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 Vincent Lee: Managing Water with Green Infrastructure

Few firms have the level of recognition that Arup enjoys. This has given Vincent Lee the chance to work on an impressive array of projects since joining the New York office in 2006. He...

CityChanger Panchali Saikia: Guardian of Urban Water Governance

Water democracy has implications for health, safety, and life opportunities. Nowhere is this more apparent than among the large informal settlements in Indian cities. This is where the work of Panchali Saikia makes a...

CityChanger Matt Stewart: Reviving River Recreation

Matt Stewart enjoys nothing more than taking a plunge. A native Aussie, he’s the outdoors type and in 2015 began a campaign to make Melbourne’s Yarra River swimmable again. We caught up with this...

CityChanger Sophie Mirpourian: Creative Ways to Listen

Being heard makes us feel valued and identifies priorities for change, but municipalities struggle to do it well. CityChanger and creative Sophie Mirpourian tells us how her idea to use a portable townhall -...

CityChanger Sepp Eisenriegler: Eliminating Planned Obsolescence

Spend less and save the environment: these are the benefits of repairing durable household electrical appliances over buying cheap replacements every few years. The fact we even can give products a second lease of...

CityChanger Miriam Staley: Presenting Masterclass

CityChangers have the know-how, stress-tested projects, and innovative policy ideas worth shouting about, but it takes more than being an expert to influence our peers. Captivating presentations take practice – and it’s a different...

CityChanger Heinrich Strößenreuther: Founder of Climate & Cycling Referendums

If we seriously intend to limit global warming, we need more people like Heinrich Strößenreuther. This cycling and climate activist and serial NGO founder specialises in street-level change, and he’s using the political system...

CityChanger Fabian Dattner: Lessons for Equitable Leadership

As in business, real success in sustainable city transformations largely hinges on sound and equitable leadership. This requires elevating more women to positions of influence. Social entrepreneur Fabian Dattner is a die-hard advocate and...

CityChanger Luca Ballarini: Empowering People Through City Imaging

When Luca Ballarini came up with the idea of ‘city imaging’, he didn’t yet know the impact it could have. Within less than a decade, the concept has become a powerful tool that anyone...

CityChanger Lan Marie Berg: How to Deal with Public Scrutiny

When Lan Marie Berg was thrust into the public eye as Oslo’s vice mayor, the constant scrutiny became an unexpected challenge. Her climate budget and car-free zones transformed the city, but the backlash ranged...

CityChanger Alice Haugh: A Just Transition Towards Decarbonisation

What does a city of the future look like? For Alice Haugh, it is a regenerative and inclusive built environment that supports wellbeing and equality. In her work with the global philanthropic institution, Laudes...

CityChanger Frances Bean: Helping Public Bodies Decarbonise

Frances Bean joined the Carbon Trust, a mission-led sustainability consultancy in the UK, in 2018. As Manager in the Cities and Regions team, she supports municipalities and public bodies to understand and achieve their...