CityBites podcast

For more than a decade, Future of London has offered its cross-sector urban network independent, timely, practical content in a convivial atmosphere that supports diversity and next-wave leadership. More than 5,000 people engage directly with FoL across its live and online platforms; as of 2020, 500+ increasingly influential city leaders will have graduated from our professional development programmes.

Future of London is now expanding that offer beyond its core network of built environment practitioners – and beyond London and the UK – via a new podcast, CityBites. The ingredients are all here: a trusted platform; a track record in intelligent, objective analysis; a broad, mixed-level network; an online audience growing rapidly through webinars and social media; and the capacity to connect diverse groups and ideas.

This is a peer-driven podcast: FoL staff, associates and members of the alumni network invite guests from different sectors and roles to share stories, insights and ideas. The main aim is to support and inspire the next wave of city leaders. As other city lovers join the conversation, all the better.

Programme

“Leading through crisis” (May to August 2020)
A special run of FoL alumni-led interviews on staying resilient and effective during the Covid-19 crisis. In these five episodes, decision-makers from the public, private and third sectors share their views on how the sector is adapting and what the future may hold for cities, and leadership, post-crisis. This series ties to FoL’s multi-media Learning from Crisis programme.

“Connections” (August to December 2020)
Moving on from the kick-off series, we next explore how the pandemic is changing our relationship to shared space, community engagement, negotiation, connectivity and culture as the lockdown eases and we enter the recovery phase. We talk with a spectrum of frontline workers, analysts and strategic-level influencers charged with restarting the UK economy in an era of unpredictability and eroded public and business confidence.

“Leading the way for cities” (April to September 2021)
Part of an alumni-led series of events, podcasts and blog posts that engage with city-makers in their aspirations for the future of our cities, drawing on their collective experience, ideas, resilience and leadership as we emerge from the pandemic. The series seeks to re-appraise the status quo, bring fresh thinking to tricky issues, and help us to challenge ourselves on ways to be more ambitious for our cities, through our work.

Further content (Ongoing)
As Covid-19 impacts unfold, the podcast will feature housing, economy and place related issues, as well as leadership topics. As a recognised leader in network-building and responsive, engaging content, FoL is poised to deliver a programme of themes and formats that will appeal to both its growing core membership and to new global audiences. The podcast is hosted on universally available and user-friendly Anchor and distributed through Spotify, Google and similar platforms, plus FoL’s website and social media channels.

Get involved

We’re looking for partners interested in helping FoL shape content around sector priorities, gaining profile and connection with FoL’s cross-sector, mixed-level network and reaching a potential global audience of prospective partners. To find out how you can get involved and support the podcast – or a mini-series of episodes – get in touch with Oli Pinch.

Episodes

Proposal for London: A Roof Plan for London

Frustrated by all those wasted rooftops? So was PTE’s Peter Watkins. Check out his proposal for a tool that could bring acres of dead space to life. Video, podcast & resources from around the world.

Leading for way for cities #2: Adam Cossey - The future of civic centres

Leading the way for cities #2: Adam Cossey – The future of civic centres

Episode 2 of Leading the way for cities with Alumni Rep Katie Randall talking with Adam Cossey, Partner at Hawkins\Brown, about how councils are transforming their historic civic centres to create new mixed-use spaces and meet modern demand from their communities.

Leading for way for cities #1: Arthur Kay – Homes for key workers

Episode 1 of the alumni-led Leading the way for cities series with Arthur Kay, chair of the £100m Key Worker Homes Fund and Founder and CEO of Skyroom – an award-winning technology and urban development company which delivers precision-manufactured homes in the airspace above existing buildings.

Proposal for Greater Manchester: “A Call to Green”

Interested in ways to green your town centre? Check out the video of this great Proposal for GM and get-it-done discussion. Got a Proposal to deliver yourself? Catch the six-minute behind-the-scenes interview for tips and inspiration.

‘Connections’ Ep. 8: Creative use of public assets

This ‘Connections’ episode focuses on the creative and progressive use of public-sector assets to achieve greater local impact. Local authorities are increasingly asking how they can deliver more social and economic value through the properties that they own, control and influence.