Category: Weekly reflection
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From the floating island project to heterarchy: Why creating new cities is hard
This week on the What is The Future of Cities? podcast we explored one of the most ambitious ideas in contemporary urbanism: the possibility of creating entirely new types of cities and governance systems. Through a research debate (episode 431R) on the Floating Island project in French Polynesia and a detailed conversation (episode 432I) with…
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Labour markets, spontaneous order, and the danger of rigid plans: Lessons from Alain Bertaud
What if most of what we think we know about planning successful cities is actually getting in the way of their success? This week on the What is The Future for Cities? podcast we investigated one of the most important – and often misunderstood – ideas in urbanism: that cities are, at their core, labour…
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Living with water instead of fighting it: 5 lessons from amphibious architecture and rethinking our relationship with nature
What if instead of building ever-higher walls to keep water out, we designed our homes and cities to rise gracefully with it? This week on What is The Future for Cities? podcast we explored exactly that question through two episodes. Episode 427R delivered a lively research debate on the 2016 paper “Thriving with Water: Developments…
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Building anti-fragile cities: From cracked foundations to seven-generation thinking
What if the real problem isn’t the leaking roof but the cracked foundation beneath it? This week on What is The Future for Cities? podcast we explored exactly that question through two powerful episodes. Episode 425R brought a research debate summarising the upcoming book The Energy Foundation by AJ Perkins and Fanni Melles, while Episode…
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Reclaiming our cities: What if streets belonged to people again?
This week on the What is The Future for Cities? podcast the two episodes felt like they were speaking directly to the same big idea: how do we turn our streets back into places for people, not just cars? Episode 423R dove into the research debate on scaling Barcelona’s superblock model city-wide, while Episode 424I…
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Green growth, innovation and abundance: Major takeaways for the future of cities
This week the What is The Future for Cities? podcast explored one of the most important questions facing cities: can we grow our economies while successfully addressing climate change, or must we deliberately reduce consumption? Episode 419R presented a sharp research debate grounded in the 2025 paper by Phoenix Eskridge-Aldama, Aden Stern, Anna Vaughn and…
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Adaptive urban furniture as a pathway to resilient and antifragile cities
This week the What is The Future for Cities? podcast moved from big-picture African creative economies to the small but powerful scale of everyday street furniture. We examined how ordinary benches, shelters and bus stops can evolve into active participants in urban resilience in episode 417R and 418I. Rather than remaining passive objects, these elements…
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From grassroots art networks to pan-African visions: Creative economies as bridges and culture as living fuel for African cities
This week the What is The Future for Cities? podcast took us deep into the heart of African creative economies and the living, breathing role of arts and culture in shaping cities that actually feel alive. We didn’t just talk numbers or policy papers. We unpacked real mechanisms — how artists, intermediaries, and entrepreneurs are…
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Beyond the hype: 5 important lessons on how autonomous vehicles could reshape urban life
This week on What is The Future for Cities? podcast we explored one of the most exciting – and contentious – topics in urban planning: connected and autonomous vehicles. Tuesday’s research debate (Episode 413R) dissected a 2023 comprehensive review by Md. Mokhlesur Rahman and Jean-Claude Thill, weighing efficiency gains against real-world risks. Thursday’s interview with…
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Green vs grey and regeneration vs sustainability – five takeaways for future-proof cities
This week on the What is The Future for Cities? podcast we examined one of the most practical and urgent questions for coastal urban areas: when the water is rising, should we keep building ever-higher concrete walls (grey infrastructure) or pivot to living, growing systems like dunes and mangroves (green infrastructure)? Episode 411R debated Haoluan…
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