"There seems to be an innate optimism that you have to have as a planner. Why else would you come to a profession where you're trying to look forward?"

Are you interested in the innate optimism planners have? What do you think about language as technology? How can we learn from the past for better urban futures?

Interview with Thomas W. Sanchez, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, humans prevailing, planners’ innate optimism, technology, and many more.

Thomas W. Sanchez is a Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M University. He earned his PhD in City Planning from Georgia Tech. His research and teaching focus on cities, planning methods, technology, and transportation. His most recent books include Networks in the Knowledge Economy (with Denise Bedford) and Planning Knowledge and Research. His forthcoming book, AI for Urban Planning will be published by Routledge in 2025. Tom serves as the American Planning Association (APA) Education Committee Chair and as a member of APA’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Foresight Community.

Find out more about Tom through these links:

• Thomas W. Sanchez on LinkedIn
• Thomas W. Sanchez website
• Thomas W. Sanchez at Texas A&M University

Connecting episodes you might be interested in:

• No.006 - Interview with Daniel Prohasky about thinking in thousands years ahead
• No.292 - Interview with Anthony Acciavatti about the role of water in cities
• No.328 - Interview with Howard Bloom about a very wide understanding of technology
• No.329R - Artificial intelligence and the local government: A five-decade scientometric analysis on the evolution, state-of-the-art, and emerging trends

What was the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@WTF4Cities⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wtf4cities.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ website where the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠shownotes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ are also available.

I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.

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