Portraits of Urban Shapers

Looking for project ideas, advice, and solutions to the tricky challenges your city faces in becoming more sustainable? Our CityChangers’ profiles have what you’re looking for! These are the stories of the people leading the transition that we need in urban spaces. We feature some of the world’s most prominent thinkers and doers in the realms of change-making. From planners to politicians, from activists to architects, and from horticulturalists to housing specialists, our CityChangers represent the many diverse professions and passions that promise to transform our cities.

CityChangers in Conversation

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Jacob Hartmann – Getting Citizens to Do the Job | CityChangers in Conversation

Jacob Hartmann, Senior Advisor at Sharing Copenhagen, talks about getting started, building trust, and getting the youth on board.
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Marieke Snoek & Walther Ploos van Amstel – How to Win the Delivery Race | CityChangers in Conversation

Marieke Snoek and Walther Ploos van Amstel, Owner and CEO at Cycloon & Fietskoeriers, Zwolle, give an insight into city logistics and trends like cargo bikes, discussing urgent needs and hidden potentials in cities.

Yann Moszynski – How to Help People Get on Their Bikes | CityChangers in Conversation

Yann Moszynski, Co-Founder & Art-Director of Les Rookies, Paris, talks with us about urban mobility, cycling and getting started.

Anna Huttunen – How to Deal with the Difficult Ones | CityChangers in Conversation

Anna Huttunen, Project Manager of CitiCap, Lathi, Finland talks with us about urban mobility and how to communicate efficiently.

Inspiring CityChanger Portraits

CityChanger Siobhan Burger: How to Lead Social Design for a Better Future

The cities we build today will still be standing for generations to come, so we need to anticipate how these will form the physical and social infrastructures people need in the future. Siobhan Burger...

CityChanger Marjan Ehsassi: Amplifying Voices with Citizens’ Assemblies

When we as citizens feel helpless to interject in the questionable actions of decision-makers, the cracks in democracy are laid clear. But what if there was a way to put power back in the...

Coolfood Quick Guide: Strategies to Entice Better Food Choices

Food service organisations are well placed to make a big dent in greenhouse gas emissions just by reducing how much meat they serve. The World Resource Institute’s Coolfood Quick Guide shows them how. And...

Od-Nowa: How Łódź is Creating Its First School Street

Karolina Taczalska was appalled by the density of traffic outside her son’s school, so she and Mateusz Cyganek started a project that aims to make the street child friendly by implementing small but effective...

#18: Cities of Making

Urban Future’s Karl Dickinson is in conversation with Adrian Hill, a social designer and lead researcher for the Cities of Making project, talking about the nature of production in the post-industrial city. They discuss...

#17: Heart & Seoul

How did Seoul turn a backed-up expressway into a tranquil urban stream? We take a look at the landmark Cheonggyecheon River Restoration project and ask why, almost 20 year later, this peaceful pocket in...

Does Indigenous Architecture Hold the Secrets to Sustainable Construction?

Diversifying cultural representation in architecture extends a sense of belonging to communities that have long been hidden. Reanna McKay tells us how Indigenous urban design and place markers are rolling back centuries of exclusion...

Architecture4kids: Urban Design Skills in Early Years Teaches Valuable Lessons in Sustainability

Engaging children in urban design and planning activities can increase interest in these professions in later years. It also provides perspectives infrequently considered in architecture, which are fundamental to building inclusive, sustainable cities. The municipal...

CityChanger Matt Homewood: Copenhagen’s Food Waste Warrior

When it comes to reducing food waste, Matt Homewood isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. As Instagram’s An Urban Harvester, he’s amassed a sizeable following documenting the shocking amount of edible food supermarkets...

CityChanger Hanah Lahe: Healing Political Divides to Unite Citizens in Climate Action

In ageing societies like Europe, young people have little of the political power needed to influence decisions that impact their lives. As a group for whom sustainability is a prominent concern, futureproofing cities relies...

CityChanger Christopher Leow: Urban Farming – Freestyle

Christopher Leow has spent more than a decade working in Singapore’s burgeoning urban agriculture industry. We chat to him about his unique journey, why growing in the city continues to gain ground, and the...

CityChanger Frank Holleman: Realistic Expectations for Sustainable Eating Habits

Meat may be one of the most controversial topics in sustainability discourse. It’s a major contributor to climate change emissions, for one, and vegan advocates have a hard time convincing diehard carnivores to change...