Keynote - Dr Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani
The DNA of Cities
We are honoured to have Dr Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani as our second Keynote. Gabrielle is the founder of interdisciplinary design studio and she is the author of (MIT Press, 2024). Drawing from over two decades of research and practice in New York, Oakland, London and Buenos Aires, Gabrielle reveals that the: Everyday places in our neighbourhoods and cities are essential for discovering our sense of self People that manage and operate everyday places play a significant but often overlooked role in fostering community and belonging Building of social capital in...
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The DNA of São Paulo - Part II
The DNA of Cities
In our second episode on São Paulo, we explore the rich and irreducibly plural social and cultural fabrics and the unique scales of its global diaspora communities. Through the lenses of various infrastructural fragments (e.g. water and public transportation) and spatial patterning (e.g. the location of homes vs jobs and critical services), we discuss the politics and pervasiveness of inequalities in São Paulo. We also learn about the city’s distinctive roles in Brazil, South America and the world, and we ask how well São Paulo is understood and misunderstood. We are very grateful...
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The DNA of São Paulo - Part I
The DNA of Cities
In the second decade of the 21st Century, we find on a plateau in Brazil's Serra do Mar mountains São Paulo; a city of 12 million people and the nucleus of a metropolitan region of over 20 million people in a macro-metropolitan region of over 30 million people. We begin our time here exploring the conditions that led to permanent settlement in this location and the multiple drivers for the super-charged transformation that followed as São Paulo became an enormously energetic, globally fluent and magnetic metropolis. We are very grateful to our esteemed local experts Mariana Barros,...
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Keynote - Ben Wilson - Part II
The DNA of Cities
We are back with Part II of our conversation with Ben Wilson, our first Keynote guest. Ben is the author of several acclaimed books, including which was released in 2020 and which was published in 2023. In Part II of his Keynote, Ben sets out a compelling case for nurturing nature in cities. We discuss the: Forgotten histories of growing and foraging in cities Opportunities for cities of the future to be defined by how biodiverse and wild they are Requirement for agile, flexible and adaptive urban leadership that combines community energy with a guiding vision – What are the...
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Keynote - Ben Wilson - Part I
The DNA of Cities
We are honoured to have historian Ben Wilson as our first Keynote guest. Ben is the author of several acclaimed books, including which was released in 2020 and which was published in 2023. In Part I of this global adventure spanning 5,000 years of urbanisation, Ben reveals: How cities rewire humans biologically, culturally and socially both individually and collectively Why the permanence of human settlement in cities catalyses innovation The innate duality of cities as places of opportunity and hardship, brute and beauty, enchantment and horror – What are the Keynotes? These...
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The DNA of Kyiv - Part II
The DNA of Cities
In Part II of The DNA of Kyiv, we learn about the people who live in Kyiv and the strong feelings the city stirs within those who choose to make it their home. We discover what it means to be and become a Kyivan, and we explore the manifestations of the common struggle for cultural freedom and self-government in the city's protests and revolutions. Against the backdrop of war in Ukraine and amid possible air-raid sirens, power-blackouts and the threat of Russian missile strikes, our local experts spoke about how Kyiv has been responding to the full-scale invasion and enduring under more than...
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The DNA of Kyiv - Part I
The DNA of Cities
We were privileged to be invited by Denys Nazarenko of Kyiv City Council to include his beloved city in The DNA of Cities following the devastating full scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. We might think of Kyiv as an ancient city in a turbulent present in which its citizens have been actively fighting for more than 1,000 days to defend Ukrainian independence, freedom and sovereignty from Russia. In this episode, we explore the birth of Kyiv as a city and its historical role as the main centre in the Kyivan Rus, an extremely large federation that gave rise to what we now recognise as the...
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Trailer - Welcome to Season 2 of The DNA of Cities
The DNA of Cities
Welcome to Season 2 of The DNA of Cities. Subscribe and join us fortnightly from Thursday 30th January 2025 as we continue to decode what makes our cities so unique. – Bass Vibes - Rollin at 5 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Source: Artist: – Sound design by Dainius Kacinskas.
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What does The DNA of Cities not explain?
The DNA of Cities
In our final episode of Season 1, we ask our urban experts ‘what does The DNA of Cities not yet explain about how cities evolve?’ We debate the limits of The DNA of Cities and what it is that cannot be explained using this way of exploring, conceptualising and understanding urban identity. Thank you to Professor Michele Acuto, A/Professor Ellie Cosgrave, Gabriella Gómez-Mont, Professor Edgar Pieterse, Dr Jaana Remes, Dr Karissa Sanbonmatsu and Geerte Udo for joining us in this episode. We also hear from Abha Joshi-Ghani, who we dedicate this season to with great respect and...
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How can we use The DNA of Cities?
The DNA of Cities
This is the first of two concluding episodes to our bumper first season of The DNA of Cities. We return to the urban experts we spoke to at the very beginning of this season to understand how, and why, The DNA of Cities might be used. With special thanks to Professor Michele Acuto, Professor Ricky Burdett CBE, Alice Charles, Gabriella Gómez-Mont, Dr Shi Nan, Professor Edgar Pieterse, Dr Jaana Remes, Professor Pete Tyler, Geerte Udo, Natalia Uribe and Dr Alfonso Vergara for joining us in this episode. We also hear from Abha Joshi-Ghani, who we dedicate this season to with great respect and...
info_outlineIn this second episode on the DNA of Dubai we explore the distinctiveness of Dubai’s urban form and fabric by asking local experts “How many Dubai’s are there?”
We spend time exploring the everyday spaces and rhythms of Dubai. What can the more ordinary, mundane, vernacular aspects of life here tell us about a city often characterised by its iconic urban infrastructure and its globally showcased buildings.
We hear from Abdulaziz AlJaziri, Her Excellency Hala Badri and Professor Yasser Elseshtawy.
To learn more about the DNA of Cities and sign up for our latest updates visit www.thednaofcities.com.