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Urbanism meets food, travel, business, tech and the environment in a podcast that takes a fresh look at the future of our cities - and the people redefining it: from influential chefs, musicians and activists, to architects, urban planners, politicians, environmentalists and entrepreneurs. We travel the globe to ask the big questions. How can we fix our food system? How can tourism be a force for good? How can we breathe life back into abandoned buildings? How can we prevent natural disaster ...
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17. Exploring the Metaverse: How Cities are Creating ‘Digital Twins’ to Overhaul Urban Planning
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The ‘metaverse’ and its so-called ‘virtual worlds’ have somewhat fallen short of the hype, but that doesn’t mean everyone has lost out. Urban planners across the globe have started to combine the vision of the metaverse with smart cities and the internet of things, to create immersive ‘digital twins’ of our cities and buildings that are changing ho…
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16. Direct Democracy and Citizen Science: How Crowdsourcing Tech is Helping Empower Residents
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What can the everyday person teach an expert when it comes to the places we live? How can something as simple as the design of a webpage lead to more constructive collaboration? And what does it take to have a truly participatory way of governing? In this episode, we talk to Robert Bjanarson, the CEO of Citizens Foundation and the man behind “Your …
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15. Culture as Catalyst: The Role of Art in Placemaking
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How can culture become a driving force behind a neighbourhood’s social and urban renewal? How can a place steer clear from commercialising what makes it unique? And what can a city do to safeguard its artists in times of crisis? In this episode, Jen Hughes, a Senior Advisor at the National Endowment of Arts, explains how their Our Town grant is hel…
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14. Mindful Cities: How our Built Environment can Cultivate Community and Combat Isolation
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How can urban spaces support the mental wellbeing of a community? What might a morning spent gardening do for someone’s happiness? And how can the simple concept of a shed bring people together? In this episode, Robin Hewings – Programme Director at Campaign to End Loneliness UK – breaks down how the built environment impacts our wellbeing, author …
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13. Do it for the Kids: How Urban Design is Encouraging Active Play and Social Interaction
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What can a videogame teach us about the way we plan our cities? How might developing a play park help make for safer spaces for both children and adults? And do grown-ups really know best? In this episode, we speak to former Commissioner of Parks and Rec of Philadelphia — Kathryn Ott Lovell, about the iconic playstreets programme that has been happ…
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12. The Nightlife Revolution: How Cities are Transforming their Night Economies
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33:57
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Why are so many late night venues across the UK and Europe shutting down? How can cities and local councils draw the fine line between residents and revelers? What role do developers have in keeping culture alive? In this episode we’re looking into the pros and cons of the night time economy. We’ll be speaking to Mark Davyd – CEO of the Music Venue…
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11. The 15 Minute City: Why proximity matters
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How are the neighborhoods, towns and cities of the future prioritising proximity in their planning? In this episode we’re looking at the concept that has captivated urbanists and city-planners across the globe: the fifteen minute city. First, we talk to Carlos Moreno, the architect of the model, who is driving change in the French capital of Paris,…
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10. Future of food: Designing waste out of the system
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How are the ways we produce, distribute and consume food changing for good? In this episode we journey from farm to fork, to hear how waste can be eliminated at every step of the food process. We speak to Pete Pearson, Senior Director of Food Loss and Waste at WWF, to hear how getting smart about waste is vital when combatting food insecurity, befo…
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9. Longevity: Cities fit for longer living
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Are our cities ready for an ageing population? In this episode, we look at what this demographic shift means for our homes, towns, and cities, and see how countries across the globe are preparing for this change. We speak to David Stewart, photographer and founder of Ageist, who introduces the concept of a Life 2.0 before turning to writer and acti…
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8. Business Improvement Districts: Downtowns doing things differently
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How are businesses banding together to improve their neighbourhoods? On this episode we discover what BIDs can offer, from improving baseline services like street sweeping and safety to hosting festivals that celebrate an area’s history and culture. We speak to John Lambeth, CEO of Civitas, to help unpack how exactly BIDs work, before visiting Lond…
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7. Hybrid spaces: The new era of remote work
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How are companies and entire cities changing to accommodate the rise of remote work? On this episode, we take a closer look at how buildings are combining work, play and stay, with a new breed of hybrid spaces embraced by remote workers and digital nomads alike. We speak to Finland-based professor of Knowledge Management Kirsimarja Blomqvist to hea…
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6. Regenerative tourism: When sustainability isn’t enough
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How can we leave the places we visit better off than we found them? On this episode, we tackle the tricky term ‘regenerative tourism’ and the responsibility we all have as travelers. We hear from the growing group of travel professionals touting regeneration as the next step in travel: Aukje Van Gerven, Tourism manager of Rewilding Europe reveals h…
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5. Rural revival: Can the countryside make a comeback?
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In this episode we’re separating fact from fiction when it comes to living in rural towns today: we ask why people are leaving at such an alarming rate, and meet the people bucking the trend. We head to Italy to meet Danny McCubbin - the community chef who’s set up shop in a small village in Sicily thanks to the one-euro-house project, conductor Ma…
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4. A tale of three cities: Rethinking tourism
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How can we deal with cities getting..too popular? From Amsterdam and Dubrovnik to Venice, in this episode we head to the European cities whose intense footfall is tangibly affecting the quality of their tourism - and the lives of residents. We meet Geerte Udo from amsterdam&partners, deputy mayor of Dubrovnik Jelka Tepsic and Valeria Duflot who hea…
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How do we build resilience in today’s disaster-prone cities? In this episode we’re looking at what happens after the initial shock of a natural disaster. How do people and governments come together to help rebuild from the ground up? We’re heading to New York to see how a design competition helped governments and citizens collaborate to rebuild in …
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2. In with the Old: Restoring abandoned treasures
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To build or not to build? In today’s episode we’re finding out how we can reuse our architectural heritage to keep up with the needs of our changing world, while still honouring the past. We head to Japan to hear how the city of Kyoto is finally getting serious about preserving its iconic Machiya townhouses. Anna Keay from The Landmark Trust is res…
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1. Food Revolutions: Dishes changing the world
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We’ve all heard that food brings people together - but how can it help heal the deeper social problems in our communities? Our guests today are four pioneers of the food movement: Italian chef Massimo Bottura and his business partner and wife Lara Gilmore share how their project Food for Soul is redefining traditional soup kitchens to help those in…
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This is a pre-launch episode of Common Ground by Toposophy! To get us in the mood for our official podcast launch on March 29th and in light of World Water Day, we sat down with two titans of the global conversation about water: Henk Ovink, 'Ambassador for Water' and The Netherlands’ Special Envoy for International Water Affairs, and Mami Mizutori,…
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Common Ground is launching soon! Urbanism meets food, travel, business, tech and the environment in a podcast that journeys across the globe and takes a fresh look at the future of our cities - and the people redefining it. Brought to you by place making & marketing agency Toposophy.
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