The Century of Cities

The Century of Cities welcomes Sowmya Parthasarathy, an Architect and Urban Designer leading Arup's Masterplanning and Urban Design team in London, who examines how city planning has shifted from centralized, top-down systems toward more people-centred and regenerative approaches. Drawing on her experience in 1980s New Delhi and her work across the UK, US, Middle East, and India, she reflects on how rapid urbanization outpaced planning capacity, and how climate risk and housing affordability now define urban priorities.
Looking to 2080, she argues that cities must move beyond net zero toward regenerative models that align human and natural systems. Drawing on her work with the UK's New Towns Task Force, she explores densification, retrofit, and the role of new towns, emphasizing that long-term success depends on integrating housing, infrastructure, placemaking, and stewardship into a single, sustained civic vision.

The Century of Cities welcomes Chris Fair, futurist and President & CEO of Resonance, who explores how cities are moving beyond a single model of the "global city" toward more divergent forms of urban development. Drawing on decades of research and the evaluation of hundreds of cities worldwide, he reflects on how places once shaped by globalization are now differentiating through culture, governance, and lived experience. From Copenhagen's reinvention to the contrasting trajectories of São Paulo and Toronto, the discussion highlights the growing gap between performance and perception, and why it matters.
Chris challenges conventional approaches to city branding, reframing it as civic identity grounded in authenticity, institutional capacity, and local aspiration. He argues that cities at different stages of growth or decline face distinct priorities, from placemaking and infrastructure to institutional alignment. As urbanization fragments across regions, the cities best positioned for the future will be those that clearly understand who they are, what they offer, and how to turn identity into long-term opportunity.

In this episode of The Century of Cities, Rohit T. Aggarwala, Commissioner of NYC Environmental Protection and former Chief Climate Officer, reflects on a century of urban change through the lens of New York's environmental, infrastructural, and governance evolution. He traces the city's trajectory from the fiscal and environmental crises of the late twentieth century to its present condition, marked by cleaner air and water, renewed waterfronts, and the pressures that accompany urban demand. He argues that climate change will eclipse affordability and growth as the defining urban challenge. He outlines a pragmatic understanding of resilience, one that prioritizes protection of life, housing, and core systems over the pursuit of uninterrupted normalcy. From stormwater and coastal defences to mobility and water management, the discussion emphasizes the need for long-term investment, institutional flexibility, and political leadership capable of navigating disruption. The future of cities, he suggests, will depend on the capacity to make difficult choices early, at scale, and with a clear understanding of risk.

Mairi Spowage, Director at Fraser of Allander Institute, joins The Century of Cities to reflect on how Scotland's cities have evolved through industrial decline, sectoral booms, and structural economic change. She traces the divergent trajectories of places like Glasgow and Aberdeen, explaining how shifts toward service and knowledge-based economies have brought new opportunities alongside persistent challenges around housing, productivity, and uneven growth. Mairi highlights the importance of aligning skills, housing, and infrastructure with local economic realities, and cautions against one-size-fits-all national policy. From post-pandemic city centres to demographic change, her perspective is pragmatic and grounded: cities thrive when local institutions are empowered to plan long-term, collaborate effectively, and connect people to opportunity.

The Century of Cities welcomes Tim Williams, Cities Lead at Grimshaw and a leading voice in global urban strategy, to explore how cities move through cycles of growth, decline, and reinvention. Drawing on his upbringing in the South Wales Valleys and years advising governments in the UK and Australia, Tim reflects on the shift from industrial cities built on extraction to contemporary urban economies shaped by knowledge, lifestyle, and connectivity. He emphasizes that urban change is rarely linear and that periods of transition often involve loss, uncertainty, and uneven outcomes.
Tim offers a sharp critique of the global housing crisis, arguing that it cannot be solved by supply alone. He explains how the over-financialization of housing and a disconnect between public expectations and private-sector business models have created a systemic impasse. Rather than blaming developers, Tim calls for a broader mix of housing delivery models, including a renewed role for non-market housing and stronger public-sector capacity. Looking ahead, he warns that many cities may soon face a new reality, managing stagnation or decline and urges more honest international dialogue about how cities adapt when growth is no longer guaranteed.