Urban Radar

This month we are joined by Drs Christina Tatham & Cathy Wilcock for a post-summer bumper episode.  First in England, many children are starting school for the first time, including those with English as a second language, against a backdrop of stubborn spatial inequalities in educational outcomes later in life (31:26).  Then, in the face of civil war and conflict in Sudan, we dive into how ur...

In this month’s feature, Beth and Tom are joined by Professors Nausheen Anwar and Mona Fawaz , Directors of the Karachi Urban Lab and Beirut Urban Lab respectively. This feature is a live recording of an in-person event on Urban Research Labs in Times of Conflict and Post-Truth, recorded in July as part of the Sheffield Urbanism Summer Programme.  This was an ‘in conversation’ event during which T...

In this episode we are joined by Dr Katie Pruszynski and Professor Rowland Atkinson to explore how political and wealth elites are reshaping cities from New York to London and beyond. We dive into Zohran Mamdani's journey to becoming the Democratic Party's nominee for Mayor of New York City (25:10) and the pros and cons of increasing tax on the super-rich (47:26), through an urban politi...

In this month's special feature, Tom and Beth are joined by Simon Marvin and Allan McCay to discuss how advances in neurotechnology - specifically Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) - are changing the way we think about urban infrastructures and human-technology relations in the city.  We discuss:   How can we understand the complex and continuously changing relationship between cities and tech...

In this month’s episode, we are joined by Jenny Preece to dive into the issue of building safety in the context of the recent anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire (22:33). Next, we consider trans rights in the context of Pride month and the impact of the UK’s recent Supreme Court ruling (38:40). Also on our radar:  Bunkers and new forms of subterranean exclusion Urban festivals  Touristification...

In this first stand-alone feature, Tom and Beth introduce an uncut conversation with Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram - the Mayors of Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region in the North of England, recorded at Sheffield's Festival of Debate . The conversation was chaired by Beth at the Octagon Theatre , and focussed on Andy and Steve's 10-point plan for a fairer, more equal Brit...

In this month’s Radar, we dive into the issue of community power - the energy kind! - with Dr Jayne Carrick (22:28), before discussing how a new pope (or an AI confession box!) will alter relations between religion, faith and the city with Dr Krzysztof Nawratek (35:26). On our urban radar (02:41) we also consider:  The UK government’s Immigration White Paper and the ‘local impacts’ of internationa...

In this month's bumper episode we are joined by Malcolm Tait, Kiera Chapman and Hugh Ellis for a feature (45:13) on the UK government's planning reforms, how we can save nature and whether we need more utopian thinking to engage citizens in planning for sustainable communities.  With Liz Sharp and Antonio Navas, Tom and Beth also dive into the local impacts of the UK's water crisis...

This month’s special feature focuses on the rise of authoritarianism in cities (34:48).  What are the strategies and tactics that authoritarian regimes might use to control their capital cities? Beth and Tom are joined by David Jackman to discuss the insights provided in his edited book with Tom, as well as a discussion of urban political dynamics in Bangladesh - the subject of David's other...

In this month's feature (21:09), Tom & Beth turn their attention to Manchester’s model of property-led development. As the UK government pins hopes on enabling greater private sector investment to boost economic growth, can the 'Manchester model' deliver the expected outcomes? They are joined by Adam Leaver and Richard Goulding to discuss their new report, co-authored with Jon S...

On this month's Urban Radar , Beth & Tom zoom in on: Why recognising the rights of a New Zealand mountain is an urban issue  Conflict in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and its impacts on the city of Goma How cutting US international development funding will impact cities  Whether ‘more-than-schools’ can offer community level responses to the crisis in young people and children’s men...

In this trailer, we set out the background to Urban Radar, the format of the show and the main questions that we will explore.  Urban Radar is a podcast series which reflects on current events and emerging trends through the lens of cities and urban life. It is brought to you by Sheffield Urbanism, a community of urban researchers in the Faculty of Social Science at the University of Sheffield, UK...