Smart in the City – The BABLE Podcast BABLE Smart Cities

This episode was recorded live at the Autonomy Mobility World Expo 2023 in Paris, where Smart in the City was a Media Partner. 
 
In this episode, we talked with Sergio Fernández Balaguer, the Head of the International Department at the Municipal Transport Company (EMT) of Madrid, Spain. We discussed sustainable mobility, transversal connectivity, public transport and car usage and the importance of international activities when it comes to urban mobility.
 
Overview of the episode:
02:03 - Teaser: What is one odd or weird thing that Sergio has seen on the streets of Madrid recently?
03:23 - Sergio's background story and transition to working at EMT Madrid
06:01 - What are the main challenges Madrid is facing when it comes to public transport?
10:27 - How does collaboration between EMT Madrid and other EU cities work?
14:21 - How can other cities replicate urban mobility models?
10:17 - Is the European Commission’s proposal to ban the sale of carbon-emitting cars from 2035 feasible?
23:01 - Roll with the Punches: our guest answers this or that questions quickly and with their first instincts
25:58 - Ending Question: To you, what is a Smart City?
 
Like our show? Remember to subscribe and rate it!
Want to join us for an episode? Contact our host Tamlyn Shimizu.
 
And for more insights, join our Smart City Community!
 

This episode was recorded live at the Autonomy Mobility World Expo 2023 in Paris, where Smart in the City was a Media Partner. 
 
In this episode, we travel to Manchester in the UK and talk about public transport, active mobility, integration, railway network and more with Nick Fairclough, Senior Policy Manager at Transport for Greater Manchester.
 
Overview of the episode:
02:29 - Teaser: What is a little-known fact about Manchester?
03:11 - What led our guest to work in transport?
05:20 - How does Transport for Greater Manchester work?
07:35 - What are the similarities and differences in your organisation to others?
08:54 - Is there an increase in people biking and walking?
10:17 - What does success look like for integration?
11:19 - Do cars have a place in integration?
12:08 - What are the barriers? What are the challenges? 
13:17 - Where does public transport fall short?
14:58 - What is the business model behind public transport in Manchester?
18:51 - Nick Fairclough's favourite project: the development of Greater Manchester's bus plan
20:37 - What does Greater Manchester look like in 2050?
22:47 - Inspire Us: our guest shares a story, a quote, or anything that has inspired them recently
24:27 - Ending Question: To you, what is a Smart City?
 
Like our show? Remember to subscribe and rate it!
Want to join us for an episode? Contact our host Tamlyn Shimizu.
 
And for more insights, join our Smart City Community!
 

This episode was recorded live at the Autonomy Mobility World Expo 2023 in Paris, where Smart in the City was a Media Partner. 
 
In this episode, we were lucky enough to sit down with Ross Douglas, Founder and CEO of Autonomy Paris & the Urban Mobility Weekly, to talk about the event, mobility trends, carbon emissions goals, car ownership, electric vehicles and more!
 
Overview of the episode:
01:40 - Teaser: if our guest was to ride in any mode of transport of the future, what would it be?
02:15 - What's the story behind Autonomy?
03:45 - "Change is really driven by policy-makers" and not by consumer behaviour
05:05 - What is the consumers' responsibility?
06:43 - What are the three current mobility trends?
08:44 - Is there still time to turn the tide regarding Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions?
11:15 - How can events such as Autonomy help meet carbon emissions goals?
12:47 - What are the limitations to such events?
13:56 - Car ownership: the cities vs the industry
16:29 - Why we mustn't see EVs as a solution but as a tool
19:10 - Mobility and public health: looking at urban planning in a holistic way
20:52 - Flip the Script: our guest is asking the questions!
24:46 - Ending Question: To you, what is a Smart City?
 
Like our show? Remember to subscribe and rate it!
Want to join us for an episode? Contact our host Tamlyn Shimizu.
 
And for more insights, join our Smart City Community!

In this episode, we learn how the happiness of citizens can be measured and quantified to inform decision-making in urban planning with two guests from the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark: Catarina Lachmund, Senior Analyst, and Camilla Michalski, Data Analyst.
 
Overview of the episode:
02:18 - Teaser: our guest shared a quote about happiness from the founder of the Happiness Research Institute
02:26 - Who is Catarina? What is Camila’s story?
05:19 - Why should municipalities care about happiness?
08:06 - How can happiness be measured?
11:39 - What is the impact of technology on happiness?
17:54 - What is the "currency of happiness"?
21:03 - How do the Happiness Research Institute works with cities?
25:10 - How do they work with the private sector?
30:13 - Hot Take of the Day: an opinion from our guest that is slightly controversial or debated
33:24 - Ending Question: To you, what is a Smart City?
 
Like our show? Remember to subscribe and rate it!
Want to join us for an episode? Contact our host Tamlyn Shimizu.
 
And for more insights, join our Smart City Community!

For this episode, we sat down in Stuttgart, Germany with our guests Sebastian Ewert, CEO and Founder of MAHLE chargeBIG, and Alexander Schmidt, our CEO and Founder at BABLE. With them, we discussed electric vehicles, EV charging infrastructures, and the future of urban mobility in general.
 
Overview of the episode:
02:47 - Teaser: Imagine Stuttgart in 2050. Are there cars, and what does it look like?
04:18 - Who is Sebastian and what is MAHLE chargeBIG?
09:40 - What does the future of electric charging look like?
14:43 - How have the discussions changed over electric vehicles and charging in the past 12 years?
19:02 - What is the political environment around EV charging in Germany and in the EU?
21:14 - What do you say to people that still say that electric vehicles are not the solution to urban mobility challenges and that they still cause congestion, etc.? What about the impact of batteries etc. on the environment?
26:37 - How can we accelerate the transition to electric mobility?
 
36:25 - What Would You Do: what would our guests do if they were a minister of transport?
41:26 - Ending Question: To you, what is a Smart City?
 
Like our show? Remember to subscribe and rate it!
Want to join us for an episode? Contact our host Tamlyn Shimizu.
 
And for more insights, join our Smart City Community!

With us in this special episode is none other than a fellow podcast host and urbanist – Marcin Wojciech Żebrowski from Urbcast - a podcast about cities. He is also a Business Development Coordinator at Henning Larsen Architects.
Urbcast is a unique bilingual podcast about cities, urbanism, urban planning, architecture and much more. Every second Wednesday, Marcin interviews various guests and dives into topics such as cities, urban design, architecture or living in the Scandinavian capital of design—Copenhagen.
 
BABLE will be at the Autonomy Mobility World Expo in Paris on March 22nd and 23rd. Register now to benefit from the many activities on the programme: Startup Village, City Hub, two conference programs, test tracks, demos, B2B and B2G meetings, startup challenge and innovation award ceremony We hope to see you there!
 
Overview of the episode:
02:25 - Teaser: How does it feel for a podcast host to become the guest?
03:05 - How did Marcin get into podcasting?
05:30 - How many cities have Marcin recorded episodes with?
07:10 - Is urbanism an inclusive term, or should we widen the scope of Smart in the City and Urbcast?
09:00 - What is the most inspiring story Marcin heard from his guests?
13:15 - How can cities enable bottom-up initiatives?
18:10 - What has been the biggest urban challenge Marcin heard about?
21:50 - What role can podcasting have in the urban transition?
29:20 - Can we copy-paste solutions from one city to another?
 
32:05 - Flip the Script: our guest is asking the questions!
36:45 - Ending Question: To you, what is a Smart City?
 
Like our show? Remember to subscribe and rate it!
Want to join us for an episode? Contact our host Tamlyn Shimizu.
 
And for more insights, join our Smart City Community!