"The decarbonisation efforts really need to boil down to dollars."
Are you interested in embodied carbon accounting? What do you think about choosing lower emission building materials? How can we make business sense for embodied carbon?
Interview with Tom Petty, co-founder of CarbonTrace. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, making business sense of embodied carbon, the difference between infill and brownfield developments, and many more.
Tom Petty is a cleantech innovator dedicated to reducing embodied carbon in residential construction—one of the most significant challenges of our time. With a Masters in Architecture and a career shift to building architectural homes, Tom brings a rare blend of design expertise, hands-on construction knowledge, and a data-driven mindset to the table. Passionate about solving complex, interconnected problems, Tom thrives on dismantling challenges to uncover innovative solutions and better approaches. His work is deeply personal, driven by a commitment to creating a sustainable future for his two children and for generations to come. Tom’s journey has taken him from architecture to the “dark side” of building, and now to the forefront of cleantech startups, where he combines his practical and theoretical insights to lead transformative change in the construction industry. His mission is clear: to make a tangible difference in reducing the carbon footprint of the built environment.
Find out more about Tom through these links:
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
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
Are you interested in embodied carbon accounting?
Summary of the white paper titled Measuring embodied carbon in the residential sector: Barriers and opportunities from 2024, by Tom Petty, published on the CarbonTrace website.
This is a great preparation to our next interview with Tom Petty in episode 306 talking about embodied carbon and its accounting.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see the opportunities for the building industry regarding embodied carbon emissions. This white paper investigates different embodied carbon measuring methods and defines one for the residential sector.
Find the white paper through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
You can find the transcript through this link.
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
Are you interested in embodied carbon accounting? What do you think about choosing lower emission building materials? How can we make business sense for embodied carbon?
Trailer for episode 306 - interview with Tom Petty, co-founder of CarbonTrace. We talk about his vision for the future of cities, making business sense of embodied carbon, the difference between infill and brownfield developments, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Episode generated with Descript assistance (affiliate link).
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"The plan needs to accommodate constant change, because it's constantly adapting."
Are you interested in different levels of AI agents assisting human decision-making? What do you think about open architecture technological systems? How can we democratise technology?
Interview with Nick Bray, VP of Global Defence and Security at VANTIQ. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, AI levels, technology, optimism, smartness, naming lazyness, and many more.
Nick Bray joined VANTIQ in March 2023 from PwC’s Aerospace & Defence division, following VANTIQ’s recognition as the top contender among over 1,000 international tech companies in PwC’s accelerator programme. Prior to joining VANTIQ, Nick served as a Non-Executive Director for a UK drone company and then moved to a prominent European technology and services provider, advising on National Security and cyber operations. His career also includes a role at a Cambridge-based digital twin company specializing in atmospheric modelling. Nick’s distinguished military background includes serving in the Royal Air Force Regiment, where he commanded the RAF’s 6,000-strong specialist ground combat and security forces and led the UK MOD’s International Policy & Plans Division. Although he left regular service in 2017, he continues to contribute as a Reservist in the RAF’s innovation organisation. Nick holds Master's Degrees in Military Strategy & Technology from King’s College London and International Relations & Diplomacy from the London School of Economics. He was awarded the CBE by the late Queen Elizabeth II. Residing on the UK's south coast, Nick enjoys walking his two family poodles, surfing, open water swimming, and running.
Find out more about Nick through these links:
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
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
Are you interested in urban progress with artificial intelligence?
Summary of the white paper titled Agentic AI: The future is now from 2025, by VANTIQ.
This is a great preparation to our next interview with Nick Bray in episode 304 talking about how open architecture systems and artificial intelligence are changing our lives.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see the rise of agentic AIs and their potential to revolutionise industries. This white paper introduces AI applications for healthcare, smart cities, public safety and other sectors to create better future for cities.
Find the white paper through this link.
Connecting episodes:
You can find the transcript through this link.
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
Are you interested in different levels of AI agents assisting human decision-making? What do you think about open architecture technological systems? How can we democratise technology? Trailer for episode 304 - interview with Nick Bray, VP of Global Defence and Security at VANTIQ. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, AI levels, technology, optimism, smartness, naming lazyness, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Episode generated with Descript assistance (affiliate link).
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"I think there is a bit of community / social imperative that we should be standing up for what we want, demanding more."
Are you interested in institutional accountability? What do you think about starting from taking pride in your own community? How can we take responsibility for mistakes made on the organisational level?
Interview with Darren Murphy, CEO and founder of Core Integrity. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, levels of accountability, taking the first steps, the energy transition, and many more.
Darren Murphy is the CEO and Founder of Core Integrity, leading a team of integrity, investigations, and risk professionals who help government, corporate, and professional sports clients protect their people, reputation, and bottom line. With over 25 years of experience as a Certified Fraud Examiner, Darren specializes in investigating fraud, bribery, corruption, and employee misconduct. He is also an expert in managing protected disclosure investigations and advising senior executives on fraud and misconduct issues. Recognized for his work in whistleblower program design, Darren helps organizations create safe "speak up" cultures. He believes that prevention is always better than the best response.
Find out more about Darren through these links:
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
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
Are you interested in urban governance accountability?
Summary of the article titled A framework for assessing the accountability of local governance arrangements for adaptation to climate change from 2019, by Heleen Mees and Peter Driessen, published in the Journal of Environmental Planning and Management.
This is a great preparation to our next interview with Darren Murphy in episode 302 talking about the need to take responsibility and accountability while moving toward the future.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how accountability matters for the governance during climate change. This article develops a framework for assessing the accountability of interactive governance arrangements for local adaptation.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: Accountability has hardly been studied in the governance of climate change adaptation. This paper develops a framework for assessing the accountability of interactive governance arrangements for local adaptation. This framework is based on five important accountability mechanisms: Clear responsibilities and mandates, Transparency, Political oversight, Citizen control and Checks and sanctions. For illustration purposes, the proposed framework is applied to the case of a Dutch local adaptation governance arrangement. The application shows that the five proposed mechanisms and their operationalizations offer a valid assessment of the accountability of such arrangements. It also raises some challenges, such as the tensions between accountability and flexibility, legitimacy and effectiveness; the potentially important roles of trust and of the political skills of central actor(s) in the arrangement in raising accountability, and the potential need to distinguish between arrangements for policy planning and for service delivery.
Connecting episodes you might be interesting in:
You can find the transcript through this link.
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
Are you interested in institutional accountability? What do you think about starting from taking pride in your own community? How can we take responsibility for mistakes made on the organisational level?
Trailer for episode 302 - interview with Darren Murphy, CEO and founder of Core Integrity. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, levels of accountability, taking the first steps, the energy transition, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Episode generated with Descript assistance (affiliate link).
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in urban food production? What do you think is the difference between food production and agriculture? How can we retrofit urban infrastructure to produce more food in cities?
This episode is a panel discussion where we investigate urban food production aspects. The panellists, Adam Dorr, Nadun Hennayaka, and Simon Burt talk about their vision for the future of cities, urban food production and agriculture, precision fermentation, retrofitting urban infrastructure, and many more.
Adam Dorr is the Director of Research at the independent think tank RethinkX. He is an environmental social scientist and technology theorist whose recent RethinkX publications have focused on the disruption of the global energy sector by new energy generation and storage technologies, as well as the implications of the energy, transportation, and food disruptions for climate change. Adam regularly presents on stage, radio, podcasts, and television. He completed his MS at the University of Michigan’s School for the Environment and Sustainability and his PhD at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs.
Adam talked about the transformative technologies in episode 222.
Nadun Hennayaka is a seasoned engineering and technology expert with over 20 years of experience, having collaborated with global leaders such as Apple and Microsoft. He holds a bachelor’s degree in information systems and business management from the University of Auckland and certifications from industry giants like Cisco and Microsoft. In 2017, he founded Gaia Project Australia to address climate change through renewable energy, ocean conservation, and advanced agricultural technology. By partnering with scientists, engineers, and global agencies, Nadun has spearheaded innovations like autonomous crop cultivation systems for Earth and space, demonstrating his commitment to sustainable solutions that advance environmental stewardship and transform the future of agriculture and technology.
Nadun discussed the food ball and what can be produced in cities in episode 278.
Simon Burt, an entrepreneur and co-founder, is dedicated to driving change through technology in agriculture. Passionate about environmentally friendly farming and carbon-neutral solutions, Simon excels in production management, stakeholder engagement, and sustainable practices. With 20 years of experience in founding and managing companies, he values the importance of strong teams in achieving success. Committed to hands-on involvement, Simon combines his love for farming and people to lead with purpose and create a lasting impact. His dedication to innovative, sustainable agriculture reflects his mission to leave a meaningful legacy in the sector.
Simon described the importance of education for food production in episode 220.
Connected episodes you might be interested in:
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.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in urban food production? What do you think is the difference between food production and agriculture? How can we retrofit urban infrastructure to produce more food in cities?Trailer for episode 300 - a panel discussion where we investigate urban food production aspects. The panellists, Adam Dorr, Nadun Hennayaka, and Simon Burt talk about their vision for the future of cities, urban food production and agriculture, precision fermentation, retrofitting urban infrastructure, and many more. Find out more in the episode.
Episode generated with Descript assistance (affiliate link).
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in urban food production approaches?
Summary of the article titled Validating the City Region Food System Approach: Enacting inclusive, transformational City Region Food Systems from 2018, by Alison Blay-Palmer, Guido Santini, Marielle Dubbeling, Henk Renting, Makiko Taguchi, and Thierry Giordano, published in the MDPI Sustainability journal.
This is a great preparation to our next panel conversation in episode 300 about urban food production with Adam Dorr, Nadun Hennayaka and Simon Burt.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how we can improve urban food systems. This article presents the history and potential future of City Region Food Systems to allow cross-sector engagement and collaboration for better urban futures.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: This paper offers a critical assessment of the value and utility of the evolving City Region Food Systems (CRFS) approach to improve our insights into flows of resources—food, waste, people, and knowledge—from rural to peri-urban to urban and back again, and the policies and process needed to enable sustainability. This paper reflects on (1) CRFS merits compared to other approaches; (2) the operational potential of applying the CRFS approach to existing projects through case analysis; (3) how to make the CRFS approach more robust and ways to further operationalize the approach; and (4) the potential for the CRFS approach to address complex challenges including integrated governance, territorial development, metabolic flows, and climate change. The paper begins with the rationale for CRFS as both a conceptual framework and an integrative operational approach, as it helps to build increasingly coherent transformational food systems. CRFS is differentiated from existing approaches to understand the context and gaps in theory and practice. We then explore the strength of CRFS through the conceptual building blocks of ‘food systems’ and ‘city-regions’ as appropriate, or not, to address pressing complex challenges. As both a multi-stakeholder, sustainability-building approach and process, CRFS provides a collective voice for food actors across scales and could provide coherence across jurisdictions, policies, and scales, including the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, the Sustainable Development Goals, the Habitat III New Urban Agenda, and the Conference of the Parties (COP) 21. CRFS responds directly to calls in the literature to provide a conceptual and practical framing for policy through wide engagement across sectors that enables the co-construction of a relevant policy frame that can be enacted through sufficiently integrated policies and programs that achieve increasingly sustainable food systems.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
You can find the transcript through this link.
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
Are you interested in urban food production? What do you think is the difference between food production and agriculture? How can we retrofit urban infrastructure to produce more food in cities?Trailer for episode 300 - a panel discussion where we investigate urban food production aspects. The panellists, Adam Dorr, Nadun Hennayaka, and Simon Burt talk about their vision for the future of cities, urban food production and agriculture, precision fermentation, retrofitting urban infrastructure, and many more. Find out more in the episode.
Episode generated with Descript assistance (affiliate link).
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in urban food production? What do you think is the difference between food production and agriculture? How can we retrofit urban infrastructure to produce more food in cities?Trailer for episode 300 - a panel discussion where we investigate urban food production aspects. The panellists, Adam Dorr, Nadun Hennayaka, and Simon Burt talk about their vision for the future of cities, urban food production and agriculture, precision fermentation, retrofitting urban infrastructure, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Episode generated with Descript assistance (affiliate link).
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"[The city] is a system that is difficult to map, but it is evolving."
Are you interested in allowing governments to fail? What do you think about systems thinking? How can we help governments be bold?
Interview with Carina Gormley, senior associate at the Centre for Public Impact’s Climate Change Initiative. We will talk about her vision for the future of cities, sustainability, the role of governments, room for failure, and many more.
Carina Gormley leads internal partnerships, culture and green initiatives at the Centre for Public Impact’s Climate Change Initiative. She’s at the forefront of urban innovation and climate action, and has guided over 25 cities in designing and implementing sustainable, community-driven solutions. Carina’s expertise spans systems thinking, human-centered design, urbanism, UI/UX, public health, and social equity, providing a holistic approach to climate challenges. Her academic background includes a Masters of Science in Environment and Sustainability Management from Georgetown University and a BA in Architecture and Urbanism. Carina’s work is dedicated to empowering local governments and their partners to create resilient, sustainable urban environments. She advocates for the use of AI in climate action and emphasizes the critical role of effective regulatory frameworks. Through her leadership, Carina fosters collaboration, innovation, and sustainable funding structures, ensuring that cities can meet climate goals and build a better future for their communities.
Find out more about Carina through these links:
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
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.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in hallucinating to solve urban challenges?
Summary of the report titled Harnessing social imagination in the era of the climate crisis by the Centre for Public Impact, published on their website.
This is a great preparation to our next interview with Carina Gormley in episode 298 talking about the need for our collective imagination to solve the climate crisis, for example.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see why our hallucination matters to solve urban crises. This project investigated how we might use social imagination to create new ractices and processes.
Find the report through this link.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
You can find the transcript through this link.
What wast 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.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in allowing governments to fail? What do you think about systems thinking? How can we help governments be bold?
Trailer for episode 298 - interview with Carina Gormley, senior associate at the Centre for Public Impact’s Climate Change Initiative. We will talk about her vision for the future of cities, sustainability, the role of governments, room for failure, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
"You can't waste a crises!"
Are you interested in cities as places for experiments? What do you think about respectful disagreements? How can we create good partnerships between different stakeholders?
Interview with Sally Capp, Non-Executive Director of Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne and the former Lord Mayor of Melbourne. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, the need for respectful disagreement, multifunctional spaces and places, the role of the government, and many more.
Sally Capp is an accomplished leader with extensive experience across both private and public sectors. She was the first woman to be directly elected as Lord Mayor of Melbourne, where she led the city through the pandemic, gaining valuable crisis management expertise. Sally has a strong background in stakeholder engagement, ESG initiatives, and governance, having worked in senior roles at KPMG, ANZ, and as CEO of the Committee for Melbourne. She co-founded a business that was later listed on the ASX and served as Victoria's Agent-General in the UK, Europe, and Israel. A University of Melbourne graduate with degrees in Law and Commerce, she made history in 2004 as the first female board member of Collingwood FC. Passionate about philanthropy, Sally is on the board of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute and supports several charities. She is backed by her husband Andrew and their sons, Will and Nic.
You can find out more about Sally through these links:
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
What wast 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.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in public-private partnerships for improved urban futures?
Summary of the article titled Critical success factors for public-private partnerships in urban regeneration projects from 2024 by Paula Vale de Paula, Rui Cunha Marques, and Jorge Manuel Goncalves, published in the MDPI Infrastructures journal.
This is a great preparation to our next interview with Sally Capp in episode 296 talking about the importance of the public-private partnership endeavours for urban futures.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how can this structure enhance regenerative development. This article investigates the critical success factors for public-private partnerships for urban regeneration projects.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: Public–Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements are used in different sectors in the provision of infrastructure and public services. The use of PPP agreements in urban regeneration projects, although more recent, has been gaining prominence in different contexts. However, in many cases, PPP projects have a controversial implementation, often not achieving the proposed objectives and presenting negative results. Their controversial implementation is the result of a lack of knowledge and lack of application of the best practices and Critical Success Factors (CSFs) associated with them. Based on this, the present study aims to identify and analyze the CSFs for PPP arrangements in urban regeneration projects. The study was conducted in two distinct parts. The first part consists of a literature review on the PPP CSFs in general. The second part consists of the development of a questionnaire seeking to identify the CSFs of PPP arrangements for urban regeneration projects. Based on the literature review and the questionnaire answers, the main success factors of PPP projects for urban regeneration were identified and structured in the framework with five main clusters: two related to the external environment (enabling environment and exogenous factors) and three related to the internal environment (preparation phase, procurement phase, and contract management phase).
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
No.165 - Interview with Michael Healy about actual projects between public and private No.203R - Too risky – The role of finance as a driver of sustainability transitionsYou can find the transcript through this link.
What wast 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.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Are you interested in cities as places for experiments? What do you think about respectful disagreements? How can we create good partnerships between different stakeholders?
Trailer for episode 296 - interview with Sally Capp, Non-Executive Director of Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne and the former Lord Mayor of Melbourne. We talk about her vision for the future of cities, the need for respectful disagreement, multifunctional spaces and places, the role of the government, and many more.
Find out more in the episode.
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay