hypocrisy from 2015 by Paola Scala, published in the Festival Architettura Magazine.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see real opportunities represented by smart city as the theme of architectural research more aware of its role and more accepting its contemporary challenges. This article advocates for research that is not seduced by fashion slogans and does not escape into universal certainties and abstract utopias.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Starting with a Vittorio Gregotti interview titled “the green hypocrisy of star-architects”, this paper focuses on real opportunities represented by “Smart city” as the theme of an architectural research more aware of its own role but also more capable of accepting contemporary challenges. Research that is not seduced by fashion slogans and does not escape into universal certainties and abstract utopias.
You can find the transcript through this link.
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Summary of the article titled An adaptive learning process for developing and applying sustainability indicators with local communities from 2005 by Mark Reed, Evan Fraser, and Andrew J. Dougill, published in the Ecological Economics journal by Science Direct.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see an investigation into sustainability measurements and indicators from top-down and bottom-up perspectives. This article proposes a process combining best practices of the different paradigms as a holistic approach for measuring progress towards sustainable development.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Sustainability indicators based on local data provide a practical method to monitor progress towards sustainable development. However, since there are many conflicting frameworks proposed to develop indicators, it is unclear how best to collect these data. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the literature on developing and applying sustainability indicators at local scales to develop a methodological framework that summarises best practice. First, two ideological paradigms are outlined: one that is expert-led and top–down, and one that is community-based and bottom–up. Second, the paper assesses the methodological steps proposed in each paradigm to identify, select and measure indicators. Finally, the paper concludes by proposing a learning process that integrates best practice for stakeholder-led local sustainability assessments. By integrating approaches from different paradigms, the proposed process offers a holistic approach for measuring progress towards sustainable development. It emphasizes the importance of participatory approaches setting the context for sustainability assessment at local scales, but stresses the role of expert-led methods in indicator evaluation and dissemination. Research findings from around the world are used to show how the proposed process can be used to develop quantitative and qualitative indicators that are both scientifically rigorous and objective while remaining easy to collect and interpret for communities.
You can find the transcript through this link.
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Interview with Amélie Uhrig, a climate change and sustainability advisor and manager. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, sustainability, city as an organism, differences among the names for climate change, and many more.
Amélie Uhrig is a Manager at Point Advisory, a sustainability consultancy headquartered in Melbourne. She has over five years of experience in the climate change and broader sustainability sector and specialises on nature-based solutions for climate mitigation, carbon markets and carbon accounting. Prior to joining Point Advisory, she worked as consultant in development cooperation in Indonesia, where she was working on a project on climate and environmental awareness. As part of her role, she travelled to high schools and educational institutions facilitating workshops aimed at improving climate literacy and supporting climate action at school. Amélie holds a Master in Environmental Sciences, focusing on climate policies and politics as well as the role of forests in climate mitigation. As part of her studies, she conducted a qualitative social research project on community-based forest management and REDD+ in Indonesia. She also holds a Bachelor in Geography and Ethnology with a special focus on climate change. Amélie is also a founding member and co-creator at Talking in This Climate, a podcast dedicated to helping listeners to become more mindful about how we communicate climate and environmental issues.
You can find out more about Amélie through these links:
- Amélie Uhrig on LinkedIn;
- Amélie Uhrig at Point Advisory consultancy;
- Point Advisory consultancy website;
- Talking in This Climate podcast on Apple Podcasts;
- Talking in This Climate podcast on Spotify;
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Summary of the article titled A place-based model for understanding community resilience to natural disasters from 2008 by Susan Cutter, Lindsey Barnes, Melissa Berry, Christopher Burton, Elijah Evans, Eric Tate, and Jennifer Webb, published in the Global Environmental Change journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see a framework for disaster resilience of place model. This article investigates and proposes a comparative assessment for disaster resilience at the local or community level with a set of variables for easier implementation.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: There is considerable research interest on the meaning and measurement of resilience from a variety of research perspectives including those from the hazards/disasters and global change communities. The identification of standards and metrics for measuring disaster resilience is one of the challenges faced by local, state, and federal agencies, especially in the United States. This paper provides a new framework, the disaster resilience of place (DROP) model, designed to improve comparative assessments of disaster resilience at the local or community level. A candidate set of variables for implementing the model are also presented as a first step towards its implementation.
You can find the transcript through this link.
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Summary of the article titled Smartness that matters: Towards a comprehensive and human-centred characterisation of smart cities from 2016 by Alexander Prado Lara, Eduardo Moreira Da Costa, Thiago Zilinscki Furlani, and Tan Yigitcanlar, published in the Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market and Complexity.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see a collection of smart city definitions and their deficiencies. This article investigates previous smart city definitions and proposes a new, human-centred characterisation for them.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: The term ‘smart cities’ is a widely used, but at the same time a highly fuzzy concept. The fuzziness hinders our understanding on the benefits of its adoption, and explains the existence of many relevant activities with fragmented or distorted views of what a truly smart city is. The aim of this paper is to undertake a comprehensive review of how smart cities are perceived in the literature and in the light of the findings propose a clearer definition. Overview of the key terms, concepts and definitions associated to smart cities, reported in this paper, demonstrates that the definitions found in the academic literature have limited scope, and are overly focused on strategic drivers and specific actions, instead of making explicitly the connection between the concept of smart cities and the creation of environments that promote happiness and wellbeing of their residents—which should be the main function of a city. Following the thorough review on the smart cities literature, the paper proposes a comprehensive, human-centred, and context-free definition for smart cities. This definition brings an endogenous view on smart cities in which the central element is the direct participation of local actors and stakeholders in the process of thinking, defining, planning, and executing social, technological and urban transformations in cities.
You can find the transcript through this link.
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Interview with Dr Rolland Vida, the Head of High Speed Networks Laboratory. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, second and third rate effects of smaller urban changes, the future of education, and many more.
Dr. Rolland Vida graduated in Computer Science at Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj, Romania, where he also obtained a BSc degree in European Studies. He obtained his PhD in Computer Networks at Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France, in 2003. He is currently an Associate Professor at Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Department of Telecommunications and Media Informatics, and Head of HSN Lab, a research laboratory that is a strategic partner of Ericsson for 30 years. In the last 15 years Rolland Vida had leading roles in IEEE formerly known as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, which is the world’s largest technical professional organisation, with more than 400.000 members worldwide. Rolland served in both the IEEE Sensors Council, IEEE Communications Society and IEEE Smart Cities Initiative, and was involved in different roles, in organizing more than 40 international scientific conferences. His research areas are wireless sensor networks, sensor communications, Internet of Things, vehicular communications and Smart Cities of course. He is the Head of the Smart Cities MSc Specialisation at the university in Budapest.
You can find out more about Rolland through these links:
- Dr Rolland Vida on LinkedIn;
- High Speed Networks Laboratory website;
- IEEE website;
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Summary of the article titled Smart Telki – Answering citizen demand in the outskirts of Budapest from 2020 by Bence Majoros, Marcell Molnár, Tamás Sajti, and Rolland Vida, presented at the 2020 IEEE International Smart Cities Conference.
I will interview Rolland Vida in the next episode, number 054I, and this is a great preparation for that interview.
Plus, since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how the global solutions can work in different settings. This article investigates some specific smart city developments applied to Telki, a small municipality in the outskirts of Budapest, Hungary, trying to answer some particular citizen demands.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: In the last few years, more and more smart city applications and services were being deployed by municipalities all over the world. Best practices and lessons learned by other cities are certainly important, but each city has its own problems, constraints, budget limitations, but also specific user demands. In this paper we present some specific smart city developments in Telki, a small municipality in the outskirts of Budapest, Hungary, developments that tried to answer specific citizen demands while making use of the already deployed infrastructure (especially surveillance cameras), and avoiding further costly investments.
You can find the transcript through this link.
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Summary of the article titled Introduction: Innovation and identity in next-generation smart cities from 2018 by Hoon Han and Scott Hawken, published in City, Culture and Society journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see why it is important to critically consider urban identity and culture as central to the smart city. This article challenges smart city concepts from the urban identity, quality and value at a range of scales and geographic contexts point of view.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Cultural nuance, human behaviour and social identity require greater attention within the emerging smart city phenomenon. This special issue critically considers identity and urban culture as central to the smart city challenge. Current discourse on smart cities is obsessed with technological capability and development. Global rankings reduce cities to a one-dimensional business model and series of metrics. If the term ‘smart city’ is to have any enduring value, technology must be used to develop a city's unique cultural identity and quality of life for the future. The editorial reviews emerging research on the cultural dimensions of urban innovation and smart cities and places the six special issue papers within a theoretical context. Each paper critiques smart city theories in relation to the practical challenge of enhancing urban identity, quality and value at a range of scales and geographic contexts. Three main themes are used to frame the debate on smart cities and urban innovation: 1) local development histories, 2) face-to-face relationships and 3) local community scales. Each of these themes is lacking in current smart city approaches and requires innovative approaches to integrate into the smart city of tomorrow.
You can find the transcript through this link.
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Interview with Laura Summers, design engineer. We will talk about her vision for the future of cities, urban revitalisation, the fear-FOMO pendulum, and many more.
Laura is a multi-disciplinary designer researching technology ethics and building tools to promote fair machine learning. She's the founder of Debias AI and is the human behind Ethics Litmus Tests, fairXiv, the Melbourne Fair ML reading group. Most recently she released the open-source library "Sweet Summer Child Score", a risk assessment tool for automation and machine learning. Laura is passionate about feminism, digital rights and designing for privacy. She speaks, writes and runs workshops at the intersection of design and technology.
You can find out more about Laura through these links:
- Laura Summers on LinkedIn;
- @summerscope as Laura Summers on Twitter;
- Debias AI website;
- Ethics Litmus Test website;
- fairXiv website;
- Fair ML Reading Group website
- Sweet Summer Child Score open-source library on GitHub;
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Summary of the article titled Towards sustainable urban communities from 2012 by Appu Haapio published in the Environmental Impact Assessment Review journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see comparison of the internationally well-known sustainability assessment tools, BREEAM Communities, CASBEE for Urban Development, and LEED for Neighbourhood Development. This article investigates and compares these assessment tools with regards to sustainability in urban development and how the decision-makers could use these tools the best.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Requirements for the assessment tools of buildings have increased, assessing of building components or separate buildings is not enough. Neighbourhoods, built environment, public transportations, and services, should be considered simultaneously. Number of population living in urban areas is high and increasing rapidly. Urbanisation is a major concern due to its detrimental effects on the environment. The aim of this study is to clarify the field of assessment tools for urban communities by analysing the current situation. The focus is on internationally well known assessment tools; BREEAM Communities, CASBEE for Urban Development and LEED for Neigborhood Development. The interest towards certification systems is increasing amongst the authorities, and especially amongst the global investors and property developers. Achieved certifications are expected to bring measureable publicity for the developers. The assessment of urban areas enables the comparison of municipalities and urban areas, and notably supports decision making processes. Authorities, city planners, and designers would benefit most from the use of the tools during the decision making process.
You can find the transcript through this link.
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Summary of the article titled A multiple-attribute decision making-based approach for smart city rankings design from 2018 by Soledad Escolar, Félix Villanueva, Maria Santofimia, David Villa, Xavier del Toro, and Juan Carlos López published in the Technological Forecasting & Social Change journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see city-comparisons regarding smart cities. This article investigates and compares smart city rankings and suggests new approaches, using the example of New York, Seoul and Santander, to establish the proper evaluation of urban smartness.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Rankings are a valuable element for city-comparison purposes since results withdrawn from these comparisons can, eventually, support the evaluation of strategic decisions taken by cities. Smart city rankings are not an exception and, as they draw more attention, the number of them exponentially increases. This paper evaluates the appropriateness of existing smart city rankings for quantifying the materialization degree of the smart city concept. The analysis reveals that current rankings generally overlook indicators of the Information and Communication Technologies dimension. To bridge this gap, this work proposes a methodology based on Multiple-Attribute Decision Making that uses technological criteria for designing smart city rankings. The proposed methodology is evaluated against the cities of New York, Seoul, and Santander. Imbalances between results provided by the studied rankings and our evaluation are detected, which suggests the need for a new insight into more suitable and precise evaluation of the smartness degree of cities.
You can find the transcript through this link.
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Interview with Professor Hussein Dia, the Chair of Civil Engineering at Swinburne University of Technology. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, future urban mobility, city states, and many more.
Hussein Dia is a professor of Future Urban Mobility in the School of Engineering at Swinburne University of Technology, currently serving as the Chair of the Department of Civil and Construction Engineering and the Program Leader of the Smart Cities Research Institute's Future Urban Mobility research program at Swinburne. He works alongside highly dedicated academic teams and internal & external stakeholders while facilitating interdisciplinary research and actively engaging with external organisations to identify issues and needs that the Institute can address through its thematic research programs. Hussein is a Chartered Professional Engineer, Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Fellow of Engineers Australia, and Fellow of the Institute of Transportation Engineers. His research interests are in the convergence of technology, infrastructure and human elements in urban environments. Hussein’s current work is focused on disruptive mobility and harnessing digital innovations to unlock potential opportunities for low carbon mobility. His current research includes investigations of how autonomous vehicles, Blockchain, Internet of Things and the sharing economy are set to transform mobility in the world's cities.
You can find out more about Hussein through these links:
- Hussein Dia on LinkedIn,
- @HusseinDia as Hussein Dia on Twitter,
- Hussein Dia at Swinburne University of Technology,
- Future Urban Mobility led by Hussein Dia at the Smart Cities Research Institute,
- Hussein Dia’s Masterclass on Future Urban Mobility,
- Hussein Dia on the Conversation,
- Hussein Dia on YouTube,
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Summary of the article titled Coronavirus recovery: public transport is key to avoid repeating old and unsustainable mistakes from 2020 by Hussein Dia published on The Conversation.
I will interview Hussein Dia in the next episode, number 048R, and this is a great preparation for that interview. Plus, since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how the urban mobility is affected by the pandemic and how to make urban mobility better in the future after the pandemic. This article investigates sustainable shifts currently observable in cities with working from home and staying local, and how transport will be a particular challenge towards more sustainability.
You can find the article through this link.
You can find the transcript through this link.
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Summary of the book chapter titled Analysis and comparison of Smart City initiatives from 2016 by Aranzazu Fernández-Vázquez and Ignacio López-Forniés, in the book titled Advances on Mechanics, Design Engineering and Manufacturing, published by Springer.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see the investigation of smart city initiatives. This chapter investigates smart city initiatives based on citizen-centred design methodologies, also paying attention to living labs as methodologies and organisations.
You can find the book chapter through this link, and the book through this link.
Abstract: Complexity in cities is expected to become even higher in the short term, which implies the need to face new challenges. The Smart City (SC) model and its associate initiatives have become very popular for undertaking them but it is not often very clear what it really means. Starting with a previous classification of the initiatives developed under the SC model into two big categories, according to their approach to citizens, this paper aims to make a critical analysis of this model of city, and to propose the development of new initiatives for it based on Citizen-Centered Design methodologies. Living Labs, both as methodology and as organization, appear in this context as an interesting choice for developing initiatives with real citizen involvement along the entire design process, which it is expected to arise in later stages of research.
You can find the transcript through this link.
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Interview with Milan Janosov, Ph.D., the Chief Data Scientist at Datapolis and network and data science researcher at the Central European University. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, network science and complexity research, the different layers of a city, and many more.
With a background in physics and biophysics, Milan earned my PhD in network and data science in 2020. He studied and researched at the Eötvös Loránd University and the Central European University in Budapest, at the Barabási Lab in Boston, and the Bell Labs in Cambridge. Milan is an alumni at Eötvös Collegium, belongs to Forbes 30u30 club, and has NFT contributions on SuperRare. Milan is currently the chief data scientist of Datapolis, a research affiliate at the Central European University, a senior data scientist at Maven7, and a data science expert of the European Commission. He was awarded the Scholarship of the Republic of Hungary three times, won multiple prizes at science competitions, presented my work in peer-reviewed journals and conferences from Scientific Reports to MIT. His work has been featured in Nature Social Science Research, GQ, Times Higher Education, New Scientist, New York Times, TechXplore, The Economic Times, Futurism, Phys.org, and more.
You can find out more about Milan through these links:
- Milan Janosov on LinkedIn;
- @milan_janosov as Milan Janosov on Twitter;
- Milan Janosov website;
- Datapolis website;
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Summary of the article titled Measuring community disaster resilience in the Latvian context: an apply case using a composite indicator approach from 2016 by Maksism Feofilovs and Fancesco Romagnoli presented at the International Scientific Conference “Environmental and Climate Technologies” in Riga, Latvia.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to investigate resilience from the community perspective. This article investigates community resilience to man-made and natural disasters based on a previously developed framework in the case of Latvia.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Despite a growing and considerable interest and implementation of disaster resilience framework methods in research, policy programs and engineering design, metrics and standards for a quantitative measuring of resilience are still an open issue. Recent literatures on hazard and disaster show that the resilience concept represents a guideline toward a valuable hazard risk management and mitigation. For the Latvian context this also represents a beneficial approach for the implementation of policy strategies based on (semi)quantitative framework aiming to enhance resilience within communities in order to properly and most efficient spend a limited availability of funds. In fact man-made and natural disasters are usually preceded by periods where communities develop toward increasing risk states until a loss occurred due to a specific disaster event. In regard to this aspect this study, principally based on the definition of the Community Disaster Resilience Framework (CDRF) developed by Mayunga, is aiming to evaluate the level of community resilience to disaster at the Latvian national level for a specific set of social, economic, human, physical, and environmental indicators. The method implements the concept of a composite-based, multi-criteria analysis aiming to measure baseline quantitative characteristics of the communities under investigation to potentially further enhance resilience within specific actions plans and/or policy mechanisms. The results are applied to the Latvian context and provide a tool to assess the variation in resilience in places giving a ranking from the most resilient region to the least.
You can find the transcript through this link.
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Summary of the article titled Shifting from sustainability to regeneration from 2007 by Bill Reed published in the Building Research & Information journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see the difference between sustainability and regeneration in relation to the environment. This article investigates how the designers and stakeholders can create a whole system of mutually beneficial relationships thus moving beyond sustaining the environment to regenerate its health as well as our own.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Sustainability, as currently practised in the built environment, is primarily an exercise in efficiency. In other words, the use of environmental rating systems and other mechanisms allows a reduction in the damage caused by excessive resource use. However, instead of doing less damage to the environment, it is necessary to learn how one can participate with the environment by using the health of ecological systems as a basis for design. The shift from a fragmented to a whole systems model is the significant cultural leap that consumer society needs to make – through framing and understanding living system interrelationships in an integrated way. A place-based approach is one way to achieve this understanding. The design process begins by attempting to understand how the systems of life work in each unique place. The role of designers and stakeholders is to create a whole system of mutually beneficial relationships. By doing so, the potential for green design moves beyond sustaining the environment to one that can regenerate its health – as well as our own.
You can find the transcript through this link.
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Interview with Professor Mark Burry, the founding director or the Smart Cities Research Institute and Professor of Urban Futures at Swinburne University of Technology. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, urban citizen engagement, collaboration across disciplines, and many more.
Mark Burry is the Founding Director for Swinburne University of Technology’s ‘Smart Cities Research Institute’, an appointment he took up in May 2017. His role is to lead the development of a whole-of-university research approach to helping ensure that our future cities anticipate and meet the needs of all – engaged smart citizens for engaging smart cities. Mark is also a practising architect who has published internationally on two main themes: putting theory into practice with regard to procuring ‘challenging’ architecture, and the life, work and theories of the architect Antoni Gaudí. He has been Senior Architect to the Sagrada Família Basilica Foundation since 1979, pioneering distant collaboration with his colleagues based on-site in Barcelona. In 2001 Mark founded the Spatial Information Architecture Laboratory (SIAL) at RMIT University before establishing the Design Research Institute (DRI) in 2008. He joined the University of Melbourne in 2014 as Professor of Urban Futures at the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning where he helped develop the Faculty’s capacity to consolidate research in urban futures, drawing together and augmenting expertise in urban visualisation, urban analytics, and urban policy.
You can find out more about Mark through these links:
- Mark Burry on LinkedIn
- @mcb_4 as Mark Burry on Twitter
- Mark Burry at Swinburne University of Technology
- Smart Cities Research Institute at Swinburne University of Technology
- Mark Burry website
- Sagrada Familia website
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Summary of the article titled A 100 smart cities, a 100 utopias from 2015 by Ayona Datta published in the Dialogues in Human Geography journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see the smart city application in India as it becomes the site of producing 100 proposed smart cities. This article investigates the technocratic nationalism, and the presence of young urban population influencing the smart city dream.
The article is available through this link.
Abstract: In my response to the commentaries on my anchor article, I have taken on board the key question of how and why India has become the site of production of 100 proposed smart cities. I forward a notion of ‘technocratic nationalism’ to suggest that it is the young urban population in India who have largely bought into the smart city dream. Whilst drawing encouragement from the largely positive commentaries on my article, I then take on three main critiques of the article – first, that it has inadvertently promoted a hegemony of ‘city-ness’ by focusing on the imagined smart city to be; second, that the smart city has strong connections with colonial urban planning and third, whether Dholera should be considered the first smart city at all. I suggest that the article’s city-ness and postcolonial links to India’s urban planning is both political and heuristic, since it is the postcolonial ‘urban’ moment where India has situated its moment of modernity globalization and economic power. I contend that the final critique is based on a misinterpretation of the use of the word ‘first’, which was always intended to reflect a politics of innovation among cities. Finally, I suggest that the other ‘gaps’ in my article highlighted by one of the commentators is not a gap, rather beyond the scope and objectives of an exploratory article such as this.
The transcript is available through this link.
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Summary of the article titled Urban sustainability in the information age from 2010 by Manuel Castells published in the City, analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see the sustainable city in action and as a personal matter instead of being an abstract utopian ideology. This article is a transcript of a lecture and it investigates sustainability in urban, sociological and political terms as intergenerational solidarity.
The article is available through this link.
The transcript is available through this link.
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Interview with Dr Kirsten Day, an architect and lecturer at the University of Melbourne. We will talk about her vision for the future of cities, neuro diversity, quality of places, and many more.
Dr Kirsten Day lectures in Architecture at the University of Melbourne in Architectural, Practice, Applied Design Thinking, Contemporary Architectural Archives, and Thesis Design Studio. She is also the Senior Academic Advisor for the Bachelor of Design program. Her publications, workshops, and studios explore themes of future scenarios and the impact of change on the architectural profession and the human condition. She was an invited speaker on the subject Future Design | Future Melbourne as part of Melbourne Design Week for the Design Institute of Australia and involved with design and futures projects for Melbourne Knowledge Week since 2018. She organised the international Conference Future Housing: Global issues regional problems at Swinburne in 2016 with Architecture Media Politics Society as part of the Housing Critical Futures conference series.
Kirsten is a Chief Investigator on the ARC LIEF project LE220100057 The Australian Emulation Network: Born Digital Cultural Collections Access. Other research projects include Work-life in Wodonga: Co-design workshops for housing and work opportunities with people with disabilities in regional Victoria, (2022) funded by Melbourne Disability Institute at The University of Melbourne. Kirsten is Chair of the Education Committee for the Victorian Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects, and an examiner for the Architects Registration Board (Victoria). She is registered as a practicing architect and director of Norman Day + Associates Architects with over 20 years of experience in the profession. Prior to joining Melbourne, she was Course Director of Interior Architecture at Swinburne. Kirsten is also a member of The Architects Lobby and a member of the TAL Academic Caucus.
You can find out more about Kirsten through these links:
- Kirsten Day on LinkedIn
- @kirkday333 as Kirsten Day on Twitter
- Kirsten Day on FindAnExpert at The University of Melbourne
- Kirsten Day at Melbourne School of Design of The University of Melbourne
- Kirsten Day website
- Norman Day + Associates website
- Design & Architecture with Kirsten Day episode of Career Perspectives with Palladians podcast
- Future Design | Future Melbourne at the National Gallery of Victoria
- Melbourne Knowledge Week website
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Summary of the article titled But how bad this smart city from 2015 by Umberto Cao published in the Festival Architettura magazine.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see smart city as the efficient city in absolute sense. This article investigates how this efficiency affects the architectural form and quality of the city, possibly creating a dystopia.
The article is available through this link.
Abstract: The Smart City is a machine, a sort of city-computer, where the hardware is made by buildings and infrastructures and the software by integrated digital networks. So an efficient city in absolute sense. The problem is when these goals and these procedures are considered able to generate an architectural form, or when considered sufficient to return quality to the city. An urban quality that derives from "efficiency" makes think more about dystopia of Fritz Lang's Metropolis that utopia of the New City of Sant'Elia.
The transcript available through this link.
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Summary of the commentary article titled Big data, smart cities and city planning from 2013 by Michael Batty published in the Dialogues in Human Geography journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see sea of available data changes urban areas. This article investigates how the big data shifts the emphasis from longer term strategic planning to short term thinking about urban functions and management.
The article is available through this link.
Abstract: I define big data with respect to its size but pay particular attention to the fact that the data I am referring to is urban data, that is, data for cities that are invariably tagged to space and time. I argue that this sort of data are largely being streamed from sensors, and this represents a sea change in the kinds of data that we have about what happens where and when in cities. I describe how the growth of big data is shifting the emphasis from longer term strategic planning to short-term thinking about how cities function and can be managed, although with the possibility that over much longer periods of time, this kind of big data will become a source for information about every time horizon. By way of conclusion, I illustrate the need for new theory and analysis with respect to 6 months of smart travel card data of individual trips on Greater London’s public transport systems.
The transcript is available through this link.
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Interview with Magnus Moglia, associate professor at Swinburne University of Technology. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, urban complexity, sustainability, urban resilience, and many more.
Magnus Moglia loves data and numbers, so it was not strange that he was drawn to the sciences. In his native Sweden, he studied Physics and Mathematics, graduating from the Royal Institute of Technology of Stockholm in 2000. After a year travelling Asia and Africa, he became passionate about cities and water management. He arrived in Australia in 2001, and then spent nearly 20 years studying urban sustainability at the CSIRO. There, he discovered and embraced the science of complex systems, leading him to complete a PhD on the topic at the ANU’s Crawford School for Public Policy. Now Magnus is an Associate Professor at Swinburne University’s Centre for Urban Transitions and a theme leader for Urban Regeneration research. In the last few years, he has been leading and undertaking transdisciplinary research on a range of potential sustainability solutions, including residential solar panels, rainwater harvesting, telework, future city imaginaries, climate adaptation in Kiribati and Vietnam, rice farming technologies in Laos, and just workforce transitions in Queensland. Magnus argues that to overcome the critical challenges of the 21st century, technology is both necessary and risky, but more important will be our capacity to work together towards shared visions.
You can find out more about Magnus through these links:
- Magnus Moglia on LinkedIn;
- @magnusmoglia as Magnus Moglia on Twitter
- Magnus Moglia at Swinburne University of Technology
- Urban Regeneration Themes at at Swinburne University of Technology's Centre for Urban Transitions
- KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm website
- Crawford School of Public Policy at Australian National University website
- Land and Water at CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)
- Factfulness from Hans Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund, Ola Rosling
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I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the article titled Review of sustainability indices and indicators: Towards a new City Sustainability Index from 2012 by Koichiro Mori and Aris Christodoulou published in the Environmental Impact Assessment Review journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how the different sustainability indices work and whether a new is needed to better assess urban sustainability. This article investigates whether a new sustainability index is needed, enabling to assess and compare cites’ sustainability performance in order to understand the global impact of cities on the environment and human life as compared with their economic contribution.
The article available through this link.
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to discuss conceptual requirements for a City Sustainability Index (CSI) and to review existing major sustainability indices/indicators in terms of the requirements. The following indices are reviewed: Ecological Footprint (EF), Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI), Dashboard of Sustainability (DS), Welfare Index, Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare, City Development Index, emergy/exergy, Human Development Index (HDI), Environmental Vulnerability Index (EVI), Environmental Policy Index (EPI), Living Planet Index (LPI), Environmentally-adjusted Domestic Product (EDP), Genuine Saving (GS), and some applications of composite indices or/and multivariate indicators to local or regional context as case studies. The key conceptual requirements for an adequate CSI are: (i) to consider environmental, economic and social aspects (the triple bottom line of sustainability) from the viewpoint of strong sustainability; (ii) to capture external impacts (leakage effects) of city on other areas beyond the city boundaries particularly in terms of environmental aspects; (iii) to create indices/indicators originally for the purpose of assessing city sustainability; and (iv) to be able to assess world cities in both developed and developing countries using common axes of evaluation. Based on the review, we conclude that it is necessary to create a new CSI that enables us to assess and compare cities' sustainability performance in order to understand the global impact of cities on the environment and human life as compared with their economic contribution. In the future, the CSI will be able to provide local authorities with guidance toward sustainable paths.
The transcript is available through this link.
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Summary of the article titled Actually existing smart citizens – Expertise and (non)participation in the making of the smart city from 2019 by Taylor Shelton and Thomas Lodato published in the City – analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how smart citizens are or aren’t involved in establishing the smart city. This article argues that while the citizen participation is crucial to truly democratic systems, the emerging discourse around the promise of smart citizenship fails to capture the realities of how citizens are actually discussed and enrolled in the making of smart city or smart citizen policies.
The article is available through this link.
Abstract: In response to the mounting criticism of emerging ‘smart cities’ strategies around the world, a number of individuals and institutions have attempted to pivot from discussions of smart cities towards a focus on ‘smart citizens’. While the smart citizen is most often seen as a kind of foil for those more stereotypically top-down, neoliberal and repressive visions of the smart city that have been widely critiqued within the literature, this paper argues for an attention to the ‘actually existing smart citizen’, who plays a much messier and more ambivalent role in practice. This paper proposes the dual figures of ‘the general citizen’ and ‘the absent citizen’ as a heuristic for thinking about how the lines of inclusion and exclusion are drawn for citizens, both discursively and materially, in the actual making of the smart city. These figures are meant to highlight how the universal and unspecified figure of ‘the citizen’ is discursively deployed to justify smart city policies, while at the same time, actual citizens remain largely excluded from such decision and policy-making processes. Using a case study of Atlanta, Georgia and its ongoing smart cities initiatives, we argue that while the participation of citizens is crucial to any truly democratic mode of urban governance, the emerging discourse around the promise of smart citizenship fails to capture the realities of how citizens are actually discussed and enrolled in the making of these policies.
The transcript is available through this link.
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I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Interview with Anthony Mazzei, the co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Erin Living. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, sustainable apartment buildings, effortless living, and many more. So, let’s start with a proper introduction.
Anthony Mazzei is the Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Erin Living. He has spent over 15 years in product and technology, building and designing software for some of the biggest (and smallest) companies and brands in the world. Anthony recently spent 5 years at ASX-listed Carsales.com working on their B2B software platforms as well as consumer facing mobile apps. Together, with Thomas Walkley, he founded Erin Living, a resident experience company in 2018 aimed to build software for the PropTech industry.
Erin Living is a resident experience company who has designed and developed a dedicated mobile app for apartment owners and tenants. Their suite of products allow residents to live effortlessly in any built environment, solving the everyday pain points of apartment living. Anthony has set out to overhaul the customer and product experience in the Proptech space, creating a unique resident-focused app that unlocks the full benefits of apartment living. Erin Living operates sustainably and efficiently, offering a completely touch-free and automated lifestyle across multi-dwelling residential. The future is bright for Erin Living, who aims to become the No. 1 Resident Experience platform in Australia, New Zealand and the rest of the world.
You can find out more about Anthony and Erin Living through these links:
- Anthony Mazzei on LinkedIn,
- @anthmazzei as Anthony Mazzei on Twitter,
- Erin Living website,
- Erin Living on Instagram
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Summary of the article titled Smart city implementation and discourses: An integrated conceptual model, the case of Vienna from 2018 by Victoria Fernandez-Anez, José Miguel Fernández-Güell, and Rudolf Giffinger published in the Cities journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how citizens can be involved in smart city initiatives and their capacity to face urban challenges. This article creates a conceptual model for the involvement of inhabitants, through the example of Vienna Smart City strategy.
The article is available through this link.
Abstract: In recent years many initiatives have been developed under the Smart City label in a bid to provide a response to challenges facing cities today. The concept has evolved from a sector-based approach to a more comprehensive view that places governance and stakeholders' involvement at the core of strategies. However, Smart City implementation requires lowering the scale from the strategy to the project level. Therefore, the ability of Smart City initiatives to provide an integrated and systematic answer to urban challenges is constantly being called into question. Stakeholder involvement in both the projects and the city strategy is key to developing a governance framework that allows an integrated and comprehensive understanding. This can only be done if Smart City strategies take the stakeholders' opinion into account and seek a compromise between their views and the implementation of the strategy. Multiple attempts have been made to analyse Smart Cities, but tools are needed to understand their complexity and reflect the stakeholders' role in developing Smart City initiatives and their capacity to face urban challenges. This paper pursues two objectives: (A) to develop a conceptual model capable of displaying an overview of (a) the stakeholders taking part in the initiative in relation to (b) the projects developed and (c) the challenges they face; and (B) to use this model to synthesise the opinion of different stakeholders involved in Smart City initiatives and compare their attitudes to the key projects implemented in a corresponding SC strategy. The methodology combines project analysis with surveys and interviews with different groups of key stakeholders (governments, private companies, universities and research centres, and civil society) through text analysis. The conceptual model is developed through discussions with different European stakeholders and is applied to the case of the Vienna Smart City strategy.
The transcript is available through this link.
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Summary of the article titled City attachment and use of urban services: Benefits for smart cities from 2016 by Daniel Belanche, Luis V. Casaló, and Carlos Orús, published in the Cities journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how the increasing uses of urban services enhance urban management efficiency and also favour social, environmental and economic sustainability. This article analyses how users’ city attachment levels and other personal determinants contribute to their uses of urban services, and suggest implications for managing citizen-oriented urban services to achieve higher living standards.
The article is available through this link.
Abstract: Increasing uses of urban services enhance urban management efficiency and also favor social, environmental, and economic sustainability. This research analyzes how users' city attachment levels and other personal determinants contribute to their uses of urban services. Focusing on the city of Zaragoza (Spain), the empirical study reveals that personal attitudes and needs, possession of user cards, and education levels have positive influences on the use of urban services. City attachment affects use indirectly through attitude. This study also presents some innovative approaches to advance the development of smart cities and suggests implications for managing citizen-oriented urban services to achieve higher living standards.
The transcript is available through this link.
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Interview with Ville Sirviö, the CEO of the Nordic Institute for Interoperability. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, interoperability on national and city level, challenges of change management, and many more.
Ville Sirviö is the CEO of the Nordic Institute for Interoperability Solutions (NIIS), a non-profit developing digital government infrastructure, best known for the X-Road® open-source software. Having international experience in leading businesses ranging from startups to Nasdaq listed companies, he is also a board professional and advisor and keynote speaker on cross-border digital cooperation. He holds an EMBA from the Quantic School of Business and Technology, specialising in strategic thinking, advanced corporate-level strategy, and startup entrepreneurship.
You can find out more about Richard through these links:
- Ville Sirviö on LinkedIn;
- @sirvioville as Ville Sirviö on Twitter;
- NIIS on LinkedIn;
- NIIS website;
- X-Road website;
- X-Road community website;
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Summary of the book chapter titled Smart cities in a smart world from 2015 by Beniamino Murgante and Giuseppe Burroso, from the book Future City architecture for optimal living, edited by Stamatina Rassia and Panos Pardalos, published by Springer.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see what clever approaches they talk about to guarantee a better management of resources and their sustainable access to present and future generations This chapter tries to insert the technological issues within a framework closer to planning and with attention to the social impact.
You can find the chapter through this link.
You can find the book through this link.
Abstract: Very often the concept of smart city is strongly related to the flourishing of mobile applications, stressing the technological aspects and a top-down approach of high-tech centralized control systems capable of resolving all the urban issues, completely forgetting the essence of a city with its connected problems. The real challenge in future years will be a huge increase in the urban population and the changes this will produce in energy and resource consumption. It is fundamental to manage this phenomenon with clever approaches in order to guarantee a better management of resources and their sustainable access to present and future generations. This chapter develops some considerations on these aspects, trying to insert the technological issues within a framework closer to planning and with attention to the social impact.
The transcript is available through this link.
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I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the article titled Enhancing sustainable urban development through smart city applications from 2017 by Margarita Angelidiou, Artemis Psaltoglou, Nicos Komninos, Christina Kakderi, Panagiotis Tsarchopoulos and Anastasia Panori, published in the Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see what smart city approaches and tools can contribute to the environmental sustainability domain. This article connects the smart and sustainable cities debate and identifies areas where the smart city applications could and should be enhanced for better sustainability.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: This paper investigates the potential contribution of smart city approaches and tools to sustainable urban development in the environment domain. Recent research has highlighted the need to explore the relation of smart and sustainable cities more systematically, focusing on practical applications that could enable a deeper understanding of the included domains, typologies and design concepts, and this paper aims to address this research gap. At the same time, it tries to identify whether these applications could contribute to the “zero vision” strategy, an extremely ambitious challenge within the field of smart cities. This objective is pursued through an in-depth investigation of available open source and proprietary smart city applications related to environmental sustainability in urban environments. A total of 32 applications were detected through the Intelligent/Smart Cities Open Source (ICOS) community, a meta-repository for smart cities solutions. The applications are analyzed comparatively regarding (i) the environmental issue addressed, (ii) the associated mitigation strategies, (iii) the included innovation mechanism, (iv) the role of information and communication technologies and (v) the overall outcome. The findings suggest that the smart and sustainable city landscape is extremely fragmented both on the policy and the technical levels. There is a host of unexplored opportunities toward smart sustainable development, many of which are still unknown. Similar findings are reached for all categories of environmental challenges in cities. Research limitations pertain to the analysis of a relatively small number of applications. The results can be used to inform policy making toward becoming more proactive and impactful both locally and globally. Given that smart city application market niches are also identified, they are also of special interest to developers, user communities and digital entrepreneurs. The value added by this paper is two-fold. At the theoretical level, it offers a neat conceptual bridge between smart and sustainable cities debate. At the practical level, it identifies under-researched and under-exploited fields of smart city applications that could be opportunities to attain the “zero vision” objective.
The transcript is available through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Interview with Richard Manasseh, mechanical engineer and Professor at Swinburne University of Technology. We will talk about his visions for the future of cities, his journey towards being involved in cities, urban brains, and many more.
Professor Richard Manasseh is a mechanical engineer with specialist knowledge of fluid dynamics. At a fundamental level, Richard’s research focuses on wave modes and oscillators in fluids and their interactions. He is best known for his work on the vibrations of bubbles, called bubble acoustics. His active projects examine ocean wave-power machines; the interaction of ultrasound with microbubbles and live cells for medical diagnostics and therapeutics; and the interaction of ultrasound with droplets for food processing. Further applications of his research have included spacecraft engineering, coastal oceanography, thunderstorms, submarine noise, wastewater treatment and microfluidic devices.
Richard is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Australia (IEAust), and an IEAust Chartered Professional Engineer. He has served as both President and Vice-President of the Australasian Fluid Mechanics Society. He became a full-time academic in 2010 after a career in industrial R&D and headed Swinburne's Department of Mechanical and Product Design Engineering for three years after a year as Mechanical Engineering Discipline Leader.
You can find out more about Richard through these links:
- Richard Manasseh on LinkedIn;
- @RLManasseh as Richard Manasseh on Twitter;
- Richard Manasseh at Swinburne University;
- The leadership team of Smart Cities Research Institute of Swinburne University of Technology
- Smart Cities Research Institute at Swinburne University;
- Fluid Waves by Richard Manasseh;
- Bubble acoustics - A short introduction by Richard Manasseh on Youtube;
- Australasian Fluid Mechanics Society website;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
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Summary of the article titled Smart cities – a road map for development from 2018 by Sam Musa, published in IEEE Potentials journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to understand how a practical approach defines smart city as the future of cities. This article introduces a city-wide smart, secure and resilient transformation needed in light of urban challenges.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Cities and counties face many challenges and risks, such as unemployment, poverty, traffic congestion, high crime rates, cyberattacks, and slow bureaucratic systems for processing business transactions. People, processes, and technology are three pillars of smart-city initiatives that can be utilized to alleviate such a challenge. Cities and counties should study their communities, create policies, and implement technological solutions to meet the needs of their local communities. Local, state, and federal governments must be innovative and develop a road map to address and provide solutions to mitigate risks and challenges to create a sustainable future for their citizens. Digital transformation is one option that governments can rely on to overcome many of these challenges; other options may include adopting e-government, engaging residents, and building resilient cities. Government officials must build a coalition to collaborate, leverage, and integrate technologies to create real economic opportunities by fostering a citywide, smart, secure, and resilient transformation.
The transcript is available through this link.
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I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the the article titled Smart cities of tomorrow from 2013 by Paul Budde, published in the Cities for smart environment and energy futures book.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how technological advancements enhance smart, citizen-centric applications, which with the right building blocks, lead to smart cities.
You can find the article through this link.
The book is available through this link.
Abstract: Tomorrow’s digital cities will be the product of today’s dreams. The world presently faces numerous challenges, many of which can only be overcome by changing the way we do things. We are now at a turning point and our future will be shaped by the way in which we respond to today’s problems, and how successfully we can move into the digital world. An important element of these developments lies in the creation of Smart Cities, consisting of cohesive and open telecommunication and software architecture, which will underpin the smart, citizen-centric applications that will abound. These applications will also be applied in areas of national interest and social need, such as e-health, smart energy and e-education. For this occur a trans-sector approach is needed, along with strong government leadership – a more horizontal system of collaboration which combines the knowledge and resources of different sectors. The building blocks upon which smart cities will be created include smart and renewable energy; next-generation networks; smart buildings; smart transport; and, extremely important, smart government.
The transcript is available through this link.
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Trailer to episode 027I for the interview with Richard Manasseh, mechanical engineer and Professor at Swinburne University of Technology. We will talk about his visions for the future of cities, his journey towards being involved in cities, urban brains, and many more.
Today would be an interview, but since it is 2021 Christmas time, I want to just wish you all relaxing holidays with or without celebrating Christmas, Merry Christmas if you do celebrate it, and a very Happy New Year when we will have many interesting topics to discover and further discuss. I am already preparing those episodes and I am very excited about what will come! So I hope you are well and also full with plans for the new year, see you then and thanks for tuning in.
Summary of the article titled Smart cities and disaster resilience from 2017 by Neha Bansal, Mahua Mukherjee and Ajay Gairola in the book titled From poverty, inequality to smart city, published by Springer.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, and cities are said to bare more and more natural disasters, I thought it would interesting to see how disaster resilience can be enhanced by the smart city concept. This article investigates how efficient urban planning can have a major impact on preparedness and capacities to recover after natural disasters.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Most of the present cities are characterized by low-density urban sprawl, fragile infrastructure, low resilience, and people’s poor coping capability to disasters. Further with the increasing unplanned rapid urbanization, the disasters (in terms of frequency and numbers) and their impacts are increasing, which is primarily associated with badly planned and managed urban development, degraded ecosystems, and poverty. According to a study by the United Nations, almost 890 million people (60 %) across the globe live in cities that are at risk from at least one major natural disaster, including floods, droughts, cyclones, or earthquakes. Disasters eventually wipe off years of development and cause death, injury, economic losses, and environmental and urban systems’ degradation. Since a city is an integration of complicated urban systems like transportation, water supply, sanitation, housing, and other urban infrastructure and services, strengthening these systems will increase the resilience and help in disaster management in urban areas. On the other hand, smart cities use information and communications technology (ICT) to involve people, improve city services, and enhance urban systems which in turn will improve disaster resilience. To make cities disaster resilient right at the inception stage, the efficiency in urban planning can have a major impact on communities’ preparedness and capacities to recover. Smart growth strategies like creating flexible land-use policies, targeting public investment, and engaging the entire community in making decisions can help communities recover from a disaster, rebuild according to a shared community vision, and be better prepared for a disaster. This paper tries to explore through various examples those aspects of smart cities which build and assist in disaster resilience of cities. The study clearly indicates that the relation between smart development and disaster resilience is strong, where the smart growth, smart urbanization (smart grids, eco-cities, compact development), and low-carbon footprint strategies have been used and are some of the most needed consideration to deal with the present scale of disasters in urban areas.
The transcript is available through this link.
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I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the article titled Crypto cities from 2021 by Vitalik Buterin on his own blog.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I though it would be interesting to see how the ever trending crypto world and cities can work together. This article explores how and to what extent the blockchain technology and the city can collaborate and what enhancements are possible.
You can find the article through this link.
Additional information about city token engineering can be found through this link.
The transcript is available through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Interview with Bridgette Engeler, a foresight specialist. We will talk about her visions for the future of cities, what futurists and foresight specialists do, her understanding of sustainability, and many more.
Bridgette is a Senior Lecturer teaching across strategic foresight, design and innovation in Swinburne University’s Business School. She has 30 years' industry experience in brand, design and innovation strategy, and holds master degrees in Strategic Foresight and Women’s Studies. Bridgette's work focuses on the potential of design and futures to tackle challenges facing people, culture and systems, and her research interests include post-growth innovation, the unintended consequences of design, and embedding futures literacy in design and innovation. Recent projects include public participatory futures installations in Melbourne and Hong Kong, investigating VR and AR wearables for people with early-onset dementia, exploring the challenges of self-sovereign identity and digital wallets, and finding ways to use technology and new materials to support sexual and reproductive health.
You can find out more about Bridgette through these links:
- Bridgette Engeler on LinkedIn;
- @incognitosum as Bridgette Engeler on Twitter
- Bridgette Engeler at Swinburne University;
- Design Futures Initiative website;
- Speculative Futures Melbourne on LinkedIn;
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Summary of the book titled Antifragile: Things that gain from disorder from 2014 by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. This summary is based on Larry Prusak’s summary which Taleb has praised, another summary found on Farnam Steet Blog, and my own reading experience.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I though it would be interesting to see how systems can work beyond sustainability and robustness, antifragile, as Nassim Nicholas Taleb defines it. The book is about how systems can become antifragile and what the advantages are of becoming one through many different examples.
You can find the book through this link.
Book description from Amazon:
- Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the bestselling author of The Black Swan and one of the foremost thinkers of our time, reveals how to thrive in an uncertain world. Just as human bones get stronger when subjected to stress and tension, and rumors or riots intensify when someone tries to repress them, many things in life benefit from stress, disorder, volatility, and turmoil. What Taleb has identified and calls “antifragile” is that category of things that not only gain from chaos but need it in order to survive and flourish. In The Black Swan, Taleb showed us that highly improbable and unpredictable events underlie almost everything about our world. In Antifragile, Taleb stands uncertainty on its head, making it desirable, even necessary, and proposes that things be built in an antifragile manner. The antifragile is beyond the resilient or robust. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better and better.
Furthermore, the antifragile is immune to prediction errors and protected from adverse events. Why is the city-state better than the nation-state, why is debt bad for you, and why is what we call “efficient” not efficient at all? Why do government responses and social policies protect the strong and hurt the weak? Why should you write your resignation letter before even starting on the job? How did the sinking of the Titanic save lives? The book spans innovation by trial and error, life decisions, politics, urban planning, war, personal finance, economic systems, and medicine. And throughout, in addition to the street wisdom of Fat Tony of Brooklyn, the voices and recipes of ancient wisdom, from Roman, Greek, Semitic, and medieval sources, are loud and clear.
Antifragile is a blueprint for living in a Black Swan world.Erudite, witty, and iconoclastic, Taleb’s message is revolutionary: The antifragile, and only the antifragile, will make it.
The transcripts are available through this link.
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Summary of the article titled How the car transformed society in the 20th century from 2020 by James Arbib and Tony Seba, in Rethinking Humanity – Five foundational sector disruption, the lifecycle of civilizations and the coming age of freedom, from the RethinkXTeam.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I though it would interesting be to see how the car has changed and been changing cities, as it is said to be one of the biggest problems for current urban environments. This article explores how and to what extent the car and the auto industry have changed our society since their infancy, and what were the moving forces.
You can find Rethinking Humanity and this specific article through this link.
The transcript is available through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Interview with María Yanez, an assistant development manager at Nightingale Housing. We will talk about her and their visions for the future of cities, how Nightingale changes the development industry, what sustainability means to them, and many more.
Maria Yanez forms part of the development management team at Nightingale Housing, a not-for-profit organisation that provides economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable homes across Australia. Maria holds a Master of Architecture degree at the University of Melbourne and was recently awarded the 2021 Grimshaw Award for Architectural Engineering and the Dean's Award Master of Architecture 2019 and 2020. She is a registered architect in Chile and has previously led design studios at Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, alongside the 2016 Pritzker Prize architect Alejandro Aravena. She is currently a design tutor of the Bachelor of Design program at The University of Melbourne.
You can find out more about María Yanez and Nightingale Housing through these links:
- María Jose Yanez on LinkedIn;
- Nightingale Housing website;
- Nightingale Housing on Instagram;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
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Summary of the response article titled On the difficulty of agreeing upon a universal logic for city standards from 2019 by James Merricks White, published in the City – analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action journal.
This article is the response to the last research episode’s debate article, by Schindler and Marvin which was about three standards for the future of cities, and I highly encourage everyone to check that as well. But I thought it would be interesting to hear the contra arguments. This response article investigates and corrects Schindler and Marvin’s mistake of leaving out the system in which the chosen three ISO standards were conceptualised.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: In a paper published within the Debates section of City last year, Schindler and Marvin laid out an agenda for the study of city standards, which they argued impose a universal logic of control. While they described three published standards and situated city standards within the context of smart cities, their failure to consider the institutional setting of the International Organization of Standardization (ISO) led them to overemphasise the coherence and unity with which city standards are actually developed. In this response piece, I correct this omission by excavating the origins of TC 268, the technical committee dedicated to city standards. This reveals not a universal logic of control, but a body of expertise in contentious and contingent emergence. While ultimately, I agree with Schindler and Marvin that city standards are deserving of greater attention from critical urban scholars, I argue for a more situated response to their politics that leaves open the possibility of them having positive effects on urban equity and social change.
The transcript is available through this link.
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I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the the debate article titled Constructing a universal logic of urban control? International standards for city data, management and interoperability from 2018 by Seth Schindler and Simon Marvin, published in the City – analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I though it would be interesting to include how standards approach data and urban management from a generalisation point of view. The article investigates 3 ISO standards promising to standardise cities as data, quality management and simplified decision-making. Furthermore, this article will be the basis of the next research episode which will debate the conclusions of this article.
You can find the article through this link.
The transcript is available through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Interview with Luke Husengo, system architect and data magician. We will talk about his two visions for the future of cities, the connection among data, information and knowledge, smart cities, awareness of opportunities, and many more.
Luke Housengo is an Enterprise Architect with a focus on Data, Information, Knowledge and Artificial Intelligence. Luke develops data and technology strategies and manages data governance for Australian Enterprises and the Victorian Government. He also provides innovation research services in Swarm Intelligence, Graph AI and Cryptocurrency. Luke is the principal architect of a future city project that combines cryptocurrency, swarm intelligence and smart data.
You can find out more about Luke Husengo and his endeavors through these links:
- Luke Husengo on LinkedIn
- Jedi as a religion movement established by Luke Husengo
- Edeity tie know invented by Luke Husengo
Links to the mentioned elements:
- Mortal Engines
- Susan Blackmore - Temes
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the research article titled Smart city policies: A spatial approach from 2014 by Margarita Angelidou, published in the Cities journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I though it would be interesting to include smart cities spatial understanding. The article investigates the strategic choices around smart city policy making through examples from all over the world, with some recommendations towards the future.
You can find this paper through this link.
Abstract: This paper reviews the factors which differentiate policies for the development of smart cities, in an effort to provide a clear view of the strategic choices that come forth when mapping out such a strategy. The paper commences with a review and categorization of four strategic choices with a spatial reference, on the basis of the recent smart city literature and experience. The advantages and disadvantages of each strategic choice are presented. In the second part of the paper, the previous choices are illustrated through smart city strategy cases from all over the world. The third part of the paper includes recommendations for the development of smart cities based on the combined conclusions of the previous parts. The paper closes with a discussion of the insights that were provided and recommendations for future research areas.
The transcript is available through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the position paper titled Managing climate change in Australia - A global, long-term view from 2019 by the United Nations Associations of Australia, abbreviated to UNAA.
Since here we are investigating the future of cities, I though it would be interesting to include the position of the UNAA on the climate change which is one of the greatest challenges humanity and cities facing. The piece gives an overview of what the appropriate response by Australia would include. It must be also mentioned that this piece is focusing on Australia, but there are great things to learn for other parts of the world.
You can find this paper through this link.
The transcript is available through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Interview with Kieran Leong, an architect and principal at the Melbourne office of DesignInc company. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, their special approach to the design projects, biophilic design, and many more.
Kieran Leong is a design architect with over 15 years’ experience on a broad range of project typologies. Passionate and curious about learning and innovation; he explores biophilic design approaches to architecture. Clients and colleagues appreciate his interactive working style and thorough and logical methods of investigation. Starting with feasibility studies and concept design, Kieran is engaged at every project phase including documentation and project administration. His portfolio spans health and wellbeing, residential and education facilities. He aims to create environments that encourage positive human experiences, interaction and connection. He involves his clients, stakeholders and design teams in not merely meeting the brief; but exceeding its expectations.
You can find out more about Kieran Leong and DesignInc through these links:
- Kieran Leong on LinkedIn;
- DesignInc website;
- Kieran Leong on DesignInc website;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the book chapter titled Smart and digital city: A systematic literature review from 2014 by Annalisa Cocchia. The chapter is part of the book titled Smart city – How to create public and economic value with high technology in urban space, published by Springer.
This chapter gives us an insight into the smart cities’ history since its infancy, and its conneting urban future concepts, through time analysis, terminology analysis, definition analysis, typology analysis and geographic analysis. The chapter follows the smart city concept’s evolution from 1993 until 2012 and its connections to other urban future concepts, such as the intelligent city, the knowledge city, the ubiquitous city, the sustainable city and the digital city.
You can find the chapter through this link.
Abstract: The concept of Smart City embraces several definitions depending on the meanings of the word “smart”: intelligent city, knowledge city, ubiquitous city, sustainable city, digital city, etc. Many definitions of Smart City exist, but no one has been universally acknowledged yet. From literature analysis it emerges that Smart City and Digital City are the most used terminologies in literature to indicate the smartness of a city. This Chapter explores the literature about Smart City and Digital City from 1993 to the end of 2012 in order to investigate how these two concepts were born, how they have developed, which are the shared features and differences between them. To accomplish with these goals, three steps were followed: (1) to set up a search strategy for systematic literature review to collect a representative subset of papers about Smart City and Digital City using Google Scholar; (2) to store the selected subset in an ad-doc database to synthesize the literature review; (3) to organize the literature review subset to extract quantitative and qualitative data and information about Smart City and Digital City evolution. The author proposes a literature review taxonomy through five specific analysis: (1) time analysis, to explore the causes of the trend of Smart City and Digital City literature in the latest twenty years; (2) terminology analysis, to examine how and where these two ideas were born and what have been the main events influenced their development; (3) definitions analysis, to select and compare the most cited and validated definitions of Smart City and Digital City trying to identify similarities, differences or overlaps between these two concepts; (4) typology analysis, to investigate if Smart City and Digital City are included into a specific urban strategy pursued by government or if they face specific urban problems without a comprehensive framework; (5) geographic analysis, to understand where are the largest concentrations of Smart Cities and Digital Cities in the world and which are their main characteristics and best practices.
The transcript is available through this link.
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I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the book chapter titled Is smart city resilient? Evidence from China from 2019 by Shiyao Zhu, Dezhi Li, and Haibo Feng.
Smart city is often identified with many different aspects as well, such as sustainability, and I though it to be interesting to examine whether smart city should be resilient as well This article gives an insight into the smart cities’ resiliency through case studies of Chinese cities.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Smart city is originally aimed at dealing with various urban problems due to rapid urbanization, like energy shortage, congestion, and environmental pollution. The Chinese government has been devoting to the promotion of smart cities for many years. However, it is unconfirmed whether the city is more resilient with all the modern technologies provided when unexpected predicaments like climate changes or disasters occur. Therefore, it is urgent to consider resilience in the smart city. This paper provides a MCDM approach to assess and rank the resilience of 187 smart cities in China. The results demonstrate that the overall resilience of smart cities is at a relatively low level. There is also a significant unbalance of resilience between smart cities due to different infrastructural, economic, social, institutional, and environmental conditions. The potential links between urban smartness and resilience were also explored, and the results showed significant positive relationship between the smartness of a city and its resilience. Evidence also proved that developing smartness is more or less useful for improving urban resilience. Suggestions such as strengthening the development of infrastructure and economy, and enhancing the multi-stakeholders’ cooperation are proposed to further promote the smart and resilient development in China.
The transcript is available through this link.
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I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Interview with Andrew Lizzio, a business and solution architect and inventor. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, swarm intelligence and communities, and many more.
Andrew wrote his first computer program at the age of 5, graduated from university as a computer scientist, and spent the last 25+ years designing computer systems for small and large organisations. Andrew has two small start-up companies: WizUp, currently developing a mobile application to better support interactive pedagogy within schools and universities and Clarus, that has just secured a worldwide patent on bionic technology to help paraplegics walk again. The culture of both companies is based on a deep belief that given the right environment, passionate individuals working together will make a difference, and maybe even change the world. Andrew is a somewhat quiet, unassuming and understated person. If you were to ask Andrew to label himself, he would proudly say “a nerd”. He hates crowds but loves people. Fears conflict but values differences, and believes that nature is a wonderful teacher, if we dare to listen. But what makes Andrew different is his ability to design systems that somehow design themselves. That is, systems that adapt to be more relevant to the people that use them, while they are using them.
You can find out more about Andrew Lizzio through this link:
- Andrew Lizzio on LinkedIn;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the article titled What are the differences between sustainable and smart cities from 2017 by Hannele Ahvenniemi, Aapo Huovila, Isabel Pinto-Seppä and Miimu Airaksinen.
Since this podcast investigates different futures for the cities, I thought it would be beneficial to look at the potential differences between two popular urban futures. This article gives an insight into city assessment tools regarding smartness and sustainability in urban areas and a recommendation to use smart sustainable cities as a more appropriate term for the future of cities.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: City assessment tools can be used as support for decision making in urban development as they provide assessment methodologies for cities to show the progress towards defined targets. In the 21st century, there has been a shift from sustainability assessment to smart city goals. We analyze 16 sets of city assessment frameworks (eight smart city and eight urban sustainability assessment frameworks) comprising 958 indicators altogether by dividing the indicators under three impact categories and 12 sectors. The following main observations derive from the analyses: as expected, there is a much stronger focus on modern technologies and “smartness” in the smart city frameworks compared to urban sustainability frameworks. Another observation is that as urban sustainability frameworks contain a large number of indicators measuring environmental sustainability, smart city frameworks lack environmental indicators while highlighting social and economic aspects. A general goal of smart cities is to improve sustainability with help of technologies. Thus, we recommend the use of a more accurate term “smart sustainable cities” instead of smart cities. However, the current large gap between smart city and sustainable city frameworks suggest that there is a need for developing smart city frameworks further or re-defining the smart city concept. We recommend that the assessment of smart city performance should not only use output indicators that measure the efficiency of deployment of smart solutions but also impact indicators that measure the contribution towards the ultimate goals such as environmental, economic or social sustainability.
The transcript is available through this link.
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I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the article titled World scientists' warning of climate emergency from 2020 by William J Ripple, Christopher Wolf, Thomas M Newsome, Phoebe Barnard, and William R Moomaw.
Since this podcast investigates different futures for the cities, I thought it would be beneficial to look at why we need to talk about a change in our environmental management. This article gives an insight into the scientific community’s worries and comprehensive solutions to the climate emergency.
You can find the article through this link.
The transcript is available through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Interview with Daniel Prohasky with a diverse background in architecture, civil and aerospace engineering. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, his role as an advisor for sustainable resource management, his approach to technology as a tool, and many more.
Daniel Prohasky is an architectural engineer and roboticist passionate about translating research towards industry adoption in Australia, particularly in the building design and construction industry. He is the CEO and Co-Founder of Curvecrete, an advanced manufacturer and robotics development company with a focus on elegant low-carbon construction. He is also the founding lecturer in Architectural Engineering at Swinburne University and was Swinburne’s 2019 Design Faculty Innovation Fellow to further develop his innovative advanced manufacturing venture, Curvecrete.
Daniel represents Curvecrete as a founding member of the NSW government’s MECLA (Materials, Embodied Carbon Leadership Alliance) program, on a mission to incentivise the use of low-carbon material use in construction to accelerate the implementation of solutions to the climate crisis.
He has deep industry knowledge in applied research outcomes for multi-disciplinary engineering firms, in particular, Arup and Aurecon, and works across institutions and innovation precincts bringing teams together to solve some of the most pressing challenges in the building and construction industry. His focus is on the exploitation of advanced manufacturing and automation techniques towards more resourceful methods of construction; and the utilisation of higher levels of computational integration and interoperability to achieve the former in orchestration with all environmental, operational and construction factors. Daniel has his sights set on taking Curvecrete’s innovative process and product much further - to construction projects not just on Earth, but the Moon, Mars and beyond.
You can find out more about Daniel, Curvecrete and his other projects through these links:
- Daniel Prohasky on LinkedIn;
- Curvecrete website;
- Curvecrete on LinkedIn;
- Curvecrete on Instagram;
- Curvecrete on Twitter;
You can also get in touch with Daniel at daniel @ curvecrete.com
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the article titled Smart cities, big data and urban policy: Towards urban analytics for the long run from 2021 by Jens Kandt and Michael Batty.
Since smart cities are often associated with technology and big data, I thought it would be beneficial to look at one of the freshest articles in this area. The authors highlight the importance and setbacks of using big data technologies while supporting their findings with real-life applications.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: The analysis of big data is deemed to define a new era in urban research, planning and policy. Real-time data mining and pattern detection in high-frequency data can now be carried out at a large scale. Novel analytical practices promise smoother decision-making as part of a more evidence-based and smarter urbanism, while critical voices highlight the dangers and pitfalls of instrumental, data-driven city making to urban governance. Less attention has been devoted to identifying the practical conditions under which big data can realistically contribute to addressing urban policy problems. In this paper, we discuss the value and limitations of big data for long-term urban policy and planning. We first develop a theoretical perspective on urban analytics as a practice that is part of a new smart urbanism. We identify the particular tension of opposed temporalities of high-frequency data and the long durée of structural challenges facing cities. Drawing on empirical studies using big urban data, we highlight epistemological and practical challenges that arise from the analysis of high-frequency data for strategic purposesand formulate propositions on the ways in which urban analytics can inform long-term urban policy.
The transcript is available through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on twitter @WTF4Cities!
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the article titled Will the real smart city please stand up? Intelligent, progressive or entrepreneurial? from 2008 by Robert G. Hollands.
This article is one of the most mentioned in the literature giving a critical opinion about smart cities. Since smart city is accepted as a special future for our cities, it is worth examining the pros and cons of it. This article highlights the smart city's missing definition, the numerous terms for it, and the smart city’s connection to the entrepreneurial city. Therefore, I thought it would be good to examine the biggest issues with smart cities.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Debates about the future of urban development in many Western countries have been increasingly influenced by discussions of smart cities. Yet despite numerous examples of this ‘urban labelling’ phenomenon, we know surprisingly little about so‐called smart cities, particularly in terms of what the label ideologically reveals as well as hides. Due to its lack of definitional precision, not to mention an underlying self‐congratulatory tendency, the main thrust of this article is to provide a preliminary critical polemic against some of the more rhetorical aspects of smart cities. The primary focus is on the labelling process adopted by some designated smart cities, with a view to problematizing a range of elements that supposedly characterize this new urban form, as well as question some of the underlying assumptions/contradictions hidden within the concept. To aid this critique, the article explores to what extent labelled smart cities can be understood as a high‐tech variation of the ‘entrepreneurial city’, as well as speculates on some general principles which would make them more progressive and inclusive.
The transcript is available through this link.
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I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Interview with Frans-Anton Vermast, the strategy advisor and international smart city ambassador at Amsterdam Smart City. We will talk about his and their visions for the future of cities, how they approach the definition of smart city, how their projects at Amsterdam Smart City are established, and many more. So let’s start with a proper introduction.
Frans-Anton is an expert in searching for the opportunities of novel appliances and services that make cities a more habitable place for its citizens to live, work and play pleasantly. Furthermore, he specialises in developing Smart Cities as open and user centric innovative platforms as well as holistic and cross-silo approaches through collaborative bottom-up approaches and citizens engagement. Apart from best and next practises, Frans-Anton is not afraid to share some failures and lessons learned to prevent other cities making the same mistakes. He has extensive knowledge and experience in facilitating the participation of local governments, municipalities and communities in these initiatives.
You can find out more about Frans-Anton and Amsterdam Smart city through this links:
- Frans-Anton Vermast on LinkedIn
- Amsterdam Smart City
- Frans-Anton Vermast at Amsterdam Smart City
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I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the article title Intelligent cities: Variable geometries of spatial intelligence from 2011 by Nicos Komninos.
This article is often referenced as a basic piece in the research about the future of cities and it is one of the early articles highlighting the importance of community intelligence. Plus, Nicos Komninos also talks about how this community intelligence spatially centred in cities can be utilised. Therefore, I thought it would be good to understand how this spatial intelligence can be included in our cities.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: This article discusses the spatial intelligence of cities, the use of information communication technologies (ICTs) and institutional frameworks that support innovation ecosystems of cities and increase the problem-solving capability of communities and cities. It is based on three case studies on Bletchley Park, Cyberport Hong Kong and Smart Amsterdam, which highlight different architectures of spatial intelligence: (1) orchestration intelligence that stems from collaboration within a community and integration of people's skills, know-how, and collective and machine intelligence, (2) amplification intelligence based on learning, up-skilling and talent cultivation using open technology platforms and ICT infrastructure offered by the city, and (3) instrumentation intelligence based on streams of information generated from the functioning of cities, which enable more informed decisions to be taken by citizens and organizations. The article contributes to understanding different processes that make communities more intelligent, and how collective intelligence, people-driven innovation and use of smart devices advance the efficiency, operation and governance of cities.
The transcript is available through this link.
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I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Summary of the report titled Smart cities - Ranking of European medium-sized cities from 2007 by Rudolf Giffinger, Christian Fertner, Hans Kramar, Robert Kalasek, Nataša Pichler-Milanović, and Evert Meijers.
This report is the basis of many smart city initiatives; however, the report itself and what it contains is rarely mentioned. Therefore, I thought it would be useful to introduce it.
You can find the report through this link.
The transcript is available through this link.
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I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Introducing the WTF podcast, the format and the purpose, and myself being the host. Just a short summary of what is coming.
The transcript is available through this link.
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What is the future for cities? Do you want to know more about them? Do you want to know how others think about them? Do you want to be part of conversation? Then this is the right place.
What is The Future for Cities? podcast is a platform to introduce and connect people who are actively and consciously working on the future of cities and to introduce research related to the future of cities concepts. There are longer interviews and shorter research summaries.
The podcast is available on almost all podcast platforms, just search for What is The Future for Cities? podcast.
So, what do you think, what is the future for cities? Let's be part of the conversation at What is The Future for Cities? podcast!
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