Category: Weekly reflection
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Planning for tomorrow’s cities: Five takeaways on trends and planning
This week on the What is the future for cities? podcast, we explored urban planning through the lens of emerging trends and foresight strategies. Tuesday’s research episode (351R) summarised the 2025 Trend Report for Planners by Petra Hurtado, Ievgeniia Dulko, Senna Catenacci, Joseph DeAngelis, Sagar Shah, and Jason Jordan, published by the American Planning Association…
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From knowledge economies to bold transitions: Five takeaways on mid-sized urban futures
This week on the What is the future for cities? podcast, two episodes examined how mid-sized cities can harness economic shifts for stronger futures. Tuesday’s research episode summarised the 2021 article “The economy forward framework: How midsized cities can achieve inclusive growth in the knowledge economy” by Richard Florida, Ross DeVol, Cordell Carter, Jennifer Hankins,…
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From opinions on smart cities to partnerships for the future: Five takeaways on smart cities
This week on the What is the future for cities? podcast, two episodes explored the human side of smart cities and how they can adapt over time. Tuesday’s research episode summarised the 2021 article “What do people want in a smart city? Exploring the stakeholders’ opinions, priorities and perceived barriers in a medium-sized city in…
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Sponge cities meet digital transformation: Reflections on resilient urban planning
This week on the What is The Future for Cities? podcast, two episodes examined urban challenges and solutions. Tuesday’s research episode (343R) summarised the white paper Creating sponge cities to tackle surface water flooding by Mark Coates and Neal Edmondson, advocating nature-based drainage to address rising flood risks. This prepared for Thursday’s interview (344I) with…
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Shifting cityscapes: Key insights on growth patterns and space in cities
In the latest episodes of the What is the future for cities? podcast, we examined intriguing changes in urban forms and fresh ways to interpret them. Episode 341 summarised a 2024 research article from Nature Cities on global urban structural growth over three decades, showing a transition from outward expansion to vertical build-up. Episode 342…
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From playgrounds to classrooms: Building the future of cities with the youth
This week, the What is The Future For Cities podcast delivered a powerful double feature that challenges us to rethink urban spaces through the lens of children and youth. Episode 337R, based on Rhian Powell’s 2024 research, explored the opportunities and challenges of child-friendly cities, while episode 338I featured an inspiring interview with Alison Watson,…
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From complexity to collaboration: Insights from energy systems, urban planning, and transformative governance
This week’s episodes of the What is The Future For Cities? podcast sparked a deep exploration of urban futures, focusing on energy systems and transformative planning. Episode 335R unpacked the research article “A framework for exploring futures of complex urban energy systems” by Sumedha Basu and Catherine S. E. Bale, while Episode 336I featured a…
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Lessons from placemaking: Building cities that feel like home
This week on the What is The Future for Cities? podcast, we explored the art and science of placemaking through two compelling episodes. Episode 333R unpacked John Friedmann’s 2010 research, Place and Placemaking in Cities: A global perspective, offering a deep look at how small urban spaces become cherished community hubs. Episode 334I featured an…
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From reactors to resilience: Nuclear’s Role in the future of cities
Nuclear energy: a divisive topic that sparks heated debates about safety, resilience, and the future of our cities. This week, the What is The Future for Cities? podcast tackled nuclear’s potential through a research summary of Investigating the Potential of Nuclear Energy in Achieving a Carbon-Free Energy Future by Jānis Krūmiņš and Māris Kļaviņš, and…
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AI, optimism and the future of cities – What we learned this week
This week on the What is The Future for Cities? podcast, we investigated how cities are evolving and what it takes to shape their futures. Episode 329 explored a five-decade analysis of artificial intelligence (AI) in local governance, while Episode 330 featured an insightful interview with Thomas W. Sanchez, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban…
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