What makes a city truly smart? Or just? The answer lies with the people. In this episode, we explore the human-centric side of Smart Cities with our guest Titus Kaloki from the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Kenya office. Through their Just Cities Project, Titus is on a mission to make cities both smart and just, leveraging technology to put people at the center of urban planning. Titus and his team have been leveraging an innovative software called Urban Collective Design Environment (U_CODE) to...

What if the true architects of our cities are not the government officials or urban planners, but the communities who live in them? In this episode, we dive deep into a provocative question: When governments fail to provide essential services like water and electricity, and communities step up to fill the gaps, who define the future of urban development? We journey to Brazil to unravel the story of the 2001 City Statute, a groundbreaking piece of legislation aimed at making cities more...

In this episode, we're headed to Tangier, Morocco. My co-host Naziha Nasrin and I speak with Amine Houari of Think Tanger, a non-profit cultural agency shaping Tangier's development through art, research, and collaboration. Together, we discuss crucial topics such as creative insurgency, planning in suburban contexts in Toronto (Scarborough) and Tangier (Bir Chifa), multicultural approaches to community development, and insights for other cultural planning organizations. Additionally, we...

Join me, along with my co-hosts Joycelyn and Erin, as we dive into an insightful conversation with Lanrick Bennett Jr., Toronto's Bicycle Mayor, and the Executive Director of Charlie's FreeWheels. We explore his tenure as a bike mayor and the expansive network of BYCS-appointed mayors, stretching from India to Uganda and beyond. In this episode, we discuss crucial topics such as Vision Zero and efforts to reduce vehicular-related fatalities in Toronto. We delve into designing inclusive...

This episode marks the first video episode of the podcast! Here's a sneak peek of my conversation with Destinie Adélakun, an emerging multi-disciplinary artist, who masterfully weaves her Nigerian-Indian heritage into her breathtaking solo exhibition, "Journey of Adé." Destinie also shares the excitement of exhibiting at Toronto's renowned Nuit Blanche, her work bridging mental wellness and public art as part of the Scarborough-based Behind the Art Collective, and the crucial role that...

Join me in this captivating episode of the podcast as I have an insightful conversation with Heba Elhanafy, an urban researcher from the Charter Cities Institute (CCI) Zambia. Together, we explore the fascinating world of charter city development and dive deep into the Planning Guidelines Report titled "Guided Organic Growth: An urban planning framework for charter cities." In this episode, you'll learn about: - What are charter cities and why promoting good governance is at the heart of...

In this episode, I chat with Angela Oduor Lungati, the CEO of Ushahidi. Ushahdi is a mobile platform dubbed “Africa’s Gift to Silicon Valley” by the New York Times. Born out of a crisis, the open-source software enables virtually anyone with a cellphone or internet connection to efficiently crowd-source information, map it and share it with those the most in need and guide those who can provide aid. Ushahidi is a powerful planning and decision-making tool for communities and cities in the...

En novembre 2021, j'ai eu le plaisir de parler avec M. Patrick Mudekereza le Directeur Exécutif du Centre d'Art Waza. Le Centre d'art Waza, situé à Lubumbashi, en République démocratique du Congo une ville désignée en 2015 par l'UNESCO, comme étant la Ville créative d'artisanat et des arts populaires. Ainsi, pendant notre discussion nous parlons par rapport de la créativité des Lushois, du rôle de l'art public dans la ville, les projets divers dirigés par le Centre et ce qui fait de...

In this episode, my co-host Sami Ferwati and I chat with Salma Elbasty from CLUSTER (Cairo Lab for Urban Studies, Training and Environmental Research). CLUSTER undertakes a number of research, architecture, and arts-based urban initiatives with a special focus on analyzing urban informality and highlighting its role in our cities. During our discussion, we explore the impact of two of CLUSTER's major projects—the CAUL (Critical Arab Urban Lexicon) and their Creativity in Action toolkit—and...

In this episode, my co-host Jane O'Brien Davis and I chat with Marion Anvango at Book Bunk. The Book Bunk is "working to restore some of Nairobi's most iconic public libraries into sites of heritage, public art, collective memory, knowledge production, shared experiences, cultural leadership and information exchange." During our discussion, we explore their diverse series of programming that they offer in their public library branches. We also chat about Book Bunk's approach to restoring...

In this episode, I chat with Adwoa Afful, the founder of Black Futures Now Toronto (BFN TO). BFN TO is collective that uses a mixture of storytelling, radical mapping, and a whole lot of creative talent, to develop a number of interactive ways of archiving, experiencing, and celebrating overlooked Black histories and geographies. During our talk, we explore their innovative Mapping Black Futures (MBF) story mapping project, and how in collaboration with Black nonbinary youth and women from...

In this episode, I speak with Tatu Gatere, the co-founder and CEO of Buildher. Buildher is a non-profit based in Nairobi Kenya that is on a mission to promote gender equality within the construction industry through the provision of accredited construction, artisanry, and manufacturing skills to women that participate in their training program. Through their holistic approach to skills training and workforce development, Buildher is working hard to knock down biases and close the gender gap...

In this episode, my co-host Hannah and I chatted with Milly Kakungulu, the Education Department Lead at Justice Defenders Uganda. Through our discussion, we learned more about how the Justice Defenders (formerly known as the African Prisons Project) are defending the defenceless by educating prisoners on how to provide legal services for themselves and others. In this episode, you'll learn about: - the importance of a people-centred approach to justice, the different challenges that...

In this episode, I chat again with Roxana Escobar Ñañez. Roxana is pursuing her Ph.D. in Human Geography at the University of Toronto and she was recently one of five special guests on the 12th episode of the podcast. Given her unique research interests, after our last conversation, I decided to invite her to the show again to dive deeper into her work examining 'the places Afro-Peruvian women hold in Lima’s sonic landscapes' and Black womanhood in Latin America and to get a better...

This special episode of Urban Limitrophe is brought to you in collaboration with the Graduate Geography & Planning Student Society (GGAPSS) in celebration of Black History/Black Futures Month! In this episode, I speak with Roxana Escobar Ñañez (PhD Human Geography), Brianna Lane (MA Physical Geography), Priscilla Ankomah-Hackman (MSc Planning), Jane O'Brien Davis (MSc Planning), and Bola Oshinusi (PhD Planning) to explore why they got interested in geography and planning, and their advice...

In this episode, I speak with Abigail Moriah, a registered urban planner and founder of the Black Planning Project. Through this initiative, Abigail and her team, collect and share the stories of Black urban planning professionals and students to highlight their important work and encourage more diverse voices to enter the profession. Most importantly, through its various mentorship opportunities and research endeavours, the Black Planning Project builds the relationships and the community...

In this episode, I speak with Carolina Larrazábal, the co-founder and design director at BuildX Studio. BuildX Studio is an innovative award-winning architectural studio based in Nairobi, which is the first architecture, engineering or construction company in Africa to become B Corp™ certified. The team at BuildX Studio is on a mission to build radically better buildings, and I am fortunate that way back in July 2021 I got to speak with Carolina to learn more about how her team is building...

In this episode, I speak with Paul Ninson, a photographer, and filmmaker about the importance of visual storytelling and how after collecting over 30,000 books on photography and film, he is in the beginning stages of building The Dikan Center. The center will be the first visual storytelling library in Ghana. The Dikan Center will train not only the next generation of storytellers but build a community hub that welcomes locals and newcomers alike to learn about, celebrate, and create African...

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Melanie Samson, about the important role that waste reclaimers play in our cities, particularly in Johannesburg. Melanie works closely with the African Reclaimers Organization (ARO), a non-profit group that is fighting to get waste reclaimers the rights and recognition they deserve for their hard work and ensuring that their knowledge and perspectives are incorporated in the broader waste management system. In this episode, you'll learn about: - why in some...

In this episode, I speak with Liz Gomis, about the inspiration and process of developing OFF TO Magazine. OFF TO Magazine is a bilingual, biannual magazine available online and through print, that explores African Cities through the eyes of local citizens. Each issue centers around one African city and uses the experience of local journalists, writers, artists, architects, urban planners, historians, and more, to dispel some myths about the city and share why it is a region worth heading...

In this episode, I discuss urban play spaces and child-friendly cities with Amowi Phillips from the Mmofra Foundation. The Mmofra Foundations is a non-profit based out of Accra, Ghana that transforms urban spaces and urban green spaces into creative labs where children and youth can play and learn while being exposed to art, culture, and nature. In this episode, you'll learn about: - how the organization uses creative placemaking and urban design to transform their Mmofra Place Park into an...

In this episode, I discuss the importance of public libraries in cities with Naomi Fagla Medegan, the founder of Gbobètô. Gbobètô is a non-profit based out of Porto-Novo, Benin that sees waste as a tool for social and sustainable development and through their various recycling programs works to make cities cleaner and communities empowered. In this episode, you'll learn about: - how fuel briquettes can be a source of sustainable and affordable energy in areas with poor electricity access -...

In this episode, I discuss a bit about community climate change adaptation and the importance of incorporating the youth voice in decision-making with Daniel Onyango, the founder of The Hope Raisers Initiative. The Hope Raisers Initiative uses arts, culture, and sports to amplify the youth voice in the neighbourhood of Korogocho in Nairobi, Kenya. Through the organization, community members get opportunities to creatively transform public spaces in their neighbourhood whether that is through...

In this episode, I discuss a bit about the role of the cultural appropriateness of food in tackling food insecurity and chat with Chef Rachel Adjei, the founder of The Abibiman Project. The Abibiman Project is an initiative started by Rachel in October 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, that uses African cuisine and ingredients to help promote social justice and reduce food insecurity in Toronto's black community. In this episode, we’ll touch on: - How The Abibiman Project got...