What is The Future for Cities? - podcast cover

What is The Future for Cities?

Fanni Melleswt4cities.com
WTF for Cities? is a platform to introduce and connect people who are actively and consciously working on the future of cities and to introduce research about the future of cities.

Episodes

307R_The Science of Can and Can’t – A physicist’s journey through the land of counterfactuals (book summary)

Are you interested in what is possible based on physics? Summary of the book titled The Science of Can and Can’t – A physicist’s journey through the land of counterfactuals from 2021, by Chiara Marletto, published by Penguin. This is a great preparation to our next interview with Chiara Marletto in episode 308 talking about the connection of physics and the future of cities, as part of the Podcasthon 2025 global event. Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be intere...

Mar 17, 202514 minEp 305Transcript available on Metacast

308I_Trailer_Chiara Marletto, Scientific Researcher at University of Oxford

Are you interested in how quantum physics is influencing the future of cities? What do you think about the connection between knowledge and urban evolution? How can we create better urban environments for knowledge creation? Trailer for episode 308 - interview with Chiara Marletto, Scientific Researcher at University of Oxford. We will talk about her vision for the future of cities, the effects of scientific evolution, the best environment for knowledge creation, and many more as a special editi...

Mar 15, 20252 minTranscript available on Metacast

306I_Tom Petty, co-founder of CarbonTrace

"The decarbonisation efforts really need to boil down to dollars." Are you interested in embodied carbon accounting? What do you think about choosing lower emission building materials? How can we make business sense for embodied carbon? Interview with Tom Petty, co-founder of CarbonTrace. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, making business sense of embodied carbon, the difference between infill and brownfield developments, and many more. Tom Petty is a cleantech innovato...

Mar 12, 202555 minEp 305Transcript available on Metacast

305R_Measuring embodied carbon in the residential sector: Barriers and opportunities (research summary)

Are you interested in embodied carbon accounting? Summary of the white paper titled Measuring embodied carbon in the residential sector: Barriers and opportunities from 2024, by Tom Petty, published on the CarbonTrace website. This is a great preparation to our next interview with Tom Petty in episode 306 talking about embodied carbon and its accounting. Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see the opportunities for the building industry regarding...

Mar 10, 202514 minEp 305Transcript available on Metacast

306I_Trailer_Tom Petty, co-founder of CarbonTrace

Are you interested in embodied carbon accounting? What do you think about choosing lower emission building materials? How can we make business sense for embodied carbon? Trailer for episode 306 - interview with Tom Petty, co-founder of CarbonTrace. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, making business sense of embodied carbon, the difference between infill and brownfield developments, and many more. Find out more in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . Episode generated with ⁠⁠Descript...

Mar 08, 20252 minTranscript available on Metacast

304I_Nick Bray, VP of Global Defence and Security at VANTIQ

"The plan needs to accommodate constant change, because it's constantly adapting." Are you interested in different levels of AI agents assisting human decision-making? What do you think about open architecture technological systems? How can we democratise technology? Interview with Nick Bray, VP of Global Defence and Security at VANTIQ. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, AI levels, technology, optimism, smartness, naming lazyness, and many more. Nick Bray joine...

Mar 05, 20251 hr 1 minEp 304Transcript available on Metacast

303R_Agentic AI: The future is now (research summary)

Are you interested in urban progress with artificial intelligence? Summary of the white paper titled Agentic AI: The future is now from 2025, by VANTIQ. This is a great preparation to our next interview with Nick Bray in episode 304 talking about how open architecture systems and artificial intelligence are changing our lives. Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see the rise of agentic AIs and their potential to revolutionise industries. This whi...

Mar 03, 202512 minEp 303Transcript available on Metacast

304I_Trailer_Nick Bray, VP of Global Defence and Security at VANTIQ

Are you interested in different levels of AI agents assisting human decision-making? What do you think about open architecture technological systems? How can we democratise technology? Trailer for episode 304 - interview with Nick Bray, VP of Global Defence and Security at VANTIQ. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, AI levels, technology, optimism, smartness, naming lazyness, and many more. Find out more in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . Episode generated with ⁠⁠Descript⁠⁠...

Mar 01, 20252 minTranscript available on Metacast

302I_Darren Murphy, CEO and founder of Core Integrity

"I think there is a bit of community / social imperative that we should be standing up for what we want, demanding more." Are you interested in institutional accountability? What do you think about starting from taking pride in your own community? How can we take responsibility for mistakes made on the organisational level? Interview with Darren Murphy, CEO and founder of Core Integrity. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, levels of accountability, taking the first ...

Feb 26, 202546 minEp 302Transcript available on Metacast

301R_A framework for assessing the accountability of local governance arrangements for adaptation to climate change (research summary)

Are you interested in urban governance accountability? Summary of the article titled A framework for assessing the accountability of local governance arrangements for adaptation to climate change from 2019, by Heleen Mees and Peter Driessen, published in the Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. This is a great preparation to our next interview with Darren Murphy in episode 302 talking about the need to take responsibility and accountability while moving toward the future. Since we a...

Feb 24, 202519 minEp 299Transcript available on Metacast

302I_Trailer_Darren Murphy, CEO and founder of Core Integrity

Are you interested in institutional accountability? What do you think about starting from taking pride in your own community? How can we take responsibility for mistakes made on the organisational level? Trailer for episode 302 - interview with Darren Murphy, CEO and founder of Core Integrity. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, levels of accountability, taking the first steps, the energy transition, and many more. Find out more in the ⁠⁠episode⁠⁠ . Episode generated with ⁠De...

Feb 22, 20252 minTranscript available on Metacast

300P_Urban Food Production with Adam Dorr, Nadun Hennayaka, and Simon Burt

Are you interested in urban food production? What do you think is the difference between food production and agriculture? How can we retrofit urban infrastructure to produce more food in cities? This episode is a panel discussion where we investigate urban food production aspects. The panellists, Adam Dorr, Nadun Hennayaka, and Simon Burt talk about their vision for the future of cities, urban food production and agriculture, precision fermentation, retrofitting urban infrastructure, and many mo...

Feb 19, 20251 hr 4 minTranscript available on Metacast

300P_Trailer03_How can we utilise urban infrastructure better for food production? Simon Burt

Are you interested in urban food production? What do you think is the difference between food production and agriculture? How can we retrofit urban infrastructure to produce more food in cities?Trailer for episode 300 - a panel discussion where we investigate urban food production aspects. The panellists, Adam Dorr, Nadun Hennayaka, and Simon Burt talk about their vision for the future of cities, urban food production and agriculture, precision fermentation, retrofitting urban infrastructure, an...

Feb 18, 20252 minTranscript available on Metacast

299R_Validating the City Region Food System Approach: Enacting inclusive, transformational City Region Food Systems (research summary)

Are you interested in urban food production approaches? Summary of the article titled Validating the City Region Food System Approach: Enacting inclusive, transformational City Region Food Systems from 2018, by Alison Blay-Palmer, Guido Santini, Marielle Dubbeling, Henk Renting, Makiko Taguchi, and Thierry Giordano, published in the MDPI Sustainability journal. This is a great preparation to our next panel conversation in episode 300 about urban food production with Adam Dorr, Nadun Hennayaka an...

Feb 17, 202517 minEp 299Transcript available on Metacast

300P_Trailer02_Why healthy food choices matter for better urban futures? Nadun Hennayaka

Are you interested in urban food production? What do you think is the difference between food production and agriculture? How can we retrofit urban infrastructure to produce more food in cities?Trailer for episode 300 - a panel discussion where we investigate urban food production aspects. The panellists, Adam Dorr, Nadun Hennayaka, and Simon Burt talk about their vision for the future of cities, urban food production and agriculture, precision fermentation, retrofitting urban infrastructure, an...

Feb 16, 20252 minTranscript available on Metacast

300P_Trailer01_What is cellular agriculture for urban food production? Adam Dorr

Are you interested in urban food production? What do you think is the difference between food production and agriculture? How can we retrofit urban infrastructure to produce more food in cities?Trailer for episode 300 - a panel discussion where we investigate urban food production aspects. The panellists, Adam Dorr, Nadun Hennayaka, and Simon Burt talk about their vision for the future of cities, urban food production and agriculture, precision fermentation, retrofitting urban infrastructure, an...

Feb 15, 20252 minTranscript available on Metacast

298I_Carina Gormley, senior associate at the Centre for Public Impact’s Climate Change Initiative

"[The city] is a system that is difficult to map, but it is evolving." Are you interested in allowing governments to fail? What do you think about systems thinking? How can we help governments be bold? Interview with Carina Gormley, senior associate at the Centre for Public Impact’s Climate Change Initiative. We will talk about her vision for the future of cities, sustainability, the role of governments, room for failure, and many more. Carina Gormley leads internal partnerships, cultu...

Feb 12, 202553 minTranscript available on Metacast

297R_Harnessing social imagination in the era of the climate crisis (research summary)

Are you interested in hallucinating to solve urban challenges? Summary of the report titled Harnessing social imagination in the era of the climate crisis by the Centre for Public Impact, published on their website. This is a great preparation to our next interview with Carina Gormley in episode 298 talking about the need for our collective imagination to solve the climate crisis, for example. Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see why our hallu...

Feb 10, 202513 minEp 296Transcript available on Metacast

298I_Trailer_Carina Gormley, senior associate at the Centre for Public Impact’s Climate Change Initiative

Are you interested in allowing governments to fail? What do you think about systems thinking? How can we help governments be bold? Trailer for episode 298 - interview with Carina Gormley, senior associate at the Centre for Public Impact’s Climate Change Initiative. We will talk about her vision for the future of cities, sustainability, the role of governments, room for failure, and many more. Find out more in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lesfm ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pi...

Feb 08, 20252 minTranscript available on Metacast

296I_Sally Capp, Non-Executive Director of Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne and the former Lord Mayor of Melbourne

"You can't waste a crises!" Are you interested in cities as places for experiments? What do you think about respectful disagreements? How can we create good partnerships between different stakeholders? Interview with Sally Capp, Non-Executive Director of Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne and the former Lord Mayor of Melbourne. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, the need for respectful disagreement, multifunctional spaces and places, th...

Feb 05, 202552 minEp 296Transcript available on Metacast

295R_Critical success factors for public-private partnerships in urban regeneration projects (research summary)

Are you interested in public-private partnerships for improved urban futures? Summary of the article titled Critical success factors for public-private partnerships in urban regeneration projects from 2024 by Paula Vale de Paula, Rui Cunha Marques, and Jorge Manuel Goncalves, published in the MDPI Infrastructures journal. This is a great preparation to our next interview with Sally Capp in episode 296 talking about the importance of the public-private partnership endeavours for urban futures. Si...

Feb 03, 202518 minEp 295Transcript available on Metacast

296I_Trailer_Sally Capp, Non-Executive Director of Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne and the former Lord Mayor of Melbourne

Are you interested in cities as places for experiments? What do you think about respectful disagreements? How can we create good partnerships between different stakeholders? Trailer for episode 296 - interview with Sally Capp, Non-Executive Director of Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne and the former Lord Mayor of Melbourne. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, the need for respectful disagreement, multifunctional spaces and places, the role of the go...

Feb 01, 20252 minTranscript available on Metacast

294I_Erick A. Brimen, CEO of Honduras Próspera and NeWay Capital

"You can' have a choice if you don't have opportunities." Are you interested in the 3 tasks governance should do? What do you think about service-based governments? How can we create good governance and governments? Interview with Erick Brimen, CEO of Honduras Próspera and NeWay Capital. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, choices and options, the role of government, political, and many more. So, let’s start with a proper introduction. Erick Brimen is the CEO of ...

Jan 29, 202546 minEp 294Transcript available on Metacast

293R_Rethinking the governance of urban infrastructural transformations: a synthesis of emerging approaches (research summary)

Are you interested in the changing governmental roles in urban transformations? Summary of the article titled Rethinking the governance of urban infrastructural transformations: a synthesis of emerging approaches from 2022 by Jochen Monstadt, Jonas Colen Ladeia Torrens, Mansi Jain, Rachel M Macrorie, and Shaun R Smith, published in the Environmental Sustainability journal. This is a great preparation to our next interview with Erick A. Brimen in episode 294 talking about a new form of governance...

Jan 27, 202516 minEp 293Transcript available on Metacast

294I_Trailer_Erick A. Brimen, CEO of Honduras Próspera and NeWay Capital

Are you interested in the 3 tasks governance should do? What do you think about service-based governments? How can we create good governance and governments? Trailer for episode 294 - interview with Erick Brimen, CEO of Honduras Próspera and NeWay Capital. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, choices and options, the role of government, political, and many more. So, let’s start with a proper introduction. Find out more in the episode Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lesfm ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Jan 25, 20252 minTranscript available on Metacast

292I_Anthony Acciavatti, Diana Balmori Assistant Professor at Yale University

"It's less interesting how technology changes people than how people change technologies." Are you interested in urban water management? What do you think about overstressed urban infrastructure? How can we provide water as a right for everyone? Interview with Anthony Acciavatti, Diana Balmori Assistant Professor at Yale University. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, urban density, water cycles, infrastructure retrofit, and many more. Anthony Acciavatti is a histori...

Jan 22, 202540 minEp 292Transcript available on Metacast

291R_Future global urban water scarcity and potential solutions (research summary)

Are you interested in urban water management? Summary of the article titled Future global urban water scarcity and potential solutions from 2021 by Chunyang He, Zhifeng Liu, Jianguo Wu, Xinhao Pan, Zihang Fang, Jingwei Li, and Brett A. Bryan, published in the Nature Communications journal. This is a great preparation to our next interview with Anthony Acciavatti in episode 292 talking about water as an ecological indicator for urban quality of life. Since we are investigating the future of citie...

Jan 20, 202516 minEp 291Transcript available on Metacast

292I_Trailer_Anthony Acciavatti, Diana Balmori Assistant Professor at Yale University

"It's less interesting how technology changes people than how people change technologies." Are you interested in urban water management? What do you think about overstressed urban infrastructure? How can we provide water as a right for everyone? Interview with Anthony Acciavatti, Diana Balmori Assistant Professor at Yale University. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, urban density, water cycles, infrastructure retrofit, and many more. Find out more in the ⁠⁠e p isode⁠⁠. Music by ...

Jan 18, 20252 minTranscript available on Metacast

290I_Jen Borrero, a Colombian-Mexican Impact Entrepreneur and Community Developer

"Urban living is very dense, that lands it being more resource efficient." Are you interested in housing affordability projects? What do you think about successful cities? How can we make the 2nd and 3rd order consequences as part of policy-making? Interview with Jen Borrero, a Colombian-Mexican Impact Entrepreneur and Community Developer. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, housing affordability, youth engagement, success for cities, policy making, and many more. Jennifer Borrero...

Jan 15, 202539 minEp 290Transcript available on Metacast

289R_A fresh look at contemporary perspectives on urban housing affordability (research summary)

Are you interested in urban housing affordability? Summary of the article titled A fresh look at contemporary perspectives on urban housing affordability from 2021 by Marietta E. A. Haffner and Kath Hulse, published in the International Journal of Urban Sciences. This is a great preparation to our next interview with Jennifer Borrero in episode 290 talking about how housing affordability can be achieved through real examples. Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be...

Jan 13, 202517 minEp 289Transcript available on Metacast