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Welcome to What is The Future For Cities podcast; my name is Fanni, and today we will celebrate the third birthday of the podcast! First and foremost, 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. Let me give you a summary of what we have achieved and learned throughout this year! So, let’s jump right into it!

[intro music]

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Welcome to today’s What is The Future For Cities podcast and its Research episode; my name is Fanni, and today I will introduce a research paper by summarising it. The episode really is just a short summary of the original paper, and, in case it is interesting enough, I would encourage everyone to check out the whole paper. Stay tuned until because I will give you the 3 most important things and some questions which would be interesting to discuss.

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[music]

Over the past three years, we’ve seen incredible growth. We’ve surpassed 250 episodes, and I’m delighted to share that we’ve achieved over 12,000 downloads with 200 subscribers across various platforms—all thanks to organic growth. This means that your natural enthusiasm and word-of-mouth have been the driving force behind these numbers. It’s your support, your shares, and your conversations that have allowed this podcast to flourish, and for that, I’m immensely grateful.

Our discussions have traversed an incredible range of topics, each fascinating and crucial. We’ve explored compelling visions around brighter futures, the potential of food innovation, discussing lab-grown meat and the pivotal role of bee pollination in creating resilient urban food systems. Our interviewees discussed various technologies, clean disruptions, longevity and AI, among others. We’ve detailed circular economy, where we examined how to transition from a linear economy to a more responsible one, where the responsibility doesn’t solely rest on the shoulders of consumers.

We’ve also tackled financial innovation, exploring sustainable investment opportunities and the critical role of ethically responsible venture capitalists. Our conversations on energy innovation have taken us into the world of microgrids, modular HVAC systems, and the potential of hydrogen energy storage. We’ve looked at the shifting paradigms in transportation, focusing on how cities are increasingly prioritizing pedestrians, public transport, electric vehicles, and walkable urban environments.

Urban climate resilience has been another key topic, where we’ve examined how cities can adapt to changing weather patterns and mitigate the impacts of climate change, and potentially consecutive existential risks. We’ve ventured into the future of space robotics, considering how technology might shape urban spaces beyond our planet. Our discussions on smart sustainability have emphasized the importance of using technology not just for the sake of innovation, but to genuinely enhance the quality of urban life. We’ve also explored the concept of regenerative urban development, where environmentally conscious design can lead to healthier, better cities. The potential of abundance capitalism has been another fascinating topic, as we’ve explored how we can move towards an economy that empowers everyone and ensures that prosperity is shared.

Throughout these discussions, one theme has been consistently clear: the power and importance of active engagement from everyone. We’ve heard powerful voices calling for people to demand more, to get involved, and to ensure that their voices are heard. We’ve explored the necessity of including younger generations in these conversations and the importance of amplifying indigenous and aboriginal voices in the dialogue about our urban futures. It’s been an honour to bring you perspectives from all corners of the globe, from Australia and New Zealand to the United States, Europe, and beyond.

As we look forward, I couldn’t be more excited about what lies ahead. We’ll be hearing from even more experts on a range of critical topics including urban regeneration, carbon capture, community engagement, urban accessibility, vertical farming, affordable housing, technology translation into urban wins, urban resource management, disaster resilience, and urban ecosystem services. Our upcoming Christmas episode will feature a panel conversation with emerging young leaders, offering their unique perspectives on the future of cities. And as we approach our 300th episode, I’m already organizing interviews, with the possibility of hosting a panel discussion on urban food production to celebrate that milestone. In addition to these exciting episodes, I’m thrilled to announce that we have several collaborations in the pipeline with other organizations. These partnerships will help us spread the word about the podcast and the values we explore during our conversations, allowing us to broaden our impact and reach even more listeners.

Following this birthday episode, we have something very special and personal—a conversation with my father, Emil Melles, civil engineer. This episode is particularly close to my heart, but you might notice that it sounds a bit robotic. That’s because the original conversation was in Hungarian, and we used technology to translate and dub it into English. It’s about 90% perfect, and I hope you enjoy this unique and heartfelt episode.

As we step into another year together, I want to leave you with this thought: Cities are in a constant state of evolution, and while there may not be a one-size-fits-all solution, each of us has the power to make a difference. Whether big or small, every action counts in creating a better urban future.

Thank you for being part of this journey. Let’s continue exploring, learning, and shaping the future of cities together!

[music]

As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:

1. Join the growing community by sharing and engaging with our episodes to help shape the future of cities.
2. Dive into our discussions on cutting-edge topics like food innovation, smart sustainability, and urban resilience, and apply these insights to your own urban challenges.
3. Stay tuned for exciting upcoming episodes and collaborations, and take part in our conversations to make your voice heard in shaping urban futures.

And now I would like to invite you to share your experiences:

1. What did you learn this year from these episodes?
2. What was the most interesting and important for you?
3. What would you like to learn more about in the future?
4. What action did you take after these episodes?

Let me know on Twitter at wtf4cities 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?

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