threesixtyCITY

The term Gentrification was coined in the 1960s by British sociologist Ruth Glass to describe the influx of wealthier residents into working-class communities in London. Since then, it's always borne a negative connotation, associated with the displacement of low-income, minority, and immigrant communities within cities. But there is more to gentrification than the facade of trendy coffee shops and hipsters that usually take the blame for the succession of neighborhoods. Today, we are joined by Leslie Kern author of The Feminist City, and recently published Gentrification Is Inevitable and Other Lies, to talk about the greater forces at play that lead to the economic and social transformation of neighborhoods.

Modern-day Australia is home to over 250 language groups, each of which belongs to a specific place and people. Through violent histories of dispossession, First Nations groups in Australia were stripped of their land rights, and dispersed across the continent. In today’s episode, our guest host Janet McGaw sits down with multi-clan descendant, Elder, and activist Uncle Gary Murray to discuss notions of spatial justice and equity in placemaking. Tune in to learn of the current calls for Treaty in the country, along with the different strategies that can support Indigenous placemaking through deep forms of collaboration and cultural awareness in architecture and planning.

*The quality of this audio file was affected by minor difficulties during recording. We encourage our listeners to follow along with the written transcript, which can be accessed on the threesixtyCITY webpage.

Cities are commonly perceived as separate from natural systems; great expanses of cement and concrete. However, the latest estimates show we can no longer live in disconnect, with 44% of global GDP in cities at risk of disruption from biodiversity loss. How can we bring nature back into our cities to secure a more livable and resilient future for all? The World Economic Forum has recently launched the BiodiverCities by 2030 initiative to push forward an urban development model in harmony with nature. Over the next two weeks, you'll hear from Cristina Gomez Garcia Reyes, the World Economic Forum's Lead of the Urban Nature Agenda, and George Benson, Co-Founder of the Climate Displacement Planning Initiative, on the reports significance, key takeaways, and concrete steps for urban leaders and decision makers.

More about BiodiverCities by 2030:

Cities are commonly perceived as separate from natural systems; great expanses of cement and concrete. However, the latest estimates show we can no longer live in disconnect, with 44% of global GDP in cities at risk of disruption from biodiversity loss. How can we bring nature back into our cities to secure a more livable and resilient future for all? The World Economic Forum has recently launched the BiodiverCities by 2030 initiative to push forward an urban development model in harmony with nature. Over the next two weeks, you'll hear from Cristina Gomez Garcia Reyes, the World Economic Forum's Lead of the Urban Nature Agenda, and George Benson, Co-Founder of the Climate Displacement Planning Initiative, on the reports significance, key takeaways, and concrete steps for urban leaders and decision makers.

More about BiodiverCities by 2030:

Over the last 20 years, the emergence of a field called “Night Studies” has brought together urban planners, scholars, and activists trying to understand how urban governance is applied to the 24-hour cycle. Cities all over the world started appointing night mayors, night ambassadors, and night czars, creating departments dedicated to governing the city after dark. In Amsterdam, the night mayor played an instrumental role reshaping the city's nightlife into one of the most vibrant and economically robust in the world. Today, we're lucky to be joined by the former Night Mayor of Amsterdam, Mirik Milan, to talk about the nighttime economy and how nightlife can shape the identity of a city.

This week we tell you a story. A story of collaboration and trust between members of a community working together towards shared climate goals. At the foundation is a method called "collective impact," used by the Tamarack Institute’s Climate Transitions cohort to spur meaningful and lasting systemic change at the community level. In this episode, we sit down with local leaders from the Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, to learn how they’re weaving climate action throughout all facets of their community to ensure the transition is both equitable and just.

To learn more and to spearhead your community’s own Climate Action Plan:

In the early 2000s, the newly built New Delhi Metro Rail system was proclaimed a class and social equalizer that would become an image of modernity and progress in the Global South city. But in reality, the metro rail has failed to deliver on many fronts. Access is limited to a subset of the population and excludes many lower class user groups, reflecting the inherent inequalities embedded in the project. Today, we're joined by researcher Sree Ramachandran to discuss the equity implications of designing and planning major infrastructure projects, and which questions need to be raised in order to ensure accessibility for all.

To learn more, Sree recommends reading:

Advocates of public private partnerships champion their ability to accelerate innovation and hasten the deployment of technology to provide better public services. The Citi Impact Fund is driving change in the mobility sphere by investing in companies that address some of society’s most pressing challenges. Superpedestrian, is one example of the Fund’s portfolio companies working alongside city governments to improve transportation systems as a whole by providing first-and-last mile micro mobility solutions. This week, we’re speaking with Jeffrey Meyers, Director, Citi Impact Fund and Paul Steely White, VP, Public Policy of Superpedestrian, to learn how private capital streams directly support equitable access to safe transportation in cities.

This Sunday, people all over America will be commemorating Juneteenth; a day to celebrate Black culture, but equally a time to reflect on the ways racial inequalities are still entrenched in our cities. The City of St. Louis, defined by its visible economic divide, has one of the worst racial wealth gaps in the country. To address the inequitable economic conditions across racial lines and zip codes, the city has recently launched a Roadmap to Economic Justice. Today, I’m joined by the Executive Director of The St. Louis Development Corporation, Neal Richardson, to discuss the monumental Framework and how the city is empowering communities from within ahead of Juneteenth.

It's a hard time to be a climate optimist. In April, the IPCC reported the world is currently on a path to 3.2 degrees of warming by mid century, well above the 1.5 degrees Celsius target in the Paris Agreement. Last year, 40% of Americans were victims of a climate disaster, and a new report warns of ecological, followed by civilizational collapse, due to warming. Despite that, there are reasons to be hopeful: an astonishing acceleration of renewable energy adoption, for example, and efforts to rewild and regenerate natural landscapes. So here to make the case for a new green urbanism that surpasses the one we already know and love is Chris Turner, winner of the Canadian National Business Book Award, and author of the new book appropriately titled, How To Be A Climate Optimist.