The Aesthetic City

Alexander Rotmensz is an urbanist YouTuber with over 40,000 subscribers and millions of views, known for advocating classical architecture and traditional urban design while documenting the devastating legacy of mid-20th century urban renewal on American cities. He launched his channel about three years ago while studying at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and holds a bachelor's degr...

In today's episode, professor Branko Mitrovic tells us about the battle to teach classical architecture at NTNU in Trondheim, Norway. Here, one student prompted Branko to start teaching Classical architecture, which started a movement in the university, a study association. Might this be the beginning of a return of the Classical curriculum at architecture schools? Branko Mitrović is a profes...

Michael Diamant is the founder and a leading voice of the global "New Traditional Architecture" movement. His background is in urban sociology, but he sparked the "Architecture Uprising": an  international campaign to replace monotonous modernist buildings with beautiful, human-centered, and sustainable design.  He has successfully shifted architectural discourse in his native...

Timothy Smith is an accomplished architect, a partner at Smith and Taylor Architects, and a leading voice in contemporary classical design based in London. He's a tutor at one of Europe's only classical master's programs at Kingston School of Art and a visiting scholar at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. He holds degrees from Edinburgh College of Arts and London Me...

Will McCollum is a designer who worked alongside celebrated urbanist Lew Oliver for 10 years to create meaningful and beautiful communities across the United States. He currently resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts where he has opened his own firm. He also serves as the president of Citymakers Collective and as a board member of the Congress for the New Urbanism in New England. I've had the pl...

Ann Sussman is an architect, author and researcher interested in how buildings influence our behavior. She's president of the Human Architecture and Planning Institute , and also known from the books Cognitive Architecture and Urban Experience + Design . She recently co-authored the Handbook of Neuroscience and the Built Environment, which recently launched. In this interview, Ruben and Ann ta...

Alexandros Lavdas is a is neuroscientist, a tenured Senior Researcher at Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy and head of Psychology at Webster University, Athens Campus, Greece. He is also member of the board of directors of the Human Architecture and Planning Institute. He holds a PhD from University College London (UCL) and has worked at UCL and the Hellenic Pasteur Institute in Athens.  He has worke...

Jon Jon is an avid urbanist, national speaker, and content creator passionate about decoding what makes spaces great. His TikTok channels have amassed over 8.6 million likes and 406k followers. His website: https://www.thehappyurbanist.city Follow him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonjon.jpeg ========  JOIN OUR COURSE: https://www.aestheticcity.academy/products/courses/aesthetic-city-aca...

Diana Trushell is the founder of The Design Professor , an online education platform for creative professionals who are interested in examine design through the lens of psychology, nature and history. Diana is currently a lecturer at both Columbia University and Parsons School of Design where she teaches Circular Economy and Sustainable Systems. Previously, she worked as a Design Strategist wherei...

In this special episode, Bart Urban interviews Ruben about the launch of their new course: The Aesthetic City Academy! They discuss: What the course is all about Who's it for (and who it isn't for) How it should help fill a gap in education, by teaching a about the timeless principles of good urban design The problems with current architectural education What we can expect from this course...

Aaron Lubeck is a designer, builder, and urbanist who’s spent over two decades shaping sustainable, walkable, and affordable communities, with a deep-rooted passion for the US South. He’s the founder of Southern Urbanism, a platform dedicated to reimagining city-building below the Mason-Dixon line, and the voice behind onHousing , a podcast and Substack where he tackles housing policy, zoning refo...

Chuck Marohn is a civil engineer, urban planner, and the founder of StrongTowns: an organization that has been shaking up the world of planning, development, and local governance with one powerful idea: that many of our cities, especially in North America, are financially insolvent by design. Through his books, lectures, and relentless advocacy, he’s exposed the hidden fragility of car-centric gro...

Kevin Klinkenberg is an urban designer, planner, and architect from Kansas City with over two decades of experience in creating walkable, human-centered communities. He’s the mind behind The Messy City , a blog and podcast where he explores the complexities of urban development, advocating for adaptability, local initiative, and practical solutions over rigid, top-down planning.  He previously ser...

Sabin Howard is a renowned sculptor and author, born in New York, who has emerged as a leading voice in modern classical sculpture. Trained in traditional techniques, he mastered the human form with the precision of the old masters, dedicating his career to large-scale public art. A co-author of The Art of Life , Howard now shares his expertise and critiques of contemporary art through various pla...

Guy Courtois is a strategist-turned-visionary who is leading a true urban renaissance in France and worldwide, promoting more beautiful, livable cities. He worked with fashion consortium LVMH and later founded his own consultancy firm. Based in Meudon, France, he’s also a passionate art collector, tied to the impressive Collection Courtois. Today, he’s channeling his energy into making our cities...

Coby Lefkowitz returns for his third appearance on The Aesthetic City Podcast . An urbanist, real estate developer, and writer based in New York, Coby is dedicated to crafting beautiful, walkable urban spaces. With his new book, Building Optimism: Why Our World Looks the Way it Does, and How to Make it Better , he explores the history of urban development and offers solutions for more humane citie...

Eldin Smajlović is an artist and author born in Pristina to parents from Srebrenica. He grew up in Sarajevo during Yugoslavia’s collapse where he witnessed the horrors of war. Later, he mastered geometry at art school and painting in the style of old masters. After he was expelled from the Academy of Sarajevo because of his outspoken views, including his defense of homosexuals, he moved to Sweden,...

Alicia Pederson, Ph. D., known as the Courtyard Urbanist is a passionate advocate for family-friendly cities. With a focus on traditional courtyard urbanism, she champions European-style courtyard blocks to keep young families thriving in urban centers like her home in Chicago’s Lincoln Square, where she lives with her husband and three children. Her insights have appeared in the Chicago Tribune a...

Léon Krier is a renowned Luxembourgian architect and urban planner, often hailed as the godfather of the New Urbanism and Traditional Urbanism movement. He has been a vocal critic of modernist architecture, advocating instead for a return to traditional, human-scale urban design. Krier's philosophy emphasizes walkable neighborhoods, a mix of housing types, and a harmonious blend of architectur...

Steve Mouzon is an architect, urbanist and author known for his work in the New Urbanism movement. With several influential books and articles on the subject of sustainable and traditional architecture, including "The Original Green: Unlocking the Mystery of True Sustainability," today’s guest goes beyond the regular, technological solutions to fix our cities, and instead focuses on time...

Lew Oliver is an Atlanta-based designer, urbanist and master planner, celebrated for advancing New Urbanism and designing whole towns with a focus on the pedestrian experience. He masterfully blends local values, vernacular, and climate considerations into his work, ensuring communities are not only livable but also aesthetically enriching. His notable achievements include influential roles in pro...

Jonathan Weatherill is an architect based in Rome and professor at Notre Dame University. He graduated at the Architectural Association in London over 25 years ago and now runs his own practice. He has collaborated with the 2014 Driehaus laureate Pier Carlo Bontempi for a long time, leading to a shift in his practice from Modernism to Traditional and Classical architecture. His broad expertise spa...

Pierre Bidaud is a skilled stonemason and entrepreneur promoting the use of natural stone for load bearing structures. He is the co founder of the Structural Stone Company, part of the Stonemasonry Company which is based in London. With his company, he is proving that natural stone is still one of the most versatile, sustainable and beautiful materials available to humans.  Find their website here...

Micah Springut is an entrepreneur based in New York City. After having set up multiple successful software startups, he is now on the path of disrupting the way we construct our buildings using AI and robotics. Potentially, his new company Monumental Labs could enable us to build more ornate, detailed buildings on a larger scale and for lower cost than we could now possibly imagine. Find his websi...

Ettore Mazzola is a professor at Notre Dame School of Architecture, based in Rome, where he teaches traditional urbanism, architecture and building techniques. Prof. Mazzola has extensive experience with  multiple urban design projects and written countless publications, articles, essays and blog posts. His academic and professional career is centered on integrating traditional architectural princ...