Category: Weekly reflection
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Entrepreneurial capitalism and urbanisation: Five insights from the podcast
Have you ever wondered why some cities explode with opportunity while others, despite early promise, fade into struggle? This week on the What is The Future for Cities? podcast, we grappled with that exact tension. Tuesday’s research episode (397R) dissected Wim Naudé‘s 2018 chapter “Urbanisation and entrepreneurship in development: Like a horse and carriage?“, debating…
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Urban health and spaces: What we learned about healthier urban futures without cars
Have you ever paused in the middle of a busy street, surrounded by the roar of engines and the haze of exhaust, and wondered what life might be like if cars weren’t the default? This week on the What is The Future for Cities? podcast, we examined that very question. Tuesday brought us episode 395R,…
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Retrofit vs rebuild: What a Victorian minister and a Polish business park taught us about housing
This week on the What is The Future for Cities? podcast, we found ourselves caught in the crossfire of one of the biggest debates in urban development: do we fix what we have, or do we start again? We approached this question from two very different angles. First, we looked at the cold, hard numbers…
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Regeneration, evidence, and change: lessons about cooling cities
This week the What is The Future for Cities? podcast delivered a compelling examination of one of the most pressing challenges confronting urban populations worldwide: the rapid intensification of heat in cities. Episode 391R provided a concise summary of five recent research papers co-authored by Professor Sebastian Pfautsch, while episode 392I featured an in-depth interview…
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Why governance experiments like futarchy could reshape urban decisions
This week the What is The Future for Cities? podcast turned its focus to innovative governance and the forces shaping human progress. Episode 389R featured a debate on Robin Hanson’s 2000 paper proposing futarchy – a system where society votes on values but bets on beliefs to guide policy. Episode 390 brought Robin Hanson himself…
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Why the future of cities might depend on governance innovation – not just new buildings
This week the What is The Future for Cities? podcast examined one of the most ambitious and contested governance experiments underway anywhere: Honduras’ ZEDE (Zonas de Empleo y Desarrollo Económico) framework. Episode 385R presented a structured debate on the 2021 paper analysing the ZEDE law’s journey from concept to legal reality, by Jeffrey Mason, Carl…
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What floating cities teach us about affordability, citizenship and protecting the coast
For the past week the What is the future for cities? podcast has lived entirely on water. Episode 383R brought a global data-driven debate about where floating urban development is needed most urgently based on the Potential of floating urban development for coastal cities article, from Barbara Dal Bo Zanon, Bart Roeffen, Karina Czapiewska, and…
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Mixed-income, human-scale, self-financing: the formula we forgot
This week the What is The Future for Cities? podcast returned to one of the most successful urban regeneration projects in North America: Toronto’s St. Lawrence neighbourhood. Episode 381R replayed the still-raging academic debate on DeLeo & Gordon’s case study on Directions for new urban neighbourhoods: Learning from St. Lawrence – was its longevity due…
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Blockchain governance: revolutionary tool or risky experiment for cities?
This week on the What is the future for cities? podcast, we released two episodes that push the boundaries of how cities might be governed tomorrow. Episode 379R presented a sharp debate on Aiman Erbad‘s 2025 book chapter about Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) adoption for smart-city governance, weighing radical participation against serious risks of exclusion…
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Unpacking mid-sized dynamics and city management
This week on the What is The Future for Cities? podcast, we released two episodes that highlight the overlooked power of mid-sized cities in driving balanced progress. Episode 377R featured a debate summarising Andrés Rodríguez-Pose and Jamie Griffiths’s 2021 paper on Developing intermediate cities, arguing for their efficiency in poverty reduction and national growth. Then,…
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