Here it is, the finale of the first season of the Cities Reimagined podcast and it is nothing shy of (plot) twists, secrets coming to light and what is to be expected for the way forward for the show, me personally and for Anthropocene.City: an idea I developed with today’s guest Jonas Bylund which is taking shape. Besides being a good friend and former year-long colleague, Jonas a researcher at KTH, the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.

Tune into this episode to hear about…

🕵️ Unravelling Urban Mysteries in all corners of urban life with Anthropocene.City: From Godzilla friendships to reimagining cityscapes for all.

🔧 Embrace Do It Yourself Urbanism and how a 'naive' stance leads to groundbreaking urban insights. We're talking DIY empowerment, the wisdom of action, and the art of reflection.

🦖 The Journey to Urban Wisdom: What are urban transitions with a dose of love and care and what does it have to do with Godzilla or a dusty mountain bike?

🐉 Preview of Season 2: As we close this season, we tease the next chapter: a blend of mysteries, inspiration, and innovative urban connections.

🪕 A special Godzilla remix of the Cities Reimagined intro music.

When I started developing the first concept for Cities Reimagined 10 months ago, I did not imagine the feedback I received until now. Thanks to everyone who reached out, listened to the show, gave feedback and helped me along the journey! Honestly, thank you. It is what makes this work worthwhile.

For saying hello, reaching out with (cooperation) requests and anything at all, please send me an email: johannes@anthropocene.city .

Cities Reimagined will take a break from here and is planned to return in September/October 2024. In the meantime, I will be busy working with the City of Mechelen (Belgium) on a European Urban Initiative project alongside the blue-green corridor river Dyle which will connect people, water and nature, kicking-off Anthropocene.City and my ‘regular’ job working with the Management Board of the Driving Urban Transitions Partnership.

As the importance of city foods is growing, this episode of Cities Reimagined is all about the transformative potential of healthy and delicious (urban) cuisine We are jumping back and forth between the favelas of the metropolis of Sāo Paulo, Brazil 🇧🇷 and the allotment gardens in Leeds, in the UK 🇬🇧 and will explore how cities are redefining their foodscapes for a sustainable future.

Today’s guests are

• Marcella Arruda, an urbanist and permaculture designer and CEO of The City Needs You Institute [Instituto A Cidade Precisa de Você] from Sāo Paulo.
• Chiara Tornaghi. a critical human geographer and scholar-activist at Coventry University, with a focus on Political ecology, agroecology and politics of spaces from Leeds,

Be prepared to hear aspects of urban food you might have not considered before:

🍌 What stroganoff made of banana peals has to do with the favelas of São Paulo

🔍 Why the invisible production of food in cities is a reflection of a broken relationship to the planet

🥬 How agroecological inspires us to integrate aspects of sustainability, biodiversity, ecological balance and community resilience on the topic of food.

🇧🇷 How Marcella’s NGO A Cicade Precisa De Você works with farmers on informal land in the favela of Brasilandia.

🍲 How urban food can contribute to addressing the rising food poverty and what the difference between the UK and Brazil is

More information:

• Marcella’s NGO Instituto A Cidade Precisa de Você: https://www.acidadeprecisa.org/english
• The Urbanising in Place Project we talk about: http://urbanisinginplace.org
• Video on ECOCIDADES in São Paulo: https://youtu.be/_d4DvOWw5f8?si=-IuVUQx1kxM7JHmK
• Agroecological Urbanism: https://www.agroecologicalurbanism.org
• Landed Community Kitchen: https://www.agroecologicalurbanism.org/building-blocks/landed-community-kitchen

This is the last thematic episode of season 1 of Cities Reimagined. Up next is the season finale, where the truth comes out, cliffhangers are being built for season 2 and… and… where Jonas Bylund and I will have a good time summing up what happened so far and bringing that into a 🦖 godzilla context. Stay tuned.

If you like the content of Cities Reimagined, please consider subscribing to the channel, rate the show, follow us on Instagram for background stories or get connected to Johannes via LinkedIn or email (johannes@anthropocene.city).

This week’s guest on Cities Reimagined is Tiffany Fukuma, Managing Director of Trans Europe Halles, a network of over 160 alternative cultural centres across 40 countries which all have one in common: they reinterpret neglected and underused spaces such as factory and military buildings, commercial spaces, parking lots etc. for grassroots cultural activities.

In this episode, we talk about...

🏭… how alternative cultural centres are creating new usages and identities of buildings and spaces

✨… why the trust of local administrations in the creativity of the residents will generate more exciting cities.

🪙… how city administration increasingly recognises that small-scale funding of resident-driven initiatives leads to more robust long-term transformation.

🌳… how repurposing existing buildings is essential for making cities sustainable and livable.

🗺️ … how Tiffany’s background in organising punk rock shows in squats, working in embassies and city administration in Japan, Canada and France led to managing Trans Europe Halles. Cultural centres and initiatives repurposing abandoned spaces are crucial for reimagining cities. They are dynamic spaces that foster creativity, community engagement, and social cohesion. They are experimental spaces, reinterpreting buildings and shifting the function of spaces. They develop new identities by reinterpreting the built environment and cultural heritage of cities and neighbourhoods.

More info:

• Johannes on LinkedIn
• Cities Reimagined: www.anthropocene.city/podcast
• Trans Europe Halles: https://teh.net