Category: Weekly reflection
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Reflections on visionary planning and human-centred urban futures
This week on the What is the future for cities? podcast, we released two episodes that spark a dialogue between theory and practice. Episode 375R featured a debate summarising Timon McPhearson, David M Iwaniec, and Xuemei Bai‘s 2016 paper on Positive visions for guiding urban transformations toward sustainable futures. It weighed the power of inspirational…
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Unpacking adaptability and human-centred city planning
This week on the What is the future for cities? podcast, we released two episodes that fit together like pieces of an evolving urban puzzle. Episode 373R featured a debate summarising Rand Askar, Luís Bragança, and Helena Gervásio‘s 2021 paper on the Adaptability of buildings: A critical review on the concept evolution. It traced how…
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What Liberland teaches us about merit-based states
This week’s episodes on the What is the future for cities? podcast offered a fascinating look at Liberland, a micronation that’s pushing the boundaries of how we might organise societies in the digital age. Episode 369 summarised the Liberland Blockchain Whitepaper, breaking down how this tiny entity between Croatia and Serbia runs its entire government…
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Unpacking AI’s role in the future of urban planning
This week’s episodes of the What is the future for cities? podcast have given us much to consider about artificial intelligence in city planning. Episode 367 presented a debate on the 2025 paper by Haishan Xia and colleagues, titled “The fundamental issues and development trends of AI-driven transformations in urban transit and urban space“. This…
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Why cities need a shared identity: Key insights from this week’s podcast
This week on the What is the future for cities? podcast, we looked into the world of place branding and its role in shaping urban environments. Tuesday’s episode 365 offered a summary of Ryan Short‘s book, The Civic Brand: The power and responsibility of place, presented as a debate between two perspectives on whether a…
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Lessons on balancing tech and safety for tomorrow’s urban life
What does the future hold for our cities when it comes to traffic safety and smarter transport? This week on the What is The Future for Cities? podcast, we had two episodes that offered fresh perspectives on these questions. Episode 363R presented a debate on the 2024 research paper by Mohamed Elassy, Mohammed Al-Hattab, Maen…
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Advancing city resilience – 5 core lessons for future-proofing cities
In the dynamic field of urban planning and development, resilience stands out as a fundamental principle for cities around the world. This week’s episodes of the What is The Future for Cities? podcast examine this concept closely, providing new views on how cities can endure disruptions and adjust to unpredictable conditions. Episode 361R offers a…
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Can software secrets make cities antifragile? What Residuality Theory teaches us about urban resilience
Have you ever considered how principles from software architecture might help us build cities that adapt to chaos rather than crumble under it? This week’s episodes on the What is the future for cities? podcast opened our eyes to exactly that. Episode 359R offered a research summary on Residuality Theory, a fresh approach to designing…
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Unpacking holistic management – Insights on regeneration from Allan Savory’s holistic vision
This week’s episodes of the What is the Future for Cities? podcast – episode 355, a research summary of The Foundations of Holistic Management by the Savory Institute, and episode 356, an interview with Allan Savory, President of the Savory Institute – offered profound insights into holistic management and its potential to reshape urban futures…
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Scaling solutions for cities: What we learned about city transport futures from the podcast
This week on the What is the future for cities? podcast, we looked at the changing world of urban transport through two episodes. Tuesday’s research episode (353R) summed up the 2021 article “Urban mobility scenarios until the 2030s” by Márk Miskolczi, Dávid Földes, András Munkácsy, and Melinda Jászberényi. It pulled together 52 scenarios from 62…
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