Let's Talk About Cities studio incontro

In this thought-provoking episode of "Let's Talk About Cities," we delve into the complex relationship between architecture, aesthetics, and populism. We examine how populist movements exploit traditional notions of beauty to craft exclusionary narratives, using the reconstruction of the Berlin Palace and the renovation of the Neues Museum as contrasting case studies. We discuss the historical use of architecture as propaganda and the dangers of establishing a rigid aesthetic ideology as the arbiter of good design. Through these discussions, we aim to uncover the deeper meanings behind architectural choices and their impacts on our urban landscapes.

We're told that denser cities are better for the environment, for the economy, even for our happiness. But is that the whole story? On this episode of Let's Talk About Cities we dive into the debate about urban density and add nuance to dogma.

In this episode we’ll take a deeper dive into the countryside and its relation to the city. An overview of city and countryside through the lens of urbanization is given, reports and research on the topic are presented, definitions and differences of terms used are explained and renewed interest for countryside within architectural discourse is examined before future outlooks are considered.

Today we will introduce a slightly different form of the podcast where we talk about a current topic in a shorter episode. This time it will be about the plans of Brussels and Paris to implement large car-free zones.

In the first episode of 2022 we’ll talk about participatory planning; why it’s relevant, its benefits and its potential risks and obstacles. We trace a shift from top-down to more democratic planning processes and discuss examples.

In today's episode, we will talk about self-initiated housing, starting by trying to find a definition, giving some historical background information and exploring the different motives why people engage in projects like that. We will discuss the different ownership and financing models and also go into detail with one self-initiated housing project that was realized in Vienna in 2015, LiSA.

We will also discuss self-initiated housing more critically and explore why its not available to many.