The DNA of Cities

After 30 episodes, 60 guests, 16 Keynotes, 5 cities and 1 unforgettable opportunity to explore Amazonian cities, Greg and Caitlin sit down to celebrate the whirlwind that was Season 2 of The DNA of Cities podcast and look ahead at what's coming next.  Thank you for listening! – Mentioned in this episode: IDB report on Cities in Amazonia (2025) – Bass Vibes - Rollin at 5 by Kevin MacLeod is license...

The future of the Amazon Rainforest depends on the health of its cities. In this episode, released as Belém, Brazil prepares to host COP30 , we convene several experts on Amazonian cities and urbanisation to explore what needs to stop, change or begin to ensure that the Amazon, including its cities, will thrive forever.  There is no single policy, solution or fix that can be deployed to secure or...

Professor Tim Stonor is an architect and urban planner. He is the Managing Director of Space Syntax , a renowned architecture and urban planning practice that uses science-based techniques to analyse, model and design human behaviour patterns at different scales. Tim is a founding member and former director of The Academy of Urbanism, a Visiting Professor at The Bartlett School of Architecture, Un...

One of the key ideas that we have been developing in this podcast series is that it is possible to decode, unlock and optimise the distinctive ingredients and traits in any city; their DNA. In this episode, we are going to discover how this DNA is helping leaders in the investment, tourism, convention and destination industries in cities to tell the authentic stories of their cities. We'll also re...

We are very honoured to be joined by Dyfed Aubrey in today's Keynote episode. Dyfed is the Chief of Office at UN-Habitat's Office for the European Union based in Brussels. Across his career, Dyfed's work has focused on the challenges faced in fragile urban settings, particularly forced displacement in the context of conflict.  – Bass Vibes - Rollin at 5 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creativ...

We are delighted to be joined by Chris Choa. Chris is the Founder and Director of OUTCOMIST which provides Strategy and leadership for complex urban projects. Previously, Chris led AECOM's Cities Consulting practice out of London for almost 15 years.  Chris is an urban strategist, and he is currently writing a book on 'sociality' in cities. We took this opportunity to learn more about this work. ...

What kinds of cities do we find in the Amazon rainforest in the 21st Century? What are their relationships to one another and to their powerful environment? – We were honoured to be invited by the Inter-American Development Bank (the IDB) to work with them on a series of The DNA of Cities episodes about Amazonian cities. This is the first time that we have taken the idea of The DNA of Cities to lo...

We are delighted to have Dr Sadhana Manthapuri as our Keynote guest. If you are a long-time listener, you may remember Sadhana as a guest in Our Listener episodes, where she told us about The DNA of Varanasi. Congratulations are in order because since we last spoke, Sadhana has completed her PhD at Virginia Tech on the topic of Urban DNA! – Bass Vibes - Rollin at 5 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed und...

We have the great privilege of welcoming Sir Richard Leese as today's Leader Keynote guest. Richard was the Leader of Manchester City Council from 1996 to 2021. He is now the Chair of NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care and he is the co-Chair of the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership. We heard from Richard in our three-part exploration into The DNA of Manchester but he has generousl...

We warmly welcome Andy Burnham – Mayor of Greater Manchester – as today's Leader Keynote. Andy shares how he celebrates The DNA of Greater Manchester in his role as Mayor.  – Bass Vibes - Rollin at 5 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source:  http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100...

In the first of our Leader Keynotes in Manchester, we meet Councillor Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council. We were delighted to spend some time learning about her perspectives on The DNA of Manchester.  – Bass Vibes - Rollin at 5 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source:  http://incompetech.com/music...

Did you know that over 70% of the 50 million people living in the Amazon live in cities?  We were honoured to be invited by the  Amazonia Forever team at the Inter-American Development Bank (the IDB) to work with them on a series of The DNA of Cities episodes about Amazonian cities. This is the first time that we have taken the idea of The DNA of Cities to look at a group of cities and we were rea...

In this episode, the final installment of The DNA of Manchester, we continue our exploration into the city's recovery but with a focus on how a distinctly Manchester approach to this was galvanised.  We then explore mindsets in Manchester. We've heard several times over these three episodes that this is a place of collaboration, but where has that come from? We'll then step into present day Manche...

It is not possible to talk about the character or traits of Manchester today without talking about deindustrialisation and the city's revival. In our work on The DNA of Cities, we see enduring and severe traumas such as this as a kind of epigenetic event – as a shock that alters a city.  In the early 2000s, there was a feeling that Manchester could be capable of being more, again. It's not that Ma...

If you are familiar with Manchester already, you may have heard it being described as the "shock city" of the Industrial Revolution and it also fits the description of an "instant city". It was the industrialisation of the textile manufacturing and finishing that transformed Manchester under an intense and dramatic process of urbanisation. Put simply, the scale of innovation that took place in thi...

What does The DNA of Cities mean to global urban historians? Rosemary is Professor of History at Fordham University and she is the Director of the Urban Studies Programme. We were delighted to hear during this conversation about some of her recently published global comparisons from her book  The Worlds of Victor Sassoon (The University of Chicago P ress, 2024) . Rosemary is also the President of...

We trace and explore the social patterns and mindsets in Mexico City. We want to know, how and where is The DNA of Mexico City expressed, how can it be felt and experienced? In particular, we ask, where does that survival instinct reveal itself, how does it manifest ? We are joined by Tatiana Bilbao, Lorena Zárate, Felipe Correa, Gabriela Jauregui, Onésimo Flores Dewey, Mauricio Tenorio-Trillo, Ju...

Welcome to Part II of The DNA of Mexico City. This is the episode where we explore the kinds of traits and characteristics that Mexico City has inherited through its history and where we might see, feel and experience them today. If our first episode on The DNA of Mexico City could be summarised in one word, it would be 'survival' and in this episode, the term that comes up again and again is 'lay...

At the turn of the 20th Century, Mexico City had a population of around 500,000 people and there are now over 21 million people who call the megacity home. It is the largest city in the Americas, it is the largest Spanish-speaking city in the world and it is the world's oldest capital city.  We begin this episode by asking, what are the planetary characteristics of this location and how have they...

Professor Philip Sheldrake shares his perspectives on spirituality and cities, how spirituality has been shaped by urbanisation, and how a sense of place enriches our human experiences. Philip is a historian of theology and spirituality. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Cambridge Theological Federation at the University of Cambridge and he is Professor and Director of the Institute for the St...

Anna Cambell-Jones tells us how she brings a sense of place, neighbourhood and location into the homes that she interior designs. Anna is an interior designer, broadcaster and educator. She is the founder of residential interior design practice  Habitus and she is the founder of her eponymous retail store, annacampbelljones.com . You will also recognise Anna as a judge on BBC Scotland's Home of Th...

We speak to Gonzalo about how he decodes the uniqueness of cities and how a sense of place shapes branding strategy and activation. He also reveals how city branding compares to national branding or corporate branding.  Gonzalo is Global CEO at Interbrand where he leads the day-to-day operations of the global brand consultancy, spearheading the growth agenda and supporting marketing and consulting...

We meet the wonderful Dr Wangui Kimari. Wangui is Assistant Director at the American University Nairobi Abroad Program and she is an Honorary Research Associate at the  African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town. We had a fantastic time learning from Wangui about The DNA of Nairobi, Kenya's capital city, and she also enlightened us about her starting points for understanding the uniq...

This is the episode where we attempt to understand identity, mindsets and social behaviours in Sydney and where we might look in the city's history and evolution to find earliest signs of these traits or characteristics and how they became continuous. Although this is the final part of our mini-series, we know that there is so much more that we could attempt to decode in Sydney's complex psyche –...

We ask 'how many Sydneys are there?' and uncover several distinguishing characteristics that layer together to produce a sense of pride and identity. We explore the geographies of its deep, diverse and continuous Aboriginal lifestyles and how waves of global migration have produced its contemporary cosmopolitanism. To do this, our local experts take us far beyond the Sydney we can all imagine and...