Cities in Mind

Hello everyone!Our podcast series is back this week with an exciting episode about the power of regenerative design and what it means for cities across Asia.Wait, what is regenerative design?For more than three decades, architects, planners, designers and others shaping the built environment have been following and promoting sustainable design. In 1987, the United Nations’ Brundt

🛴 🚲 Hi everyone! If you’re regularly reading this newsletter, you know that I am quite excited about all things micromobility-related. Over the past few years, micromobility vehicles have expanded transportation options in cities across the world and stretched the radius that people can travel without a car. Micromobility covers a large range of vehicles, typically weighing

Hi everyone,In this week’s podcast episode, we’ll explore the intersection between energy production and air quality in Southeast Asia, a complex, yet fascinating, topic which encapsulates multiple challenges ranging from climate action, transition to clean energy and social justice.Air pollution is a silent killer whose health impacts concern almost every one of us. In 2019, t

Hi everyone,In this week’s podcast, we dig a little deeper into the circular economy and its potentials for the built environment, taking the case of Southeast Asian countries and cities.I had the pleasure to discuss with Devni Acharya, Senior Consultant, Advisory, Planning and Design at ARUP Singapore.Devni has consulted on projects across the UK, Europe, Africa, the Middle East

Hello everyone!China has long been a blindspot for me and I decided to educate myself more about its growing and undeniable importance. China is at a critical moment in its history and current events might have long term consequences on the country’s future.From the Evergrande real estate crisis, Xi Jinping’s current crackdown on capitalism to an acceleration of climate change-

After a 2-month trip back to Europe (followed by a 2-week quarantine 😬 ), I am back on track and happy to relaunch the Cities in Mind newsletter with a new podcast episode. Today, we'll cover a very exciting topic: 🚇 Underground UrbanismForget about skyscrapers or land reclamation, underground is the next frontier of cities! We used to go higher, wider and now it's time to go

In this episode, we’ll discuss the potential of tactical urbanism in creating more space for people to meet, walk, socialise and play safely.As we move towards a new COVID-19 normal, it is crucial to rethink how our streets and open spaces operate and how they could be more flexible in their usages and functions. Tactical urbanism could help achieve that in a systematic and cost-

In this episode, we’ll discuss the potential of nature-based solutions in cities to adapt to climate change, reduce disaster risk, benefit the environment and improve community living. 🌊 In many Asian coastal cities, mangroves, coral reefs, wetlands, forests can play an important role in helping urban areas withstand the impacts of climate change, sea-level rise, floods or typ

In this short episode, I’ll bring you to Penang, a mid-sized city of 1.7 million, located in the northwest coast of Malaysia. Penang is very unique in many aspects. It is known as the Silicon Valley of the East for its semiconductor industries. It is a growing start-up hub and it is one of Malaysia's most vital economic powerhouses. It boasts a very diverse cultural heritage, wit

🏙 Cities in Mind is your go-to destination to learn about cities, technology, innovation and the people behind them. All that through an Asian perspective.About me: 👋🏻 I am Fabien, an urban planner based in Singapore since 2015. I write this regular newsletter and host a podcast series, that you can find on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.If you’re seeing this newsletter for t