What is The Future for Cities?

"Boy, what if we, as a society, became as obsessed with healthy places as we did with healthy food."
Are you interested in the health of individuals and communities? What do you think about the effect of the environment on us? How can we encourage human behaviour change for better urban futures?
Interview with Jeff Siegler, founder of Revitalize, or Die and author of Your City is Sick book. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, individual and community health, how the environment affects us, feelings and technical details, and many more.
Jeff Siegler is a community revitalization expert dedicated to "killing apathy" and rebuilding local economies. With a background in urban planning, economics, and district management, Jeff has assisted hundreds of communities in achieving sustainability. He is known for his blunt honesty and passionate approach, believing that to fix a city, you must first revitalize its people. In 2023, Jeff authored Your City is Sick, a guide to diagnosing community shortcomings and fostering civic pride. Based in Pittsburgh, Jeff balances his professional "agitation" of city leaders with raising his two children, committed to the belief that vibrant communities transform lives.
Find out more about Jeff through these links:
Jeff Siegler on LinkedIn
@jeff_siegler as Jeff Siegler on Instagram
Revitalize, or Die website
Revitalize, or Die on Youtube
Your City Is Sick - book by Jeff Siegler
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
No.225R - Positioning place-making as a social process
No.392 - Interview with Sebastian Pfautsch about climate smart design
No.396 - Interview with Lior Steinberg about car-free cities
No.403R - Integrating behavioral science into urban planning: A framework for human-centered spatial design
What was the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@WTF4Cities⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wtf4cities.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ website where the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠shownotes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ are also available.
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.
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Are you interested in the health of individuals and communities? What do you think about the effect of the environment on us? How can we encourage human behaviour change for better urban futures?
Trailer for episode 404 - interview with Jeff Siegler, founder of Revitalize, or Die and author of Your City is Sick book. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, individual and community health, how the environment affects us, feelings and technical details, and many more.
Find out more in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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Are you interested how behavioural science influences urban design?
Debate of the article titled Integrating behavioral science into urban planning: a framework for human-centered spatial design from 2025, by Mohamed M.E. Khogali, Eman Ahmed Mohamed Ali, and Abbas Ramdani, published in the Frontiers in Psychology journal.
This is a great preparation to our next interview with Jeff Siegler in episode 404 talking about the need to include behavioural science into urban planning.
Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see the connection between behavioural science and urban planning. This article shows that cities informed by behavioural insights foster social cohesion, economic prosperity and environmental sustainability.
Find the article through this link.
Abstract: This paper examines the intrinsic relationship between urban planning and behavioral concepts, addressing a significant knowledge gap in how spatial arrangements influence human behavior and well-being. Through a systematic literature review and analytical framework, we investigate the interdependence between urban spatial design and human behavioral patterns across seven key planning domains: urban form, built environment, infrastructure services, urban landscapes, public spaces, urban housing fabric, and urban design. Our findings reveal that physical environments significantly shape human psychological, cognitive, and behavioral responses, while human activities simultaneously influence urban structures. The research identifies critical behavioral determinants that impact urban environments and demonstrates how behavioral science can reduce uncertainty in design processes. By integrating insights from environmental psychology and behavioral theory, this study offers a conceptual model to guide urban planners toward more behaviorally responsive design approaches. We conclude that well-planned cities support economically prosperous, socially cohesive, and environmentally sustainable communities, while poorly planned environments can exacerbate social unrest and hinder development. The study recommends institutionalizing participatory design methodologies, prioritizing pedestrian-oriented layouts, equitably distributing green spaces, adopting context-sensitive planning approaches, and implementing rigorous post-implementation behavioral assessments to develop truly human-centered urban environments.
Connecting episodes you might be interested in:
No.255R - Participation, co-creation, and public space
No.365R - The Civic Brand
You can find the transcript through ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠th⁠i⁠⁠⁠s link⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
What was the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@WTF4Cities⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wtf4cities.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ website where the⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠showno⁠t⁠es⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠are also available
I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in
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Are you interested in the health of individuals and communities? What do you think about the effect of the environment on us? How can we encourage human behaviour change for better urban futures?
Trailer for episode 404 - interview with Jeff Siegler, founder of Revitalize, or Die and author of Your City is Sick book. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, individual and community health, how the environment affects us, feelings and technical details, and many more.
Find out more in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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Are you interested in the health of individuals and communities? What do you think about the effect of the environment on us? How can we encourage human behaviour change for better urban futures?
Trailer for episode 404 - interview with Jeff Siegler, founder of Revitalize, or Die and author of Your City is Sick book. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, individual and community health, how the environment affects us, feelings and technical details, and many more.
Find out more in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠episode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Episode generated with ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Descript⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ assistance (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠affiliate link⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).
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