"[Cities] are part of the solution. They shouldn't be part of the problem."

Are you interested in design and placemaking as creating the city? What do you think about changing our behaviour for better urban futures? How can we learn from the past but not being shackled by it?

Interview with James Mant, CEO of Spero AI. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, AI for planners, placemaking, data in planning, and many more.

James Mant supports practitioners in designing walkable, well-planned spaces that align with government objectives, streamline processes, and cut costs. He spearheaded the 2020 PIA award-winning #20minuteneighbourhood policy and #FutureHomes program for the Victorian Government, demonstrating his skill in crafting healthy, compact places with timeless design. Having worked on Plan Melbourne 2017-2050, Melbourne’s metropolitan strategy, he offers expertise in impactful, place-based planning. Trained in the UK and Netherlands, and starting his career in Dublin, Ireland, James brings a global perspective to creating efficient, community-oriented urban solutions.

Find out more about James through these links:

• James Mant on LinkedIn
• @Jamesmant as James Mant on X

• Spero-ai on LinkedIn
• StreetCo website
• StreetCo on LinkedIn
• street_co_planning as StreetCo on Instagram
• Planning Institute of Australia website
• Planning Institute of Australia on LinkedIn
• City People Podcast on Spotify
• City People Podcast on LinkedIn

Connected episodes you might be interested in:

• No.244 - Interview with Joe Glesta about 'urban city'
• No.274 - Interview with Richard Gill about saving people instead of jobs
• No.330 - Interview with Mark Coates about digital twins
• No.333R

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.

Episode generated with ⁠⁠⁠Descript⁠⁠⁠ assistance (⁠⁠⁠affiliate link⁠⁠⁠).

Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lesfm ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠