What is The Future for Cities?
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193R_Transforming our cities: Best practices towards clean air and active transportation (research summary)
12 februari 2024 · 11 min
Are you interested in how to enhance urban air quality and active transportation? Lees meer
Summary of the article titled Transforming our cities: Best practices towards clean air and active transportation from 2019 by Andrew Glazener and Haneen Khreis, published in the Current Environmental Health Reports journal.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Oliver Stoltz in episode 194 talking about urban mobility changes.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how urban transportation and clean air are connected. This article explores effective strategies for enhancing urban air quality and encouraging active transportation like walking and cycling, highlighting the significant overlap between these two areas and the positive impacts of integrated policy approaches.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
In 2015, ambient air pollution, especially fine particulate matter (PM2.5), was the fifth-leading cause of death globally, causing 4.2 million premature deaths, mainly in low- and middle-income countries in Asia, Africa, and the Eastern Mediterranean, with older adults most vulnerable.
Motor vehicle reliance worsens air pollution and physical inactivity, linked to 3.2 million deaths yearly. Encouraging active transportation like walking and cycling could mitigate these risks.
Clean air and active transportation are interlinked, with shifting to active transportation not only improving air quality but also boosting physical activity, enhancing urban health.
You can find the article through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
No.048 - Interview with Hussein Dia about urban transportation systems;
No.136R - An analysis of the legal framework influencing walking in Australia;
No.137R - Quantifying life quality as walkability on urban networks: the case of Budapest;
No.138 - Interview with Luis Natera about active transport in different cities;
You can f…
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194I_Trailer_Oliver Stoltz, a strategic transport planner
10 februari 2024 · 2 min
Trailer for episode 194 - interview with Oliver Stoltz, a strategic transport planner. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, false positives and real positives, urban mobility services, benefits of big events for the infrastructure, and many more. Lees meer
Find out more in the interview!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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192I_Alison Scotland, Executive Director at the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council
7 februari 2024 · 47 min
"If you don't know where you are heading, you can end up in a completely different place." Lees meer
Are you interested in policy-making for sustainability? What do you think about the UN Sustainable Development Goals? How can we break the siloes for systems to talk to each other?
Interview with Alison Scotland, Executive Director at Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, advising policy-making, optimism as a choice, getting rid of policies, the time being right to change, and many more.
Alison Scotland is the Executive Director of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council, also known as ASBEC, a body of peak organisations committed to a vision of more sustainable, productive and resilient buildings, communities and cities. Her passion and expertise ley in collaborating with industry, government and third sector leaders to develop national policy and technical solutions that enhance the built environment. Alison’s experience encompasses public, private and non-profit organisations including Standards Australia, Sydney Water and NSW Health. Her work has seen her serve on several national policy and technical committees for the built environment. She is a Board member for Partner Housing Australasia and currently sits on a number of committees including the Residential Energy Efficiency Disclosure Initiative Governance Forum, NSW Government Clean Technology Technical Review Committee and national Urban Policy Forum. Alison has a Bachelor of Science (Enviro) and Communications, and a Master of Business Administration.
Find out more about Alison through these links:
Alison Scotland on LinkedIn;
ASBEC website;
Alison Scotland at ASBEC;
@ASBEC1 as ASBEC on X;
Alison Scotland on the Building with BuildHer podcast;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
No.171 - Interview with Nicole Garofano about circular economy;
No.190 - Interview with Adrian McGregor about the city as an organism;
No.…
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191R_Decision-making approach to urban energy retrofit – A comprehensive review (research summary)
5 februari 2024 · 9 min
Are you interested in what is needed for decision-making regarding urban energy retrofit? Lees meer
Summary of the article titled Decision-making approach to urban energy retrofit – A comprehensive review from 2023 by Lei Shu and Dong Zhao, published in the Buildings journal.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Alison Scotland in episode 192 talking about policy-making for better urban futures, like energy retrofit.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how to find more effective, sustainable and efficient solutions for urban energy retrofits. This article establishes 5 key categories of approaches to retrofit decision-making: simulation, optimization, assessment, system integration, and empirical study, highlighting the progress and future potential in this field.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
Urban areas face a significant challenge with increasing energy demands, necessitating the transformation of urban buildings into energy-efficient structures due to environmental concerns.
Retrofit projects in urban settings are complex, requiring a balanced consideration of technological advancements, economic factors, and societal impacts, and involve diverse decision-making strategies like simulation, optimization, and empirical studies.
Looking ahead, there is a strong emphasis on adopting holistic and interconnected approaches in urban retrofitting, integrating various decision-making methods, and involving stakeholders to drive sustainable and efficient urban development.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: This research presents a comprehensive review of the research on smart urban energy retrofit decision-making. Based on the analysis of 91 journal articles over the past decade, the study identifies and discusses five key categories of approaches to retrofit decision-making, including simulation, optimization, assessment, system integration, and empiric…
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192I_Trailer_Alison Scotland, Executive Director at the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council
3 februari 2024 · 2 min
Are you interested in policy-making for sustainability? What do you think about the UN Sustainable Development Goals? How can we break the siloes for systems to talk to each other? Lees meer
Trailer for episode 192 - interview with Alison Scotland, Executive Director at Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, advising policy-making, optimism as a choice, getting rid of policies, the time being right to change, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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190I_Adrian McGregor, the founder and Chief Design Officer at McGregor Coxall
31 januari 2024 · 41 min
"We can ride this wave of decarbonisation to reach prosperity." Lees meer
Are you interested in biourbanism? What do you think about Earth as a spaceship? How can we learn systems thinking for a more holistic approach?
Interview with Adrian McGregor, the founder and Chief Design Officer at McGregor Coxall. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, biourbanism, prosperity, adaptability, climate forecasting with digital twins, and many more.
Adrian McGregor is Founder and Chief Design Officer at McGregor Coxall, a BioLab-led urban design, landscape architecture and environment firm located in Australia and the UK. Adrian is the author of Biourbanism: Cities as Nature. Practicing globally, he is a Biourbanist, Landscape Architect and Adjunct Professor at the University of Canberra. Nominated as one of Sydney’s 100 most creative people, he designs new cities and helps existing cities enhance prosperity by planning for climate resilience. He received the Prime Minister of Australia’s award for Urban Design and has helped McGregor Coxall receive more than 200 international design awards.
Find out more about Adrian through these links:
Adrian McGregor on LinkedIn;
@adrianmcgregor as Adrian McGregor on Twitter;
McGregor Coxall website;
McGregor Coxall on LinkedIn;
Adrian McGregor at McGregor Coxall;
Biourbanism website;
Biourbanism on LinkedIn;
@Biourbanism1 as Biourbanism on X;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
No.135 - Interview with Paul Satur on prosperity;
No.164R - A discussion of resilience and sustainability;
No.189R - Biourbanism (book summary);
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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189R_Biourbanism: Cities as nature – a resilience model for anthromes (book summary)
29 januari 2024 · 8 min
Are you interested in understanding cities are nature? Lees meer
Summary of the book titled Biourbanism: Cities as nature – a resilience model for anthromes from 2022 by Adrian McGregor, published by Biourbanism Publishing.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Adrian McGregor, talking about biourbanism in episode 190.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how cities can be translated as part of nature. This book gives a new pathway for cities to decarbonise and increase their resilience to the climate crises.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
Cities, responsible for a significant portion of global greenhouse gas emissions, have the potential to be central in addressing the climate emergency.
The biourbanism model views cities as dynamic ecosystems, emphasizing the harmonious integration of various systems like food, water, energy, and technology to promote urban resilience and prosperity.
The book proposes a paradigm shift in urban planning, advocating for cities to be designed as extensions of the natural world, focusing on ecological sustainability and human-nature connectivity.
Check out the book through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
No.178R - Brighter: Optimism, progress and the future of environmentalism (book summary);
No.180 - Interview with Ben Vass about cities being the emergent property of urban agents interacting with each other and their environment;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from …
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190I_Trailer_Adrian McGregor, the founder and Chief Design Officer at McGregor Coxall
27 januari 2024 · 2 min
Trailer for episode 190 - interview with Adrian McGregor, the founder and Chief Design Officer at McGregor Coxall. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, biourbanism, prosperity, adaptability, climate forecasting with digital twins, and many more. Lees meer
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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188I_Rod Matthews, the Co-Founder and CEO of Brevian Energy
24 januari 2024 · 27 min
Are you interested in microgrids? What do you think about decentralising cities and their services? How can we use our brainpower for the better urban future? Lees meer
Interview with Rod Matthews, the Co-Founder and CEO of Brevian Energy. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, microgrids, resource management, efficiency, urban experiments and many more.
Rod Matthews is an experienced business technology consultant and Micro Grid Solution Provider with a background in aligning energy and technology initiatives with core business objectives. Rod is the Co-Founder and CEO of Brevian Energy, a renewable energy technology company providing customers with microgrids, based in California, US. As a subject matter expect in both the energy and technology sectors, he has had the opportunity to implement and maintain various types of business technologies and be accountable for their business justification and ROI payoffs. Deploying multiple technologies has provided him a unique understanding of the financial impact on the business. By understanding how these technologies will directly impact the “bottom line” of the business he is able to increase efficiency, grow the client base, and facilitate accessible communication. The goal of Brevian Energy is to bring affordable, reliable, renewable power to homes, businesses, and communities in every possible location.
Find out more about Rod through these links:
Rod Matthews on LinkedIn;
@RGMConsulting as Rod Matthews on X;
Brevian Energy website;
Brevian Energy on LinkedIn;
RGM Consulting website;
Connecting links you might be interested in:
No.120 - Interview with Matt Ferrell about renewable energies;
No.182 - Interview with Ted Baillieu about urban asset management;
No.187R - Microgrid communities;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesti…
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187R_Microgrid communities: disclosing the path to future system-active communities (research summary)
22 januari 2024 · 10 min
Are you interested in the sustainability of future energy systems? Lees meer
Summary of the article titled Microgrid communities: disclosing the path to future system-active communities from 2022 by Martin Warneryd and Kersti Karltorp, published in the Sustainable Futures journal.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Rod Matthews in episode 188 talking about community microgrids.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how the community can be an active part of the energy system. This article examines the role and development of microgrid communities as key contributors to a sustainable and resilient energy future, focusing on their transition from passive consumers to system-active participants.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
Microgrids transform communities into active energy participants, fostering their role in sustainable energy transitions.
The development and success of microgrids are significantly influenced by local regulatory environments and regional conditions, as seen in Sweden and California.
Microgrids enhance local resilience and sustainability, offering economic advantages and supporting renewable energy integration into existing grids.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: To increase sustainability in future energy systems, both technical and social measures must be taken. Microgrid communities offer local balancing of supply and demand, while also integrating the community as an active part of the energy system. This study investigates two cases of microgrid communities; how they were realized and what wider effects they offered its communities and other stakeholders. The study shows that the microgrid collaboration between community and utility offers a new organizational division that can overcome the traditional locked-in position of the utility. This brings forward communities as system-active participants and a sustainably beneficia…
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188I_Trailer_Rod Matthews, co-founder and CEO of Brevian Energy
18 januari 2024 · 1 min
Trailer for episode 188 - interview with Rod Matthews, the Co-Founder and CEO of Brevian Energy. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, microgrids, resource management, efficiency, urban experiments and many more. Lees meer
Find out more in the interview!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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186I_Tom Bosschaert, the founder and director of Except Integrated Sustainability
17 januari 2024 · 58 min
"Make things that both work for today while they can become the bricks in the foundation of how we operate our cities of tomorrow." Lees meer
Are you interested in sustainability as resilience, harmony, and wellbeing? What do you think about integrated sustainability? How can we learn from the past for a better future?
Interview with Tom Bosschaert, the founder and director of Except Integrated Sustainability. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, stages of grief in sustainability, Orchid City, the City of Hope, and many more.
Tom is the founder and director of Except Integrated Sustainability, and the visionary force behind its development. He is also the chairman of the Environment Committee of the World Institute for Change Management and Innovation (WICMI) in Switzerland. Tom founded Except at the age of 19 in 1999 with a mission to find systemic solutions for our societal challenges by combining science, business, design, and communication. In the past decades, he has developed several hundred projects globally, for groundbreaking sustainable cities, buildings, business, policy, and industry. Tom’s vision shows that we can flourish globally when we simultaneously integrate environmental, societal, economical, and technical aspects in our society. He is a frequent keynote speaker, and author of the Symbiosis in Development (SiD) framework and books.
Find out more about Tom through these links:
Tom Bosschaert on LinkedIn;
@Tom_Bosschaert as Tom Bosschaert on X;
Except Integrated Sustainability website;
Symbiosis in Development at Except;
Symbiosis in Development website;
Tom Bosschaert at Except with podcast links;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
No.105 - Interview with Richard Morrison about NEOM;
No.184 - Interview with Alby Bocanegra about the 24h city;
No.185R - Systems thinking as a paradigm shift for sustainability transformation;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on…
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185R_Systems thinking as a paradigm shift for sustainability transformation (research summary)
15 januari 2024 · 10 min
Are you interested in a paradigm shift for sustainability transformation? Lees meer
Our summary today works with the article titled Systems thinking as a paradigm shift for sustainability transformation from 2022 by N. Voulvoulis, T. Giakoumis, C. Hunt, V. Kioupi, N. Petrou, I. Souliotis, C. Vaghela, WIH binti Wan Rosely, published in the Global Environmental Change journal.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Tom Bosschaert in episode 186 talking about integrated sustainability and systems thinking approaches.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how a holistic, integrated and interdisciplinary thinking can enable conditions for sustainability to emerge. This article advocates for a systemic approach to sustainability, emphasizing the need for comprehensive strategies that address interconnected environmental, social, and economic challenges.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
Systems thinking is essential for addressing the interconnected nature of global sustainability challenges, moving beyond traditional, isolated approaches.
Effective implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals requires transformative strategies that recognize the interdependencies among these goals.
A paradigm shift in policy, education, and societal behaviour is crucial for achieving true sustainability, focusing on holistic solutions rather than symptomatic treatments.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted as reference and universal guidepost for transitioning to Sustainable Development by the United Nations in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, are intended to be used as a set of interconnected goals and global targets for ‘Transforming our world’, as the 2030 Agenda is titled. This is a far more challenging task than business as usual; it requires systems thinking for understanding the conditions …
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186I_Trailer_Tom Bosschaert, the founder and director of Except Integrated Sustainability
13 januari 2024 · 1 min
Trailer for episode 186 - interview with Tom Bosschaert, the founder and director of Except Integrated Sustainability. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, stages of grief in sustainability, Orchid City, the City of Hope, and many more. Lees meer
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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184I_Alby Bocanegra, the Chief Future Officer and Founder at The Urban Futurist Inc.
10 januari 2024 · 40 min
"24-hour city embracing density and buzzing always" Lees meer
Are you interested in the 24-hour city? What do you think about technology helping us being creative? How can we learn better from history?
Interview with Alby Bocanegra, the Chief Future Officer and Founder at The Urban Futurist Inc. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, collaboration, AI and smartness, human connections, and many more.
Alby Bocanegra currently serves as Chief Future Officer and Founder at The Urban Futurist Inc, a consultancy and advisory organization that is shaping the cities of the future. Prior to his role at Mastercard, Alby served the people of New York as Interim Chief Technology Officer in the Mayor’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer (MOCTO). He has dedicated his career to building expertise in talent architecture, business strategy, and performance management with a passion for civic tech. Alby spends his time studying future technologies and makes predictions of the impact and implications they’ll have on cities, the people that live in them and the ecosystems that will need to be developed to ensure that all can benefit. As an advisor and consultant, he shapes strategies, governance models and facilitates engagements focused on delivering a better tomorrow for people. Alby also lends his expertise as an Advisory Board Member on Digital Twins to the World Economic Forum.
Find out more about Alby through these links:
Alby Bocanegra on LinkedIn;
@albybocanegra as Alby Bocanegra on X;
The Urban Futurist Inc. on LinkedIn;
Alby Bocanegra at the Charter Cities Institute;
Alby Bocanegra at the Word Urban Forum;
Alby Bocanegra at the Smart Cities Coucil;
Urban Futurism for Smarter Cities podcast with Alby Bocanegra;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
No.015 - Interview with Luke Housego about data and knowledge;
No.126 - Interview with Corey Gray about beauty as a feature for sustainability;
No.183R - 24-hour cities network;
What wast the most in…
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183R_24-hour cities network: Policy and strategy recommendations (research summary)
8 januari 2024 · 10 min
Are you interested in the 24-hour city? Lees meer
Summary of the policy paper titled 24-hour cities network: Policy and strategy recommendations from 2023 by Andreina Seijas.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Alby Bocanegra in episode 184 talking the 24-hour city and its advantages.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see whether we are missing out without a night-time city. This article emphasizes the significance of nighttime economy and governance in contemporary urban planning, offering practical recommendations for cities to thrive 24/7.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
The transformation of nighttime perception in cities, from being associated with crime to a vibrant time for economic and cultural activities, is a fundamental shift in urban planning.
The appointment of "night mayors" in over 60 cities worldwide highlights a proactive approach to governing and enhancing urban life during night hours, focusing on inclusivity and vibrancy.
The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the significance of the nighttime economy, particularly in culture, nightlife, and hospitality, revealing its vital role in the overall urban ecosystem.
Find the article through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
No.090 - Interview with Matthew McCartney about economics and cities;
No.106R - Smart cities as a platform for technological and social innovation in productivity, sustainability and livability;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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184I_Trailer_Alby Bocanegra, the Chief Future Officer and Founder at The Urban Futurist Inc.
5 januari 2024 · 1 min
Trailer for episode 184 - interview with Alby Bocanegra, the Chief Future Officer and Founder at The Urban Futurist Inc. Lees meer
We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, collaboration, AI and smartness, human connections, and many more.
Find out more in the episode!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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182I_Ted Baillieu, former Premier of Victoria and architect
3 januari 2024 · 54 min
"We have the most expensive construction industry but not the best quality." Lees meer
Are you interested in urban retrofitting? What do you think about the materials used in the built environment? How can we provide better urban services?
Interview Ted Baillieu, the former Premier of Victoria and architect. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, affordability, cities with split personalities, getting families back in cities, regreening cities, and many more.
Ted Baillieu is an architect and a Victorian politician. During his time in Parliament 1999-2014, Ted served as Premier of Victoria and Minister for the Arts from 2010 to 2013, and held Shadow Portfolios in Tertiary Education, Training, Gaming, Planning and the Arts. Since 2013 Ted is currently an Adjunct Professor at Swinburne University, School of Design, and Melbourne University’s Honorary Enterprise Professor associated with the Faculty of Architecture, Building & Planning. He Co-Chaired the Victorian Government’s Cladding Task Force (2017-2019) and Chaired the Victorian Government’s ANZAC Centenary Committee (2013-2019). He has more than 20 years as a practicing architect (Mayne & Baillieu) and was formerly Trustee Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Trust, Board Member Tourism Victoria, Melbourne Comedy Festival and Australian Children’s Television Foundation, and Patron of Multicultural Arts Victoria.
You can find out more about Ted through these links:
Ted Baillieu on LinkedIn;
@TedBaillieu as Ted Baillieu on X;
Ted Baillieu on Wikipedia;
Ted Baillieu at the Parliament of Victoria;
Connecting links you might be interested in:
No.048 - Interview with Hussein Dia about urban mobility opportunities;
No.117 - Interview with Colin Chee about the small footprint living in cities;
No.181R - Built environment prototyping for design-value;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the…
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181R_Built environment prototyping for design-value (research summary)
1 januari 2024 · 9 min
Are you interested in how to make prototypes for the built environment? Lees meer
Summary of the article titled Built environment prototyping for design-value from 2023 by Darcy Zelenko and Duncan Maxwell, published in the Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposium 2023.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Ted Baillieu in episode 182 talking about why experimenting with the built environment is very important.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how we could use prototyping to trial specific solutions. This article proves the prototyping is a value-adding activity but there are inherent fragmentations for the built environment disciplines.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
Prototyping in the built environment, less common than in industries like engineering or software development, plays a crucial role in refining complex designs before construction, underscoring the need for its wider adoption and more integrated methods.
While prototyping enhances design quality, communication, and decision-making efficiency, its underutilization in the built environment limits knowledge sharing and the adoption of efficient construction methodologies, such as Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA).
There is a significant opportunity for advancement in the built environment by developing an integrated prototyping model that combines idea conceptualization and physical implementation, tailored to its unique requirements, which could transform practices and lead to more efficient, resource-saving buildings.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: The built environment is hindered by issues relating to laggard productivity, with practitioners looking to pursue sector-wide industrialisation and digitisation to improve this issue. Contrastingly, industries that have achieved widespread industrialisation and digitisation also possess developed prototyping cultures. Within the…
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182I_Trailer_Ted Baillieu, former Premier of Victoria and architect
31 december 2023 · 2 min
Trailer for episode 182 - Interview Ted Baillieu, the former Premier of Victoria and architect. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, affordability, cities with split personalities, getting families back in cities, regreening cities, and many more. Lees meer
Find out more in the interview!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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180I_Ben Vass, senior research engineer
27 december 2023 · 1 uur 7 min
Are you interested in city consciousness? What do you think about knowledge and knowledge-creation? How can we remove bad stuff to improve the good stuff? Lees meer
Interview with Ben Vass, senior research engineer. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, space and time, threshold for bad experiences, opportunities in tools for improvements, and many more.
Ben Vass is a senior research engineer, graph shaman and data magician, and the kind of person who wants to build a Dyson swarm and explore the stars, while in the meantime wants to understand how this consciousness thing works. He is always standing between 2 worlds and trying to connect them. Due to his strange brain, he sees everything as a network of networks, and tries to find the next intellectual thrill. In the past he had worked on swarm intelligence projects, spectral graphs, fraud detection, and GNNs to name a few, and he contributes to Open Source whenever he can. Ben currently works on upgrading the world’s financial infrastructure to make it more transparent and verifiable. Everything is a network, you just don't see it yet, according to him. Ben’s voice can be very familiar because he is the voice in the intro. And he is my partner in crime.
Find out more about Ben through these links:
Ben Vass on LinkedIn;
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Network State Conference on YouTube
TokCast by Brett Hall
The Expanse series
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
The beginning of infinity by David Deutsch
The Anthology of Balaji by
New material list by AI
Starlink website
zero-knowledge proof
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
No.021R - Antifragile (book summary)
No.182 - Interview with Ted Baillieu about Australian building habits
No.222 - Interview with Adam Dorr about technological disruptions
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website …
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179_Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!
25 december 2023 · 2 min
Today would be a research episode, but since it is 2023 Christmas time, I want to just wish you all relaxing holidays with or without celebrating Christmas, Merry Christmas if you do celebrate it, and a very Happy New Year! Lees meer
We will have many interesting topics to discover and further discuss in 2024. I am already preparing those episodes and I am very excited about what will come!
First, this episode will be followed by a cherished interview with my partner, Ben Vass, data magician, graph shaman and overall space enthusiast.
Then in 2024 we will have guests from all over the world and many areas like
policy,
energy,
advocacy,
neurodiversity,
research,
space,
weather,
food production,
circularity,
and even more!!!
I have had so many great conversations that we will also ramp up the frequency of the interviews: from now, each Tuesday will bring a research episode, and each Thursday a new interview.
Plus, I am also working on some projects for the podcast, like a WTFGPT to ask questions about the previous episodes, or gaming space cities!!!
If you need some food for thought until then, check out the last research episode, No.178 about a brighter future and clean technology disruptions.
I hope you are well and also full with plans for the new year, see you then and thanks for tuning in.
Find the shownotes through this link.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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180I_Trailer_Ben Vass, senior research engineer
23 december 2023 · 2 min
Are you interested in city consciousness? What do you think about knowledge and knowledge-creation? How can we remove bad stuff to improve the good stuff? Lees meer
Trailer for the episode 180 - interview with Ben Vass, senior research engineer. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, space and time, threshold for bad experiences, opportunities in tools for improvements, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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178R_Brighter: Optimism, progress and the future of environmentalism
18 december 2023 · 7 min
Are you interested in a brighter future for our cities and humanity? Lees meer
Summary of the book titled Brighter: Optimism, progress, and the future of environmentalism from 2022 by Adam Dorr, based on my reading experience and other summaries, linked in the shownotes.
Great preparation for our interview with Adam Dorr in episode 222, and just a refreshing outlook on the future.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see a brighter approach among the doom-and-gloom based on science and research. This book describes how human evolution and progress wipe out older, dirtier technologies, foster unprecedented prosperity, and open the door to mitigating environmental impacts.
I hope this gives you some food for thought this time of the year or anytime and how to move forward.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
The book emphasizes the potential of emerging technologies in energy, transportation, food, and labour to solve environmental issues while promoting economic growth.
Dorr highlights that the shift towards sustainable, cleaner technologies is primarily driven by their economic advantages, not just ecological benefits.
"Brighter" presents a new vision of environmentalism that integrates technological innovation and economic development as a path to a sustainable future.
You can find the book through this link.
Summaries used in this episode:
RethinkX Disruption series with Adam Dorr;
New Book 'Brighter' explores the future of environmentalism amidst the great technological transformation in over a century on PRNewsWire;
Brighter on Goodreads;
Connecting links you might be interested in:
No.177 - Interview with Amelia Gaskill about the passion of the younger generation;
No.222 - Interview with Adam Dorr about a brighter future
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know…
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177I_Amelia Gaskell, an environmental science student
13 december 2023 · 1 uur 6 min
Are you interested in intergenerational equity? What do you think about the younger generation fighting for a better future? How can we use our own voices to inflict change on the urban environment? Lees meer
Interview with Amelia Gaskell, an environmental science student. We will talk about her vision for the future of cities, sustainability, intergenerational equity, climate anxiety, her origin story, and many more.
Amelia Gaskell is an avid environmentalist and student at Deakin University, who has recently undertaken an undergraduate Bachelor of Environmental Science following a transfer from a degree in Law. This change was inspired by a desire to pursue a greater interest in sustainability and ecological conservation amidst a greater demand for youth action in addressing the critical point Australia now faces in addressing the growing climate crisis. Amelia has volunteered with the AYCC and Blue Carbon Lab - experiences which have shaped her drive towards a better and more sustainable future for the City of Melbourne. Amelia is also a lover of all things outdoors, and regularly partakes in athletics and hiking with local groups across Victoria. This passion for community and connection is one which has been fostered by her family who only recently immigrated from Malaysia, and who share with her an understanding of the intricate relationships between people, the natural world, and the built environment.
Find out more about Amelia through these links:
Amelia Gaskell on LinkedIn;
as Amelia Gaskell on Twitter;
Lowe, N, Gleeson, B, Green, R & Radovic, D. (2005) ‘What does sustainability mean for cities? Sustainable Homes, Sustainable Suburbs, UNSW Press, Sydney, Chapter 1 pp. 13-18
M, Beyers B (2019) AREA AS CURRENCY How Much Biocapacity Does a Person Need? Ecological Footprint : Managing Our Biocapacity Budget Account, New Society Publishers (pp.20-38)
Hamilton, C (2010) Requiem for a Species: why we resist the truth about climate change. Chapter 3: The consumer s…
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176R_Major transcitions: how college students interpret the process of changing fields of study
11 december 2023 · 10 min
Are you interested in how young people change their fields of study? Lees meer
Summary of the article titled Major transitions: how college students interpret the process of changing fields of study from 2023 by Blake R Silver published in the Higher Education journal.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Amelia Gaskill in episode 177 talking about how and why she changed her major to focus more on the environment.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how and why students change their majors as a key education transition. This article explores the complex experiences of college students changing majors, revealing emotional, logistical, and perceptual challenges during this significant educational transition.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
Changing majors significantly impacts a student's identity and future aspirations, involving a deeply personal and emotional journey through phases of endings, exploration, and new beginnings.
Each student's experience of changing majors is unique, influenced by a mix of personal values, academic interests, and external factors like family and career considerations.
There is a need for holistic support in higher education, emphasizing that academic advising should be complemented with emotional and personal guidance to aid students through this transition.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: Selecting a major is one of the most consequential decisions a student will make in college. Though major selection is often conceived of as a discrete choice made at a particular point in time, many students change their majors at least once during college. This article examines the process of changing majors as a key education transition. Drawing from 38 interviews with college students at a public university in the USA who changed their declared major, this study explores the ways they make meaning of transitions between fields…
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177I_Trailer_Amelia Gaskell, an environmental science student
9 december 2023 · 2 min
Trailer for episode 177 - interview with Amelia Gaskell, an environmental science student. We will talk about her vision for the future of cities, sustainability, intergenerational equity, climate anxiety, her origin story, and many more. Lees meer
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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175R_Whose choice? Young people, career choices and reflexivity re-examined (research summary)
4 december 2023 · 12 min
Are you interested in how young people choose their careers? Lees meer
Summary of the article titled Whose choice? Young people, career choices and reflexivity re-examined from 2015 by Jacqueline Laughland-Booÿ, Margery Mayall, and Zlatdo Skrbiš, published in the Current Sociology journal.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Amelia Gaskill in episode 177 talking about the younger generation and their passion regarding the future of cities.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how the next generation seems to choose their careers. This article presents how reflexivity is connected to choosing one’s career besides individualism and environment.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
Individual choice in career paths might not be entirely free as it is deeply influenced by one’s socio-economic background.
Reflexivity, the ability to critically assess and adapt one’s choices is often more pronounced among those from less privileged backgrounds.
Enhancing reflexivity and critical self-awareness across all socio-economic groups could improve the equity and authenticity of career choices among young people.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: Young people making future career choices are doing so in an environment that often highlights the benefits supposedly wrought by individualisation and reflexive choice. It is argued that those who demonstrate reflexivity in their decision-making would have an advantage in the negotiation of future risks. The authors of this article agree with theorists who note that career choices are still strongly influenced by a person’s location in the class structure. However, unlike some writers who suggest youth from more privileged socio-economic backgrounds are more likely to evaluate risk and demonstrate reflexivity, the authors suggest the opposite. Interviews were conducted with young people aged 16–17 who are participating in an o…
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174I_Aapo Huovila, senior scientist at Technical Research Centre of Finland
29 november 2023 · 34 min
Are you interested in sustainable and smart cities? What do you think about the city as the scene of real change? How can we use urban rankings better? Lees meer
Interview with Aapo Huovila, senior scientist at Technical Research Centre of Finland. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, keeping urban specifics, climate change, city as the place of real change, and many more.
Aapo Huovila is a Senior scientist at Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. His research is currently focused on evaluation of climate-neutral, sustainable and smart cities. He works as a project manager and senior researcher in research, innovation and commercial projects (for examples, NetZeroCities, Matchup Project or Sparcs). He is the chair of the “Monitoring & Evaluation” Task group within the EU H2020 Smart cities & communities research & innovation program and acts as subject editor in the journal IET Smart cities.
Find out more about Aapo through these links:
Aapo Huovila on LinkedIn;
@aapo_huovila as Aapo Huovila on Twitter;
Aapo Huovila at the Technical Research Centre of Finland;
Aapo Huovila on Google Scholar;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
No.008R - What are the differences between sustainable and smart cities?
No.141 - Interview with Soheil Sabri about prediction and forecasting;
No.173R
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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173R_Comparative analysis of standardized indicators for Smart sustainable cities: What indicators and standards to use and when? (research summary)
27 november 2023 · 9 min
Are you interested in indicators for smart sustainable cities? Lees meer
Summary ofh the article titled Comparative analysis of standardized indicators for Smart sustainable cities: What indicators and standards to use and when? from 2019 by Aapo Huovila, Peter Bosch and Miimu Airaksinen published in the Cities journal.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Dr Aapo Huovila in episode 174 talking about sustainable and smart cities.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see what indicators can help, really help cities in their smart and sustainable journey. This article offers guidance for city managers and policy makers to select the indicators and standards that best correspond to their assessment needs and goals.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
Smart sustainable cities aim to leverage technological solutions while ensuring they address the genuine multifaceted needs of urban environments, and encompassing economic, social, environmental and cultural dimensions.
Urban managers face the intricate challenge of selecting from a vast array of 'indicators' to monitor and track city progress.
Balancing the dual aspects of 'smartness' and 'sustainability' is pivotal for cities, requiring a holistic approach that aligns with the city's unique context, and while standardized indicators offer a foundation, customization is essential to resonate with individual city characteristics and objectives.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: City managers need indicators for target setting, performance assessment, monitoring, management and decision-making purposes. The choice of the most suitable indicator framework is crucial, but difficult, as it requires expert knowledge. To help cities in their choice, this paper compares seven recently published indicator standards for Smart sustainable cities. A taxonomy was developed to evaluate each of their 413 indicators against five …
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174I_Trailer_Aapo Huovila, senior scientist at Technical Research Centre of Finland
22 november 2023 · 1 min
Trailer for episode 174 - the interview with Aapo Huovila, senior scientist at Technical Research Centre of Finland. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, keeping urban specifics, climate change, city as the place of real change, and many more. Lees meer
Find out more in the interview!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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172R_Carbon-neutral cities: Critical review of theory and practice (research summary)
20 november 2023 · 10 min
Are you interested in carbon-neutral cities? Lees meer
Summary of the article titled Carbon-neutral cities: Critical review of theory and practice from 2022 by Aapo Huovila, Hanne Siikavirta, Carmen Antuña Rozado, Jyri Rökman, Pekka Tuominen, Satu Paiho, Åsa Hedman, and Peter Ylén, published in the Journal of Cleaner Production.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Dr Aapo Huovila in episode 174 talking about sustainable and smart cities.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see what carbon-neutrality can mean for cities. This article presents the theory and practice of carbon-neutral efforts in the urban context, exploring the gaps between research and practice.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
Cities, as major global resource consumers and emission contributors, are central to achieving climate goals through sustainability initiatives.
Ambiguities in the carbon-neutral city concept and varied emission scopes challenge consistent implementation and progress measurement.
A holistic, systemic approach with collaboration among various stakeholders is essential for effective carbon neutrality transitions.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: Carbon neutrality has become central in policy discourse and cities’ climate actions are crucial to achieve this goal. Consequently, many cities have already published ambitious climate neutrality target years and are preparing for transition to climate neutrality. This study presents findings from the first ever literature review on the carbon-neutral city concept, covering definition, assessment approaches, and barriers and drivers for transition to carbon neutrality. These findings are combined with interviews with Finnish cities aiming at carbon neutrality to explore gaps between research and practice. More clarity is needed on the definition of carbon-neutral city concept and especially on the role of offsetting the emi…
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171I_Nicole Garofano, the Head of Circular Economy Development at Planet Ark Environmental Foundation and the founder of UsePlasticBetter
15 november 2023 · 49 min
Are you interested in circular economy? What do you think about raising the awareness about how we consume things? How can we plan our future based on the principle of longevity? Lees meer
Interview with Nicole Garofano, the Head of Circular Economy Development at Planet Ark Environmental Foundation and the founder of UsePlasticBetter. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, circular economy, knowledge sharing, maker and repair spaces, indigenous connections, and many more.
Dr Nicole Garofano is the Head of Circular Economy Development for Planet Ark. In her role, Nicole is leading the ongoing strategic development of the Australian Circular Economy (ACE) Hub, the national reference platform for circular economy knowledge and collaboration in Australia. For more almost 20 years, Nicole has worked in environmental education and action with a focus on waste management and more recently, circular economy. She has designed and managed community-based initiatives to increase sorting, collection and processing of a range of packaging materials, including plastic. Nicole has a PhD from research focused on the plastic food and beverage packaging value chain, identifying both local and global innovation to improve chain activities and outcomes. Nicole is an Associate of the Australian Institute of Packaging.
Find out more about Nicole through these links:
Nicole Garofano on LinkedIn;
Nicole Garofano at Victoria's Big Build;
Planet Ark website;
Planet Ark on LinkedIn;
Australian Circular Economy Hub website;
Circularity website;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
No.110R - Global survey of Precious Plastic Projects;
No.111 - Interview with Dave Hakkens about reinventing urban living;
No.159 - Interview with Michael Browne about Aboriginal ideology;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this wa…
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170R_Sustainable circular cities? Analysing urban circular economy policies in Amsterdam, Glasgow, and Copenhagen (research summary)
13 november 2023 · 11 min
Are you interested in sustainable circular cities? Lees meer
Summary of the article titled Sustainable circular cities? Analysing urban circular economy policies in Amsterdam, Glasgow, and Copenhagen from 2023 by Martin Calisto Friant, Katie Reid, Peppi Boesler, Walter J. V. Vermeulen, and Roberta Salomone, published in the Local Environment – The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Dr Nicole Garofano in episode 171 talking about circular economy.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see circular economy policy analysis. This article investigates current literature on circular economy policies and real examples to develop a new conceptual framework to circular economy discourses.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
The circular economy promotes resource conservation and recovery strategies like reuse and recycle, with cities playing a key role in its varied implementation and impact.
Circular economy's implementation is often vague and leans towards a techno-optimist view, potentially neglecting the balance between economic growth and environmental protection.
The circular economy and circular cities provide a key solution to unsustainable resource use, aiming to reduce environmental impacts and safeguard the biosphere amid rising consumption and ecological challenges.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: Cities play a central role in the circular economy (CE) as they are important centres of production and consumption, responsible for 80% of global GDP. European cities are particularly important due to their position of power in the global economy as major markets, and places of industrial and social innovation. Yet urban CE policies and discourses remain poorly researched and understood. This paper addresses this research gap by analysing and comparing the CE policies and discourses in different European ci…
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171I_Trailer_Nicole Garofano, the Head of Circular Economy Development at Planet Ark
8 november 2023 · 1 min
Trailer for episode 171 - the interview with Nicole Garofano, the Head of Circular Economy Development at Planet Ark Environmental Foundation and the founder of UsePlasticBetter. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, circular economy, knowledge sharing, maker and repair spaces, indigenous connections, and many more.
Find out more in the interview! Lees meerMusic by Lesfm from Pixabay
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169R_Circular economy: A brief literature review (research summary)
7 november 2023 · 7 min
Are you interested in circular economy? Lees meer
Summary of the article titled Circular economy: a brief literature review from 2021 by Erick Hungaro Arruda, Rosangela Andrade Pita Brancalhao Melatto, Wilson Levy, and Diego de Melo Conti, published in the Sustainable Operations and Computers journal.
This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Dr Nicole Garofano in episode 171 talking about circular economy.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see circular economy as an effective tool to trigger sustainable developments. This article presents many understandings and the evolution of the circular economy in research, highlighting some future prospects for the concept.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
Circular economy proposes a change in the extraction-production-disposal paradigm of the current linear economy.
Circular economy is based on design of manufactured products with added value and maximum use in longer life cycles, creation of versatile products with multiple uses, restitution of solid waste to the industrial sector, and a systemic approach to supply chain management.
Circular economy is presented as a concept of sustainability with the greatest probability of favourable economic development.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: Hitherto implemented economic mechanisms and development processes have led the planet to face numerous environmental and ecological depletion challenges. In light of this, Circular Economy emerges as an effective tool for triggering a sustainable development process. This article aims to present different perspectives and concepts of circular economy. To that end, a qualitative study was conducted and the methodology of systematic literature review was applied, so as to obtain solid knowledge about the theme, using the most recent and relevant articles. Scielo, Science Direct and Google Scholar database were the source of the ar…
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168I_Jennifer George, commercialisation expert and strategic thinker
1 november 2023 · 57 min
Are you interested in the difference between fairness and equity? What do you think about experimenting instead of trial and error? How can we use water more wisely? Lees meer
Interview with Jennifer George, commercialisation expert and strategic thinker. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, empathy, trial and error being so last century, equity and many more.
Jennifer George is an experienced business leader/founder with more than 20 years’ experience building new companies and products by connecting multi-stakeholder relationships in renewables, engineering, and ICT technologies. Jennifer has broad sector knowledge and an extensive network of relationships in industry, academia, government, and non-government entities throughout Australia and across the world. Jennifer specialises in big picture, design thinking and offers proven leadership in orchestrating multi-million-dollar strategies and building relationships to create new commercially viable opportunities across fields. Jennifer’s pragmatic perspective is underpinned by an extremely broad range of practical, technical and financial skills across a variety of sustainable technologies that enable her to identify, position and implement complex into sustainable business solutions.
Find out more about Jennifer through these links:
Jennifer George on LinkedIn;
Jennifer George at Nakoudu;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
No.102R - What we owe the future (book summary);
No.120 - Interview with Matt Ferrell about renewables;
No.171 - Interview with Nicole Garofano about circular economy;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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167R_Smart city beyond efficiency: Technology-policy-community at play for sustainable urban futures (research summary)
30 oktober 2023 · 7 min
Are you interested in why smart city initiatives fail sustainability? Lees meer
Summary of the article titled Smart city beyond efficiency: Technology-policy-community at play for sustainable urban futures from 2020 by Tan Yigitcanlar, published in the Housing Policy Debate journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see what smart city initiatives overlook regarding sustainability. This article highlights the shortfalls around smart city conceptualisation and practice, and directs to a better approach.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
About two decades of smart city practice has revealed that rather than providing comprehensive and sustainable solutions to the problems of our cities and societies, the movement so far has mainly generated growth in the business portfolios of major technology, construction, and consultancy companies.
The goal should be achieving sustainable developments, and moving toward holistic solutions by bringing together technology capabilities, good policy, and community support in building the cities of tomorrow and securing smart urban future for all.
It is critical to find ways to convince authorities and the general public before it is too late of the urban need for a change in urban politics.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: Smart urbanization has become a popular discourse in urban policy circles across the world. This is due to the rising popularity of the smart city notion, the main premise of which is achieving heightened economic development, quality of life, and sustainability through the use of digital data and technology for generating urban service efficiency (Ahvenniemi, Huovila, Pinto-Seppä, & Airaksinen, Citation2017). The smart city movement has created numerous initiatives globally, but almost all of them have failed or lack adequate potential to generate sustainable urban futures (Cugurullo, Citation2018). The main reason behin…
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168I_Trailer_Jennifer George, commercialisation expert and strategic thinker
26 oktober 2023 · 2 min
Trailer for episode 168 - interview with Jennifer George, commercialisation expert and strategic thinker. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, empathy, trial and error being so last century, equity and many more. Lees meer
Find out more in the interview!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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166R_What makes a city ‘smart’? (research summary)
24 oktober 2023 · 9 min
Are you interested in synthetising a city’s intelligent to be smart? Lees meer
Summary of the article titled What makes a city ‘smart’? from 2016 by Emine Mine Thompson, published in the International Journal of Architectural Computing.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see city governance using information and communication and sensing technologies. This article investigates the use of such tools by city governments and the shortcomings of such approaches.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
While data analytics, administrative control centres, social media, city apps, and other tools offer insights to the city itself here and now, the solutions, visions, and predictions about the city should not only rely on the technology and the data, but also include all stakeholders from the city in order to achieve smart but also human-centred urbanism.
The smart city concept is not only for creating new holistic systems without siloes but also about improving current systems with an appropriate level of technological interventions.
Overall, smart city agenda should be based upon long-term vision, people and processes as the main drivers.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: Taking advantage of information and communications technology tools and techniques for city administration, whether it is for urban planning activities, for transport solutions or many other purposes, is not a new concept. However, in order for a city to be classified as ‘smart’, a synthesis of intelligence that transcends mere utilisation is essential. This article analyses the increasing use of information and communications technology and sensing technologies in cities by examining this new way of city governing from a critical perspective. Existing projects and initiatives were investigated to find out how, and to what extent, these tools are being employed by cities. The advantages and the current shortcomings …
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165I_Michael Healy, the Smart Cities Programme Manager at Christchurch City Council
19 oktober 2023 · 56 min
Are you interested in how to move and look forward to a better future after negative experiences? What do you think about resilience? How can we become more antifragile and creative for better futures? Lees meer
Interview with Michael Healy, the Smart Cities Programme Manager at Christchurch City Council. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, smart city as the R&D department, the use cases for AI, conflux of natural effects, and many more.
Michael Healy’s interest in the use of technology and innovation to make improvements for business and the community has underpinned his work across both public and private sectors. He is focused on finding solutions and developing new ideas in partnership with the community that make a real impact in the city of Christchurch, its region, Canterbury and around the country of New Zealand. Christchurch is a leader in New Zealand innovation and, through the Christchurch City Council’s Smart Christchurch Programme, Michael is excited to play a part in making Christchurch a better place to be.
You can find out more about Michael through these links:
Michael Healy on LinkedInS
Smart Christchurch website;
smartchristchurch.org.nz to reach out to Smart Christchurch;
Michael Healy on The Smart Community Podcast;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
No.003 - Interview with Frans-Anton Vermast about Amsterdam Smart City;
No.020R - Antifragile (book summary);
No.042 - Interview with Professor Mark Burry about AI use in design practice;
No.075 - Interview with Gavin Cotterill about digital twins;
No.159 - Interview with Michael Browne about healthy environments and water management;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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164R_A discussion of resilience and sustainability: Land use planning recover from the Canterbury earthquake sequence, New Zealand (research summary)
17 oktober 2023 · 10 min
Are you interested in whether a resilient community is a sustainable one? Lees meer
Summary of the article titled A discussion of resilience and sustainability: Land use planning recover from the Canterbury earthquake sequence, New Zealand from 2015 by W.S.A. Saunders and J.S. Becker, published in the International Journal of Disaster Rick Reduction.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how sustainability and resilience are used within land use planning and natural hazard context. This article presents that a resilient community also needs to be sustainable partly for legislation, but also to ensure that the economic, social, cultural and environmental needs of future generations are met.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
A sustainable community needs resilience by definition to be able to bounce back from natural hazards and disasters.
Another important contributor to resilience is ensuring that communities are engaged and empowered to take part in the land use planning process so that they can effectively contribute to reducing their own risks before and after a disaster.
Recognising and accounting for a wider array of resilient factors may bring resilience closer to the concept of sustainability, and as a consequence, the goals of sustainability and resilience may become more closely aligned.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: The term ‘resilience’ is increasingly being used in a multitude of contexts. Seemingly the latest ‘buzz’ word, it can mean many things to many people, in many different situations. In the natural hazard context, the terms ‘sustainable planning’, and ‘resilience planning’ are now being used, often interchangeably. But from a natural hazard perspective, is a resilient community a sustainable one? In order to be sustainable, does a community need to be resilient? The purpose of this paper is to answer these two questions, and stimulate discussion on…
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165I_Trailer_Michael Healy, the Smart Cities Programme Manager at Christchurch City Council
12 oktober 2023 · 2 min
Trailer for episode 165 - interview with Michael Healy, the Smart Cities Programme Manager at Christchurch City Council. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, smart city as the R&D department, the use cases for AI, conflux of natural effects, and many more. Lees meer
Find out more in the interview!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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163R_Rethinking resilience: Reflections on the earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, 2010 and 2011 (research summary)
10 oktober 2023 · 13 min
Are you interested in rethinking resilience? Lees meer
Summary of the article titled Rethinking resilience: Reflections on the earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, 2010 and 2011 from 2013 by Bronwyn Mary Hayward, published in the Ecology and Society journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how to rethink resilience after natural disasters. This article presents calls for expanding political imagination about resilience, to include areas of compassion and political resistance.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
Human resilience is best understood as the interrelationships among the individuals and their community, environment, and social institutions and we need to always ask: resilience of what and for whom?
Regardless of charges against people not being able to imagine for the long term, they are already exercising their political agency or their ability to imagine and effect desired change in new ways.
Human prosperity and flourishing require more than resilience – it requires creative political imagination and agency, the ability to take action to shape our life circumstances.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: Resilience has emerged as a policy response in an era of public concern about disasters and risks that include fear of terrorism and environmental or economic catastrophe. Resilience is both a refreshing and a problematic concept. It is refreshing in that it creates new opportunities for interdisciplinary research and vividly reminds us that the material world matters in our social lives, political economy, and urban planning. However, the concept of resilience is also problematic. Widespread, uncritical calls for greater resilience in response to environmental, economic, and social challenges often obscure significant questions of political power. In particular, we may ask, resilience of what, and for whom? My reflection here was written in the context…
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162I_Warren Hill, enterprise account director at Appscore
5 oktober 2023 · 55 min
Are you interested in the smart city as making urban life easier for people? What do you think about standards and their uses? How can we use the urban lifecycle approach? Lees meer
Interview with Warren Hill, enterprise account director at Appscore. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, combination of different visions, the use of standards, the economic concerns, and many more.
Warren Hill has over 30 years of experience in account management across four continents for consulting, software and infrastructure and managed service providers. Warren’s experience in large scale transformation programs has been utilised within various government and commercial enterprises to deliver positive outcomes to stakeholders, employees and citizens. Over the past 20+ years Warren has been based in Australia and managed a series of organisations growth, sales strategy and corporate strategy across APAC. Warren is chair of the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) in Victoria. Warren is on the Board of Standards Australia Smart Cities initiative. Warren is an ambassador for TechDiversity, MeetMagic.org and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
You can find out more about Warren through these links:
Warren Hill on LinkedIn;
@warrenmjhill as Warren Hill on Twitter;
Appscore website;
Warren Hill as the AIIA Victoria Council Chair;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
No.090 - Interview with Professor Matthew McCartney about urban economics;
No.108 - Interview with Dr Anthony Kent about urban geography;
No.171 - Interview with Nicole Garofano about circular economy;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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161R_Perception of the quality of smart city solutions as a sense of residents' safety (research summary)
3 oktober 2023 · 9 min
Are you interested in the privacy and security aspects of smart city solutions? Lees meer
Summary of the article titled Perception of the quality of smart city solutions as a sense of residents’ safety from 2021 by Justína Zywiolek and Francesco Schiavone, published in the Energies journal.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how to examine the safety and level of satisfaction for the smart city. This article presents a methodology for examining residents’ satisfaction and potential threats in order to investigate undefined desires and identified and confirmed needs.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
Smart cities and smart city communities can be defined as systems of people that interact and use the flows of energy, materials, services and financing to catalyse a sustainable economy, development, resilience and high quality of life.
Perceiving risk and fear of privacy loss may induce people to avoid smart city solutions, question their quality and intention, and past studies emphasized that residents' satisfaction rose when they viewed their city’s intelligent solutions positively.
The urban transformation to smart cities and better urban asset and resource management needs to incorporate citizens and their perceived risks to their privacy and security which cannot be disturbed.
You can find the article through this link.
Abstract: Personalization, mobility, artificial intelligence, corporate life transferred to the online world—all these elements will shape all intelligent solutions, including those for cities in the future also in the field of energy management. A necessary condition is to determine which specific repetitive behaviors and features smart cities will have to meet in order to build an image among residents and adapt to their preferences and requirements and energy requirements. Smart cities were created to support residents in using various services, to give them t…
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162I_Trailer_Warren Hill, enterprise account director at Appscore
28 september 2023 · 2 min
Trailer for episode 162 - interview with Warren Hill, enterprise account director at Appscore. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, combination of different visions, the use of standards, the economic concerns, and many more. Lees meer
Find out more in the interview!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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160R_What is the city? (research summary)
26 september 2023 · 11 min
Are you interested in the city as the theatre for social action? Lees meer
Summary of the article titled What is a city? from 1937 by Lewis Mumford, from the Architectural Record.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how the city can be understood beyond the usual suspects of people, infrastructure and networks. This article presents Mumford’s propositions about city planning and the human potential, both individual and social, of urban life.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
The city in its complete sense then is a geographic plexus, an economic organisation, an institutional process, a theatre of social action, and an aesthetic symbol of collective unity.
Social facts are primary and the physical organisation of a city, its industries and its markets, its lines of communication and traffic must be subservient to its social needs.
Instead of trusting the mere population growth to produce the theatre, we must seek these sociological results from deliberate action.
You can find the article through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
No.126 - Interview with Corey Gray about beauty for sustainability;
No.183 - Interview with Ted Baillieu about previous planning influencing current urban life;
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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159I_Michael Browne, manager at Melbourne Water
21 september 2023 · 55 min
Are you interested in the Aboriginal understanding of country? What do you think about water in cities? How can we become more connected to country itself? Lees meer
Interview with Michael Browne, manager at Melbourne Water. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, aboriginal and indigenous ideas, what water means to country, resilience, and many more.
Michael is a proud Barkandji/ Wemba Wemba man who grew up in rural southern NSW. He completed a Bachelor of Engineering and as a result of his cultural connection to water and growing up witnessing the impact that drought can have on a community, has recognised the importance of and feels fortunate to have worked in the water industry for 20 years. Michael has recently been working within the Integrated Water Management Planning team at Yarra Valley where he has been focussing on place-making to ensure a continued focus is given to the importance of water and elevating the cultural knowledge and skills of Traditional Owners in planning for the future.
Find out more about Michael online through these links:
Michael Browne on LinkedIn;
Michael Browne on the Making Waves podcast series;
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
No.027 - Interview with Richard Manasseh about water in cities;
No.135 - Interview with Paul Satur about urban water management;
No.158R - Integrating Aboriginal cultural values into water planning;
What wast the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter @WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the shownotes are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
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158R_Integrating Aboriginal cultural values into water planning: A case study from New South Wales, Australia (research summary)
19 september 2023 · 9 min
Are you interested in Aboriginal value integration into water planning? Lees meer
Summary of the article titled Integrating Aboriginal cultural values into water planning: a case study from New South Wales, Australia from 2019 by Bradley J. Moggridge, Lyndal Betterridge, and Ross M. Thompson, published in the Australasian Journal of Environmental Management.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how Aboriginal cultural values can enhance water management. This article investigates New South Wales’ government’s Aboriginal Water Initiative and provides insights into engagement and consultation.
As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:
Water management, its terminology, administrative structures and implementation, is complex, and this is not unique to Australia.
Indigenous and Aboriginal involvement in water management can establish more culturally responsive and sustainable practices and trust.
The AWI experience provides a set of approaches, experiences, protocols and principles for this engagement that can inform future water management initiatives.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: Australia is the driest inhabited continent on Earth and has an acute need to manage its water resources effectively. Australian Aboriginal peoples have a profound knowledge of surface water and groundwater which has allowed them to thrive for thousands of generations even in the most arid parts of the landscape. Aboriginal peoples place a high priority on protecting water, but the challenge is to ensure that their values are integrated into water planning. The Australian New South Wales (NSW) government’s Aboriginal Water Initiative (AWI) (2012-2017) sought to include Aboriginal cultural and spiritual values in water management. The AWI operated under the NSW Government’s Water Management Act 2000, which seeks to protect the cultural and spiritual values of water and the benefits to flow to Aborigi…