Category: Weekly reflection
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Why place matters more than we think: The hidden power of place over our minds and communities
This week on the What is the future for cities? podcast we explored one of the most fascinating intersections in urban thinking: the way the built environment actively shapes human behaviour, emotions and community health. Episode 403R presented a generated debate between two hosts dissecting the 2025 paper Integrating behavioral science into urban planning: a…
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Denial is not a plan: Why your home’s value depends on climate action
This week on the What is The Future for Cities? podcast, we witnessed a fascinating collision between the “relentless logic of the real estate market” and the personal, almost spiritual, identity of the places we call home. We explored (episode 401R) whether spending public billions on pumps and sea walls is a sound investment or…
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Root causes, broken assumptions, and hopeful paths for cities
Have you ever stopped to think how much of modern city life rests on assumptions that are quietly crumbling? This week on the What is The Future for Cities? podcast, we confronted that question head-on. Tuesday’s research episode (399R) unpacked a 2024 UN report on 30 years of adaptation under the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement,…
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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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