Better Cities By Design

In this episode, we head to Bratislava, Slovakia, to explore how a city can be reimagined through the eyes of its youngest residents. As cities worldwide grapple with safety, inclusivity, and accessibility, Bratislava is setting an inspiring example by prioritizing child-friendly urban design. Host Davion Ford speaks with Simon Battisti, Creative Director at the Start with Children Summit, to unco...

Cottbus, Germany, is a city with a rich coal-mining history now poised to become a leader in sustainable mobility. In this episode, we explore how Deutsche Bahn, German’s national train operator, is driving this transformation with the construction of its largest and most advanced ICE-4 maintenance depot. Join host Davion Ford as he speaks with Marc Hermann from Deutsche Bahn, who is the Managemen...

What does it take to reenergize a city’s legacy and prepare it for a greener, more sustainable future? In this episode, we visit St. Thomas, Ontario, a Canadian city that’s turning its transportation heritage into a launch pad for innovation. At the heart of this transformation is Yarmouth Yards, a 1,500-acre industrial park anchored by PowerCo’s electric vehicle battery gigafactory. Join the Mayo...

In this special episode, we take you to Berlin, the vibrant capital of Germany, to explore the groundbreaking EUREF Campus—a living laboratory for sustainable urban development. From its historic Gasometer to its cutting-edge energy systems, the EUREF Campus is an important example of how cities can innovate for a greener, smarter future. Join our special correspondent Serafin Dinges as he goes be...

In this episode of Better Cities by Design, host Davion Ford is joined by a panel of experts to explore the transformative potential of hydrogen technology in creating sustainable cities. Artiom Loginov from Cummins Inc., Brett Ryan from Hydrogen UK, and Paul Aspinall from Arcadis discuss the challenges and opportunities of integrating hydrogen into urban infrastructure. They delve into hydrogen's...

In this episode of Better Cities by Design, we venture into the heart of Canada to explore how the City of Red Deer is revolutionizing its parking system. Host Davion Ford talks with Amy Fengstad and Amara Heppell from Red Deer about the city's efforts to upgrade its outdated parking meters to a modern, app-based system. Discover how this transformation is improving convenience and efficiency for...

In this special episode of Better Cities by Design, we have convened a panel of experts to discuss a topic that’s important for all cities: road safety. We’re exploring this persistent challenge in the context of the United States, where traffic accidents are the number one cause of death for people under the age of 55, despite the significant technological advances we’ve seen over the past two de...

Hop on for a ride through Amsterdam's urban landscape on this episode of Better Cities by Design. Join host Davion Ford as he chats with Sietze Faber, one of the masterminds behind Amsterdam's road safety and cycling ambitions. Explore the city's vision for zero carbon movement and zero traffic accidents by 2050. Unravel the challenges of creating cyclist-friendly spaces and discover how Amsterdam...

In this episode of Better Cities by Design, explore the story of Vancouver's climate disaster that, for many, flew under the radar. Join host Davion Ford as he engages in a captivating conversation with Bryan Crosby, Director of Infrastructure Resilience at the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. Learn about the impact of the 2021 atmospheric river event on British Colu...

Embark on a journey through Dublin's smart city landscape as this episode of Better Cities by Design brings you a conversation with Jamie Cudden, Smart City Program Manager, and Payal Pandya, Project Manager and Business Analyst, both at Dublin City Council. Davion talks to them about innovative solutions to urban challenges, with an emphasis on connectivity, data insights, and collaboration. We l...

In this episode of Better Cities by Design, we’re in Victoria, Canada, for a chat with Harsh Rathod, co-founder and CEO of Niricson, a company that is revolutionizing how bridges, dams, and other critical infrastructure are inspected for safety. Niricson uses digital technology in the form of software and drones as well as leveraging artificial intelligence to make infrastructure safety inspection...

In this episode of  Better Cities by Design , we head to the City of Bath in the UK, for a conversation with James Hooton, Managing Director of the Green Finance Institute (GFI). Bath is an ancient city with many very old buildings. But just like any other city, Bath is also striving to become more sustainable and that means these buildings need to be retrofitted, so they use less energy and there...

Join us in Amsterdam, for a conversation about an important aspect of the city’s phenomenal transportation system: train stations. Davion sits down with Daan Klaase, Manager of Research and Station Development, and John Riepen, Manager of Amsterdam Central Station, both from NS Stations. Daan and John reveal some of the secrets behind Amsterdam's iconic transportation hubs. We explore the role of...

In this episode of the podcast we travel to Manchester in the UK, a city steeped in history and a rich cultural heritage. We speak with Natasha Rouse, Director of Asset Management at Equitix, a global investor, developer, and fund manager. Equitix has invested in myriad assets in Manchester and is playing a significant role in ensuring essential urban infrastructure is well maintained and deliveri...

We're back in New York. This week we speak with Maggie Hopkins, Vice President Civil Engineering & Environmental Planning at AKRF, a leading company specializing in environmental planning, and engineering services for climate resilience and coastal adaptation. AKRF has been working in conjunction with Arcadis on New York’s East Side Coastal Resiliency project, which is a leading climate adapta...

This week, we’re headed to Rotterdam and chatting with Harry Verhaar, Head of Global Public & Government Affairs at the global lighting company Signify. We talk with Harry about the outsized impact lighting has on urban electricity use and subsequent emissions. And we learn how proper lighting not only makes cities safer from crime and traffic accidents, but how also how modern light points ca...

In our first episode of 2024, our guest is Anselmo Collins, Senior Assistant General Manager – Water System, at the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP). We speak with Anselmo about LADWP’s efforts to ensure safe and reliable water service to more than 4 million residents, in the face of climate change, a burgeoning population, and the ever-present threat of earthquakes. Join host D...

We close out 2023 with a special episode of Better Cities by Design. We are in Amsterdam to hear the story of the decade-long renovation of the National Museum of the Netherlands, the Rijksmuseum. Our special correspondent Richard Walker heads over to the museum to speak with Igor Santhagens, the Rijksmuseum’s Renovation Project Leader, as well as Arcadians Dieneke Grimmeluis, and Gerard van Engel...

In this episode of Better Cities by Design, Katherine Drayson, Senior Environment Manager at Transport for London (TfL), is our guest. We speak with Katherine about the vital role TfL plays in managing much of London’s sprawling public transportation system and how climate change is impacting all of this. London has the world’s oldest underground rail system, and this is only one part of TfL’s por...

In this episode of Better Cities by Design, Teun Bokhoven, Chairman of the 7 Square Endeavour, is our guest. We talk with Teun about his efforts to make Rotterdam’s Schouwburgplein (Theater Square) climate-neutral by 2030. The City of Rotterdam is the Netherland’s second largest city with just over one million inhabitants. It’s known for its bold, modern architecture and the plucky nature of its r...

In this episode of Better Cities by Design, Doug Gordon , safe streets advocate, and co-host and producer of “The War on Cars” podcast is our guest. We speak with Doug about his crusade to rid New York, and other cities, of cars. With a population of over 8.8 million residents, New York is the most populous city of the United States, and a melting pot of cultures from around the globe. Unlike many...

In this episode of Better Cities by Design, Neil Arckless , Group Executive for Development at Lendlease is our guest. We talk with Neil about the sustainable redevelopment of Darling Square in Sydney, Australia. Darling Square, which is part of the Darling Harbour section of the Australian capital, has a rich history. This area was originally home to the Aboriginal people, the Gadigal, who lived...

In this episode of Better Cities by Design, Co-founder and Architect Tim Vermeend and Chief Marketing Officer Jasmijn Rijcken, from the Urban Woods, are our guests. Together we discuss how they have designed and will construct the tallest residential building in the Netherlands without a concrete core, in the city of Delft. At the intersection of urbanization and climate change, there sits a major...

In this episode of Better Cities by Design, Sat Patel, Programme Director – Edinburgh Waterfront, is our guest. We talk with Sat about an underserved section of Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh, and how the city council is working to redevelop the area. Granton has a long history, dating back as far as 1479, and Granton Harbour was once an important economic driver for the city. In the 20th Cent...

In this episode of Better Cities by Design, Nick Cleary, CEO of CLARA Energy, is our guest. We talk with Nick about the poor air quality in Sydney, Australia and how his organization is working to help address this by scaling up the production of green hydrogen. One major sources of air pollution is vehicle exhaust, in particular from the thousands of heavy haulage, diesel trucks that travel betwe...