Check out the episode:

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Check out the trailer:

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“We’ve been optimizing what’s familiar rather than asking what’s possible.”

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Are you interested in the Middle East as a testing ground for urban solutions? What do you think about mistaking innovation for progress? How can we improve our from-design-to-implementation ratio?

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Interview with Shawn Meyers, Middle East Masterplanning Director. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, urban progress, desert architecture, urban participation and civic ownership, the expectations of upcoming generations, and many more.

Shawn Meyers is an Urban Designer with a global perspective, shaped by experience across New York City, London, and Dubai. At DLR Group, he leads the masterplanning studio, focusing on urban residential projects and intensification strategies. His dual training enables him to explore innovative relationships between urban morphology and building typologies, evolving global best practices for the Middle East. Passionate about redefining 21st-century cities, Shawn believes urban design is fundamentally about designing the relationship between you and me.

Find out more about Shawn through these links:

• Shawn Meyers on LinkedIn
• DLR Group website
• DLR Group on LinkedIn
• DLR Group on Youtube
• @DLRGroup as DLR Group on X
• @dlr_group as DLR Group on Instagram
• Shawn Meyers: Crossroads – DLR Group Youtube channel

Connected episodes you might be interested in:

• No.104R – The story of NEOM city: opportunities and challenges
• No.105 – Interview with Richard Morrison about project NEOM
• No.444 – Interview with Markus Appenzeller about the opportunities in the Middle East
• No.467R – A systematic review of passive cooling strategies integrating traditional wisdom and modern innovations for sustainable development in arid urban environments

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