Afleveringen
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Hardly any cities-related university programme gained so much attention over the last 15 years as the 4CITIES Masters in Urban Studies. For good reason. Over the two years, the students study at six universities in four different cities: Brussels, Vienna, Copenhagen and Madrid – with many many occasional visits to other cities in between. 4CITIES is located at the intersection of academia, activism, professional practice and urban exploration.
I had the privilege of being part of the second cohort of 4CITIES from 2009 to 2011… and it was a life-changing experience for me. With the 4CITIES programme coming to an end in September 2025, it was a good moment in time to sit down with two people who have been part of making 4CITIES possible since the beginning:
Yvonne Franz, Senior Lecturer from the University of Vienna and Stefan de Corte, administrative coordinator at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels.
Whether are one of hundreds 4CITIES alumni from around the world, involved in teaching and setting up urban-related programmes at your university or just want to find out why madness plays an important role in setting up such a programme, this episode is for you.
In this episode:
· Why a Eurocentric perspective on urban studies is not enough
· How the 4CITIES Master in Urban Studies changed the system from within
· Why a comprehensive set of skill between disciplines is needed applying urban knowledge(s)
· How the 4CITIES Master in Urban Studies shaped careers of former students but also of staff and teachers
· How moving to (at least) four cities within 2 years teaches invaluable life lessons
More information:
- Follow Cities Reimagined on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/citiesreimagined/
- https://www.4cities.eu
- Yvonne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/franz-yvonne-8449913a/
- Send Johannes an email: [email protected]
Photos by Daniel Dutkowski (Yvonne) and Hadrien Durei (Stefan).
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Have you ever wondered how to give nature a voice in urban development? The City of Mechelen in Belgium does exactly that while reimagining the connection between water, public spaces, animals, plants and people. In these two episodes of the Cities Reimagined Podcast we zoom in to reshape your understanding of how the interests of more-than-human inhabitants can be taken up in urban transformation projects. This is part one out of two exploring the work done by the WATSUPS project. Click here for part one where we look at the background of the City of Mechelen’s ambition to reconnect to the water.
In this episode:
· Why a river should be understood as an actor/stakeholder in urban transformation
· How empathy towards nature is essential for co-creating urban biodiversity
· How to organise a citizen panel that ensures that the voices of nature are heard in urban transformation projects
· How taking into account the voices of nature requires empathy, knowledge and “mildness”
· How Mechelen’s Citizen Assembly developed over 120 recommendations for enhancing nature along the river Dijle
More and more cities are reimagining their connection to their rivers, ponds and other water bodies. Whereas historically, cities have turned their back to the water as it was used primarily for economic purposes, in the 21st century, this perception has significantly shifted: Water in cities is a source of livability and sustainability.
The City of Mechelen has been taking a groundbreaking approach to reconnect its inhabitants (humans, animals and plants) to the water. As part of the “Water as the Source of Urban Public Spaces” (in short: WATSUPS - funded by the European Urban Initiative and running from 2024 to 2027) Mechelen is going to radically reshape the face of the city along the River Dijle while ensuring everyone has access to the water while making the more-than-human perspective a leading principle of the transformation. WATSUPS demonstrates how the spirit and principles of the New European Bauhaus can be translated into local, innovative actions.
Listen in to the two Cities Reimagined episodes where we explore how Mechelen is giving back the river Dijle to all inhabitants: human and more-than-human.
More information and materials mentioned in the podcast:
· European Urban Initiative: https://www.urban-initiative.eu
· Portico - The Gateway to Urban Learning: https://portico.urban-initiative.eu
· WATSUPS - Article: Beautiful, Sustainable, Together: Reimagining Mechelen’s Relationship with Water, Biodiversity in Urban Public Space while Tackling Gentrification
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Water as the Source of Urban Public Space
Have you ever wondered how to give nature a voice in urban development? The City of Mechelen in Belgium does exactly that while reimagining the connection between water, public spaces, animals, plants and people. In two episodes of the Cities Reimagined Podcast we zoom in to reshape your understanding of how the interests of more-than-human inhabitants can be taken up in urban transformation projects. This is part one out of two exploring the work done by the WATSUPS project. Click here for part two (coming soon) where we talk about the voices of nature and the experiences of the citizen panel in WATSUPS.
More and more cities are reimagining their connection to their rivers, ponds and other water bodies. Whereas historically, cities have turned their back to the water as it was used primarily for economic purposes, in the 21st century, this perception has significantly shifted: Water in cities is a source of livability and sustainability.
The City of Mechelen has been taking a groundbreaking approach to reconnect its inhabitants (humans, animals and plants) to the water. As part of the “Water as the Source of Urban Public Spaces” (in short: WATSUPS - funded by the European Urban Initiative and running from 2024 to 2027) Mechelen is going to radically reshape the face of the city along the River Dijle while ensuring everyone has access to the water while making the more-than-human perspective a leading principle of the transformation. WATSUPS demonstrates how the spirit and principles of the New European Bauhaus can be translated into local, innovative actions.
Listen in to the two Cities Reimagined episodes where we explore how Mechelen is giving back the River Dijle to all inhabitants: human and more-than-human.
In this episode
· How the City of Mechelen is giving back the River Dijle to its inhabitants...
· How public administration needs to seek compromises between interests...
· Why being a civil servant is the most difficult job there is...
· How including artists in co-creation/participation processes might lead to a cultural shift...
· How fun and a positive energy are key to innovation...
More information and materials mentioned in the podcast:
· European Urban Initiative: https://www.urban-initiative.eu/
· Portico - The Gateway to Urban Learning: https://portico.urban-initiative.eu
· WATSUPS - Article: Beautiful, Sustainable, Together: Reimagining Mechelen’s Relationship with Water, Biodiversity in Urban Public Space while Tackling Gentrification
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Here it is, the finale of the first season of the Cities Reimagined podcast and it is nothing shy of (plot) twists, secrets coming to light and what is to be expected for the way forward for the show, me personally and for Anthropocene.City: an idea I developed with today’s guest Jonas Bylund which is taking shape. Besides being a good friend and former year-long colleague, Jonas a researcher at KTH, the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.
Tune into this episode to hear about…
🕵️ Unravelling Urban Mysteries in all corners of urban life with Anthropocene.City: From Godzilla friendships to reimagining cityscapes for all.
🔧 Embrace Do It Yourself Urbanism and how a 'naive' stance leads to groundbreaking urban insights. We're talking DIY empowerment, the wisdom of action, and the art of reflection.
🦖 The Journey to Urban Wisdom: What are urban transitions with a dose of love and care and what does it have to do with Godzilla or a dusty mountain bike?
🐉 Preview of Season 2: As we close this season, we tease the next chapter: a blend of mysteries, inspiration, and innovative urban connections.
🪕 A special Godzilla remix of the Cities Reimagined intro music.
When I started developing the first concept for Cities Reimagined 10 months ago, I did not imagine the feedback I received until now. Thanks to everyone who reached out, listened to the show, gave feedback and helped me along the journey! Honestly, thank you. It is what makes this work worthwhile.
For saying hello, reaching out with (cooperation) requests and anything at all, please send me an email: [email protected] .
Cities Reimagined will take a break from here and is planned to return in September/October 2024. In the meantime, I will be busy working with the City of Mechelen (Belgium) on a European Urban Initiative project alongside the blue-green corridor river Dyle which will connect people, water and nature, kicking-off Anthropocene.City and my ‘regular’ job working with the Management Board of the Driving Urban Transitions Partnership.
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As the importance of city foods is growing, this episode of Cities Reimagined is all about the transformative potential of healthy and delicious (urban) cuisine We are jumping back and forth between the favelas of the metropolis of Sāo Paulo, Brazil 🇧🇷 and the allotment gardens in Leeds, in the UK 🇬🇧 and will explore how cities are redefining their foodscapes for a sustainable future.
Today’s guests are
Marcella Arruda, an urbanist and permaculture designer and CEO of The City Needs You Institute [Instituto A Cidade Precisa de Você] from Sāo Paulo.Chiara Tornaghi. a critical human geographer and scholar-activist at Coventry University, with a focus on Political ecology, agroecology and politics of spaces from Leeds,Be prepared to hear aspects of urban food you might have not considered before:
🍌 What stroganoff made of banana peals has to do with the favelas of São Paulo
🔍 Why the invisible production of food in cities is a reflection of a broken relationship to the planet
🥬 How agroecological inspires us to integrate aspects of sustainability, biodiversity, ecological balance and community resilience on the topic of food.
🇧🇷 How Marcella’s NGO A Cicade Precisa De Você works with farmers on informal land in the favela of Brasilandia.
🍲 How urban food can contribute to addressing the rising food poverty and what the difference between the UK and Brazil is
More information:
Marcella’s NGO Instituto A Cidade Precisa de Você: https://www.acidadeprecisa.org/englishThe Urbanising in Place Project we talk about: http://urbanisinginplace.orgVideo on ECOCIDADES in São Paulo: https://youtu.be/_d4DvOWw5f8?si=-IuVUQx1kxM7JHmKAgroecological Urbanism: https://www.agroecologicalurbanism.orgLanded Community Kitchen: https://www.agroecologicalurbanism.org/building-blocks/landed-community-kitchenThis is the last thematic episode of season 1 of Cities Reimagined. Up next is the season finale, where the truth comes out, cliffhangers are being built for season 2 and… and… where Jonas Bylund and I will have a good time summing up what happened so far and bringing that into a 🦖 godzilla context. Stay tuned.
If you like the content of Cities Reimagined, please consider subscribing to the channel, rate the show, follow us on Instagram for background stories or get connected to Johannes via LinkedIn or email ([email protected]).
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This week’s guest on Cities Reimagined is Tiffany Fukuma, Managing Director of Trans Europe Halles, a network of over 160 alternative cultural centres across 40 countries which all have one in common: they reinterpret neglected and underused spaces such as factory and military buildings, commercial spaces, parking lots etc. for grassroots cultural activities.
In this episode, we talk about...
🏭… how alternative cultural centres are creating new usages and identities of buildings and spaces
✨… why the trust of local administrations in the creativity of the residents will generate more exciting cities.
🪙… how city administration increasingly recognises that small-scale funding of resident-driven initiatives leads to more robust long-term transformation.
🌳… how repurposing existing buildings is essential for making cities sustainable and livable.
🗺️ … how Tiffany’s background in organising punk rock shows in squats, working in embassies and city administration in Japan, Canada and France led to managing Trans Europe Halles. Cultural centres and initiatives repurposing abandoned spaces are crucial for reimagining cities. They are dynamic spaces that foster creativity, community engagement, and social cohesion. They are experimental spaces, reinterpreting buildings and shifting the function of spaces. They develop new identities by reinterpreting the built environment and cultural heritage of cities and neighbourhoods.
More info:
Johannes on LinkedInCities Reimagined: www.anthropocene.city/podcastTrans Europe Halles: https://teh.net -
This week, Cities Reimagined takes us to Peru and Vienna to discuss skateboarding.
My guests this week, Christian Fischer and Johannes Wimmeder stayed in Cerrito de le Virgen in northern Peru for a while to work with the NGO Concrete Jungle Foundation. Cerrito de le Virgen is a neighbourhood characterized by displacement and replacement of residents due to extreme weather events and archaeological finds. In this delicate environment, the Concrete Jungle Foundation teamed up with the local community to design and build a skatepark, to plant the seed with capacity and to create a shared and safe place for everyone. Concrete Jungle Foundation is an innovative non-profit that works to empower individuals and communities worldwide through fostering and sustaining the positive values inherent to skateboarding. Christian followed the project with his camera and produced the documentary “El Cerrito” which is out now and you want to see, believe me
It was time for me to sit down with Christian and Johannes to talk kick-flips and….
🛹 What skateboarding has to do with the appropriation, safety and production of urban space
🪴How the work of Concrete Jungle Foundation is building capacities in local communities to improve the quality of life for everyone
📚 What life skills skateboarding teach the young, and not-so-young ones.
🦽How skaters (.. but also the elderly and people with special mobility needs) perceive urban space differently
🌃 How local administrations increasingly take into account the perspectives of skaters in urban design
…. and a lot more background stories on El Cerrito.
Watch Christian’s documentary El Cerrito on Youtube.
Follow and support Concrete Jungle Foundation: https://concretejunglefoundation.org // Instagram
Follow Johannes’ Skateboard Club Vienna: https://skateboardclubvienna.at // Instagram
Follow Cities Reimagined on Instagram or say hello to Johannes on LinkedIn or via email [email protected] .
As we are wrapping up Season 1 of Cities Reimagined, we are looking into partnerships for future episodes. Please do get in touch if you are interested in being on the show and being part of the Cities Reimagined Podcast.
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Hold tight: This episode of Cities Reimagined is PACKED with condensed knowledge on cities and urbanism in (post-war) Ukraine . In a 60 minute conversation with Oleksandr Anisimov, we upack:
🇺🇦 … why the ignorance of NOT knowing about Ukraine(ian urbanism) has to stop
🏙️ … reforming land-use rules and governance modes are essential for rebuilding Ukrainian cities
🧰 … why rebuilding “social cities” after the destruction is essential for attracting people back after the war
⏳ … why it feels like the Russian Federation is stealing time from Ukrainians
⛔ … why the overcoming the ‘post-socialist’ label is crucial for reimagining cities
🌱 … how the war and land destruction increases pressures on the land in the Western parts of Ukraine
💲 … why neoliberalism and defunding local administrations creates a crises of imagination of what Ukrainian cities could be
In February 2022, what many from outside of Ukraine thought of as unthinkable happened: a large scale military attack and occupation of Ukrainian land by the Russian Federation. Now, in December 2023, an end of the war in Ukraine is not in sight. Thousands of civilian Ukrainians were killed. Entire cities put to rubble, 1.4 millions homes destroyed or damaged, infrastructures and historic monuments are destroyed each day. I had many questions on where Ukrainian cities and urbanism goes from here, Oleksandr Anisimov helped me to understand and place current events into a larger context.
Get in touch with Oleksandr Anisimov on LinkedIn.
Books mentioned in the episode:
Anna Reid - Borderland: A Journey through the History of Ukraine - Click here for more.Timothy Snyder - The Road to Unfreedom - Click here for more. -
On episode 6 of Cities Reimagined, Gerfried Ambrosch and I talked about the importance of wildlife habitats in urban areas. Besides being very active in reimagining places for amphibians, Gerfried plays and played in a ridicelous amount of punk/hardcore bands since the 1990s and he has some stories to tell. Tune into this bonus episode to find out…
🎸 … how DIY punk rock ethics shapes Gerfried’s ambitions and motivations today
🇧🇾 … about sneaking into Belarus in 2005 to play a show just to find yourself in the midst of local right-wing vs. left-wing wars
🏫 … the role of unlearning for societal change
🐸 … why the sounds of frogs and toads are the soundtrack to change the world to
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I am very happy to have my good friend Gerfried Ambrosch on Cities Reimagined this week. Besides being a really cool person how plays in a ton of cool bands (you need to wait until the end of the show to hear a sample), Gerfried has an amazing track record of doing volunteer work for regenerating and improving the habitats of (sub-) urban wildlife, particularly amphibian populations with some astonishing results.
Listen in to find out…
🐸 Why taking non-human perspectives into account in urbanism is essential
🚂 How brownfields provide natural habitats for highly specified species
🦎 Why personal connections to a certain space / region help to do biodiversity projects
🌆Why increasing the density of urban areas in current urbanism threatens biodiversity (hello, wicked issue!)
🌿Why the connotation of activism might hinder getting stuff done (in Austria / Europe)
With the prime focus on being put on the climate collapse, other crises caused by human activities are often overlooked. One of the most significant ones is the biodiversity crises. Toads, frogs and other amphibians are an indicator for local biodiversity and ecosystem health. But they are increasingly threatened by forms of urbanization which do not take natural processes and a balanced human-nature connection into account. But… there is hope on the horizont from the European policy level, down to the very local areas where Gerfried is regularly digging…
While you are here you might want to check out:
Gerfried on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerfried-ambrosch-9038bb219/Gerfried's book "The Poetry of Punk" out on Routledge: https://www.routledge.com/The-Poetry-of-Punk-The-Meaning-Behind-Punk-Rock-and-Hardcore-Lyrics/Ambrosch/p/book/9781138502345Gerfried's active bands:Morrow: https://morrowpunx.bandcamp.comArchivist: https://archivistmusic.bandcamp.comCities Reimagined on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/citiesreimagined/If you like the show, please subscribe to the channel, leave a rating and a review and get connected on Instagram for background and making-off content.
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This week, Cities Reimagined takes us to South Africa to speak to Paul Currie, Director of the urban systems unit at ICLEI Africa.
In October 2023, Johannes had the chance to swing by ICLEI Africa’s offices in Cape Town for this conversation on reimagining African urbanism which turned out extremely rich and exciting.
Africa is a continent of astounding diversity and rapid urbanization. With a population projected to double by 2050, Africa is at the forefront of the global urbanization trend. This remarkable growth, however, presents both tremendous opportunities and formidable challenges for the continent's cities. From the sprawling megacities like Lagos and Cairo to the picturesque coastal gem of Cape Town, African cities embody a kaleidoscope of cultures, traditions, and urban landscapes.
Tune in to find out….
🇪🇹…how a bus ride in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia built the basis for this conversation
🗽…how living in NYC as a teenager shaped Paul’s obsession with cities
🛵 …what the problems about formalising informal systems and infrastructures are and why a different vocabulary is needed
🔓…why the focus on challenges and problems prevents creativity and reimagining desirable future(s)
🌇…why the celebration of ‘resilience’ is problematic
If you like what you are hearing, subscribe to Cities Reimagined, leave a comment or a rating, follow us in Instagram for background stories or, even better, send an email to [email protected] .
Paul on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-currie-a198869b/
Rise Africa [ICLEI]: https://riseafrica.iclei.org
START Initiative: https://start.org
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This episode of Cities Reimagined takes us very locally. It takes us deep, deep down into a damp, smelly basement (no joke) of the city I was born in, #Klagenfurt, Austria to explore the role of local journalism for reimagining futures together with Stephan Fugger, an editor for the local RegionalMedien Austria in Carinthia, Austria.
Stephan increasingly covers aspects related to soil sealing and climate change in Klagenfurt in Southern Austria so it was time to talk to him about where he sees his work's role in breaking down global trends (and complexities) to the everyday life of people.
Stephan and I talked about:
🎛️ Why the basement we recorded the interview in is an artefact of changing youth cultures
💥 The challenge for politicians and public administrations to transparently communicate complex topics in everyday life's language
🔭 Shifting interests of readers towards local effects of climate change
🤬 Positive Anger
🚘 Why taking pictures of politicians without cars in the background is difficult in Klagenfurt
🎶 The soundtrack to change the world; and for going on gloomy walks in Klagenfurt in the foggy season (November to February).
There is currently more and more media coverage on climate and biodiversity crises related to anthropogenic topics in the media. However, a lot of the reporting on, for example, climate change scenarios and how far the atmosphere will continue to warm if greenhouse gas emissions are not cut drastically are difficult for many people to grasp. It seems to be abstract and oftentimes unrelatable to the everyday life of many.
Studies show that highlighting the local impacts of climate change is motivational for behaviour change and action. On the other side, when people perceive the effects of global crises as distant, as taking place somewhere else, on the other side of the planet they may feel powerless and disengaged.
For that reason, news media can play an important role by shedding light on stories in a manner that emphasises local perspectives alongside the global scale.
Links:
Regionalmedien Kärnten: https://www.meinbezirk.at/klagenfurt/
Boysclub on Bandcamp: https://boysclubrocks.bandcamp.com
Der Schwarze Schwarm on Bandcamp: https://derschwarzeschwarm.bandcamp.com
Photo by Peter Schaflechner.
#urbanism #urbansustainability #citiesreimagined #podcast #inspiration #changemaker #localjournalism #regenerativeaction #climateneutrality #klagenfurt #kasnudel
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This episode of the Cities Reimagined podcast is all about urban future(s)… but actually also urban presents. With today’s guests, Jonas Bylund (Researcher at KTH Royal Institute of Technology) and Josefin Wangel (Senior Research Officer at Formas), both from Stockholm, we will dive into urban utopias, science fiction, safe to fail urbanism, Detroit and much more.
Among other things, you will hear about:
Why sports coaches might be well placed for long term urban transitions.Why the aim should be to build safe to fail instead of fail safe citiesHow cities are a collection of different past utopias.Why Jonas had the impression that there is no good future ahead (spoiler: he consumed too much Science-Fiction as a child.. or maybe too much IPCC reports more recently?).Why Josefin befriended a goat.Get to know these amazing people and their work here:
Jonas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonas-bylund-urbanalys/
Josefin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josefinwangel/
Beyond Efficiency, a book Josefin (co-)edited: https://aadr.info/product/beyond-efficiency/
Find a collection of Jonas’ publications here: https://urbanalys.se/text.html
Photo of Jonas by Anna Ek.
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Whose business is it to shape cities and urban areas and who has the power and resources to reimagine cities? Jim Segers and Sofie van Bruystegem from the Brussels-based NGO CityMine(d) challenge the status quo of who has the right and power to shape urban areas since 1997.
In highly co-creative processes, their aim is to engage residents, particularly in disadvantaged neighbourhoods who are too often excluded from city making. City Mine(d) is an organisation at the crossroads between architecture, urbanism activism, but also in the middle between residents, commuters, artists, investors, researchers and policy makers and therefore a medium through which all of these actors can communicate.
Jim and Sofie are true boundary spanners, linking disadvantaged and underserved communities in Brussels with state-of-the-art interventions for transforming urban areas and I am very happy to have them on the Cities Reimagined Podcast.
Photo @Sophie Feyder.
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Reimagining Public Spaces
What makes cities urban, you might find asking yourself from time to time. Whatever you find appropriate a definition, it most likely has something to do with urban public spaces.
There is no way of not addressing issues around urban public spaces when discussing reimagining cities as they are key to healthy, cities.
One of the most motivated people working in urban public spaces I met over the years is Luisa Bravo. Luisa is based in Bologna, Italy, among many other things, and is the founder and president of City Space Architecture. She is the person behind the Museo Spazio Pubblico, the museum for public space, editor in chief of the Journal of Public Space which she publishes with UN-Habitat and, not least, runs the Public Space Academy, an educational programme on, you might have guessed it, public space. In our conversation we talk about teenage memories of Italian public spaces, Jan Gehl’s studies in the 60s and 70s, why Bologna has too many tables and chairs standing around, why public space and a museum dedicated to it in the suburbs matter and much more.
If you like the episode, please consider subscribing to the Cities Reimagined Podcast to not miss any shows in the future.
More information on the Cities Reimagined Podcast can be found here. The Cities Reimagined Podcast is on Instagram. The Cities Reimagined Podcast is hosted, produced and edited by Johannes Riegler. Get in touch with Johannes via LinkedIn and [email protected] .
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In this introduction of the Cities Reimagined Podcast (yes, you might call it a trailer..), Johannes introduces himself, why he took a year off and started a podcast, why a show on reimagining urban areas is extremely relevant today and gives you an idea of what to expect from Cities Reimagined. The full first episode will be available in early September 2023.
