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Cities 1.5

Cities 1.5

University of Toronto Press

Cities 1.5 is a podcast featuring progressive policy conversations with urban leaders taking action to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees. Hosted by David Miller and developed by University of Toronto Press, this podcast serves as a platform to discuss the most pressing policy and underlying economic issues facing cities in their effort to lead on transformational climate action. The podcast is an extension of the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy (https://jccpe.utpjournals.press), which publishes timely, evidence-based research that contributes to the urban climate agenda and supports governmental policy towards an equitable and resilient world. Join Editor-in-Chief and host David Miller as he speaks with mayors, city policymakers, economists, youth leaders, and scholars, among others, who are implementing and fighting for ambitious, near-term climate action.
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Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Cities 1.5 episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Cities 1.5 for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Cities 1.5 episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Ecological economics lies at the heart of the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy and C40’s mission. It recognises that the former gold standard of measuring economic success – the growth of gross domestic product, or GDP – is no longer fit for purpose, despite the fact that it’s the model that most national governments still rely on. Policies that allow us to prioritize the vitality of both people and the environment - and potentially a systemic re-think of our economic global systems - are vital for the welfare of our world. Existing and developing technologies cannot solve all of our problems: transitioning away from oil and gas and stopping unsustainable growth and overconsumption are the first steps to ensuring a future for our planet – and for us.
Image Credit: Photo by Nik on Unsplash
Featured guests:
Peter Victor is a world-leading expert in the field of ecological economics and the author of several books, including his latest, Escape from Overshoot: Economics for a Planet in Peril. He is also the author of the biography Herman Daly’s Economics for a Full World: His Life and Ideas and recently published a commentary in Volume 2, Issue 2 of the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, titled “Herman Daly’s Great Debates,” which delves into the concepts national and city governments can and should be implementing from Daly’s extensive and formative works.
Links
Herman Daly’s obituary by Professor Peter Victor
Canadian Society of Ecological Economics
Book review, Managing without GrowthGlobal Footprint Network
Finance and Economics - C40 Knowledge Hub
Earth Overshoot Day

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Calli Elipoulos and Peggy Whitfield.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

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The world is standing on the brink...the deepening impacts of the climate crisis, rising inequality and increasing levels of economic turmoil are affecting us all. But we now face a new threat: a powerful network of autocrats, billionaires. and demagogues and fossil fuel industry leaders has emerged. This climate crisis denying coalition is weaponising disinformation and manipulating societal distress and uncertainty in a bid to steer us into the arms of far-right populism and away from the global systems change we need. Mayors, cities, academics, scientists, economists, activists and civil society must step up and form a global axis of resistance to challenge those who threaten our way of life...and ultimately, the very survival of our world.

Season 5 of Cities 1.5 returns March 11th, with a new episode every Tuesday after that. Ask a friend to join the global resistance by inviting them to search for Cities 1.5 wherever they get their podcasts!

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Calli Elipoulos and Peggy Whitfield.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”: the first line of the Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities is an idea that the two cities featured in this episode’s case study know all too well. The Global South’s Nairobi, Kenya and the Global North’s Rotterdam in the Netherlands are half a world apart, but they’re each facing similar and equally dire climate consequences that are caused by and a threat to the major economic driver of import and export in their cities. But in the face of these “worst of times,” both of these cities are implementing the best and most innovative strategies they can to curb climate impact and make their key industries and transportation systems more resilient and sustainable.
Featured guests:
Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb has helped Rotterdam become one of Europe’s most diverse, dynamic, and multicultural cities. Thanks to his leadership, Rotterdam has evolved into an open and progressive urban centre with a strong emphasis on circularity, sustainability, and innovation. Mayor Aboutaleb has a well-earned global reputation as one of the world’s most respected and appreciated mayors.
Maurice Kavai is the Deputy Director, Climate Change, for Nairobi City County. The main goal of his work is to ensure that climate actions are streamlined within Nairobi’s urban programs, and to anchor all sector initiatives and development plans into the city’s climate action plan. Nairobi urban planning strategies include projects such as their railway city master plan, which will integrate mixed-use development, including affordable housing, with the railway transport network. The city also has previous successes with co-developed, inclusive planning processes, such as that which they undertook with the Mukuru Informal Settlement.
Links
“Keeping 1.5°C Alive in the Global South: Life or Death,” by Pamela Escobar Vargas, Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.
Dutch landscape shifts with North Sea wind farms, onshore hubs - Reuters
Roadmap ZECL: Moving towards Zero Emission City Logistics in Rotterdam in 2025 - C40 Knowledge Hub
Community-led upgrade to a Nairobi slum could be a model for Africa - The Guardian
Work Begins on Much-Awaited Nairobi Railway City - Construction Kenya

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Calli Elipoulos and Peggy Whitfield.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

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Cities 1.5 is returning for Season 2 — and we’re STILL dedicated to maintaining rising global temperatures to a maximum of 1.5o Celsius.
Starting September 12th 2023, join host David Miller each Tuesday as he speaks to even more mayors, youth leaders, researchers, and urban climate defenders who are working toward transformative solutions to today’s most pressing climate challenges. We’ll be exploring topics like climate budgeting, innovations that are saving cities, case studies, the latest climate report findings, and more. The fight toward a resilient world is closer than you think — subscribe to Cities 1.5 so you don’t miss a single episode. And if you can’t wait until September, check out Season 1 of Cities 1.5 wherever you get your podcasts.
Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller, Managing Director of the C40 Center for City Climate Policy and Economy, and is produced by the University of Toronto Press. Cities 1.5 supports the mission of the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy.

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Calli Elipoulos and Peggy Whitfield.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

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Last year's COP28 conference ended with a historic first: after dramatic and tense negotiations lasting deep into the night, representatives from across the globe agreed upon a roadmap to transition away from dirty energy. But does the agreement fall short of what is required if the world is to avoid breaching crucial and deadly climate tipping points?
Image Credit: © Maurizio Martorana - C40
Featured guests:
Mark Watts, executive director of C40 Cities, is building a reputation as one of the most prominent thought leaders in the urban climate action space, and was recently recognised as such in the Time 100 Climate list. Mark’s aim for C40 entails supporting its network of cities in halving global emissions this decade, while simultaneously reducing inequality and implementing inclusive climate policies.
Professor Xuemei Bai is a distinguished professor for Urban Environment and Human Ecology at the Australian National University. She was also the winner of the 2018 Volvo Environmental Prize, and is an elected fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. Professor Bai has served as a lead author for numerous global climate policy initiatives, including IPCC AR6 and is also a commissioner at the Earth Commission, which has set out crucial tipping points the world must not pass to avoid planetary collapse.
Links
Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy
Collapse by Jared Diamond
Solved: How the World’s Great Cities Are Fixing the Climate Crisis
Ports & Shipping - C40 website
Translating Earth system boundaries for cities and businesses - Nature
Build networked resilience across cities. - Science - Professor Xuemei Bai
C40 North America mayors' response to wildfires and air quality crisis in the region

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Calli Elipoulos and Peggy Whitfield.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

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This past December, COP28 signalled the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era. 150 heads of state came to the consensus that in order to halve emissions by 2030 - the target that scientists have warned us be must adhere to in order to avoid climate catastrophe - we must transition away from dirty energy. This is a monumental moment for our planet...and cities are going to be leading the way as we execute on these actions.
In season 3 of Cities 1.5, host David Miller is speaking to urban leaders who are driving change locally, with global impacts. Featuring guests like:
- Xiye Bastida, Youth Climate Activist
- Mark Watts, C40 Executive Director
- Agnes Agyepong, Founder and CEO of Global Black Maternal Health
- ...and more!
Season 3 of Cities 1.5 debuts March 5, with a new episode every Tuesday after that.

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Calli Elipoulos and Peggy Whitfield.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

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As the world enters yet another period of unprecedented political and environmental tumult, it is becoming even more clear that our current economic system based on the primacy of profit over the health and wellbeing of people and planet is failing. Throughout history, cities have always been at the forefront of new ways of thinking, and are urban laboratories to test and pilot new concepts. The same holds true today: the degrowth strand of economics, along with policies that focus on healthy people and environments, are being trialled in some Spanish cities, such as Barcelona and Girona. On the other side of the world, it is becoming more widely accepted that GDP is an outdated and inaccurate measurement of the health and wellbeing of a city or nation, and new tools and indexes are being implemented in cities across Japan. Despite their very different cultural contexts, these cities are thriving. Now, the question is: will nation states follow their lead?

Featured guests:

Dr Angelos Varvarousis, Author & Research Fellow at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB)

Takehiko Nagumo, Director of the Smart City Institute Japan

Links:

GDP Is the Wrong Tool for Measuring What Matters - Scientific American

This Pioneering Economist Says Our Obsession With Growth Must End - New York Times

'Letter to Nature' by Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau - C40 website

Girona City Council, a pioneering administration in exploring degrowth - Nació Impacte

What is a Smart City anyways? - IMD

Japan has a new way to measure city success – happiness - Cities Today

New Zealand – Implementing the Wellbeing Budget - Wellbeing Economy Alliance

Policy Design for a Wellbeing Economy - JCCPE

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Calli Elipoulos and Peggy Whitfield.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

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The traditional economic concepts that the Global North has been using since WWII assume that there is an infinite planet and that pollution has no economic consequences - assumptions that are wildly wrong. In contrast, ecological economics is a model designed to respect the fact that our economy exists on a finite planet and puts more emphasis on the quality of economic activity than its quantity. But a shift in mindset of this magnitude to embrace this new way of thinking requires guidance and a proper roadmap if it’s to be successfully integrated into urban policies. This episode sees Cities 1.5 looking to translate the theoretical into the practical by speaking to one of the world’s leading ecological economists, Tim Jackson, for a stand alone interview to help demonstrate what cities can do to deliver shared prosperity - not just an unsustainable goal of infinite growth.

Featured guests:
Tim Jackson is Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey and Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity - a multi-disciplinary, international research consortium that aims to explore the economic, social, and political dimensions of sustainable prosperity. He is an award-winning economist and published author of several books, including his latest: Post Growth: Life After Capitalism.
Links
Post Growth: Life After Capitalism by Tim Jackson (Polity Press, 2021)
Prosperity Beyond Growth: An Emerging Agenda for European Cities,” by Ben Rogers et al., Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy
Prosperity without growth? The transition to a sustainable economy report by Professor Tim Jackson,Economics Commissioner, Sustainable Development Commission
Prosperity without Growth (book) by Tim Jackson
Transition Network website
Beyond GDP: A proposed new economic framework: Vancouver - C40 Knowledge Hub
Image credit: © Rosanna Wan C40

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Calli Elipoulos and Peggy Whitfield.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

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Cities 1.5 - How Cities can Divest
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10/31/23 • 50 min

Climate breakdown is happening, and the cost of ignoring this phenomenon will be far greater than the cost of immediate action. We know that green investments promote the transition to a more resilient, prosperous, and sustainable economy. But what are the steps that cities need to take in order to shift their investments away from fossil fuels? How can policy makers support the creation of good, green jobs - while still protecting the climate?
Featured guests:
Daniel Zarrilli is the Special Advisor for Climate and Sustainability at Columbia University where he is supporting the creation of its new, world-leading Climate School and advising on pathways to achieve the university’s deep decarbonization goals. During his time working in the NYC Mayor’s Office, New York City committed to divesting entirely from fossil fuel funds and C40 Mayor Blasio (along with current C40 chair, Mayor Sadiq Khan of London) founded the Divest/Invest forum, an initiative aimed to build capacity and knowledge sharing for cities.
Dr Savannah Cox has recently accepted the position of Lecturer in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the University of Sheffield in England. She is an interdisciplinary qualitative social scientist studying urban planning for climate change and urban climate justice, with a focus on financial systems and infrastructure.
Dr Zac Taylor is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management in the Built Environment at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. His research advances critical and practical knowledge of climate finance with the place-specific challenges of urban climate action.
Links
C40 Divest/Invest Forum
"Interrupted rhythms and uncertain futures" - Sarah Knuth, Savannah Cox, Sahar Zavareh Hofmann, John Morris, Zac Taylor & Beki McElvain
Spotlight On: Cities Divest-Invest - C40 Knowledge Hub
Building climate resilience in cities through in

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Calli Elipoulos and Peggy Whitfield.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

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Cities 1.5 - Do we all breathe the same air?
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03/26/24 • 46 min

Being able to breathe clean air should be a human right but, according to the World Health Organization 99% of the world’s population lives in areas exceeding safe pollution limits, which has huge impacts on public health. Air pollution, climate impacts, and social justice are three sides of the same issue, demanding an intersectional response that not only makes space for the voices of the most impacted, but also the most disenfranchised.
Image Credit: Photo by Sai De Silva on Unsplash
Featured in this episode: The Great Smog of London, 1952, BBC Archive, Originally broadcast 5 December, 1962
Featured guests:
Agnes Agyepong is the founder and CEO of Global Black Maternal Health (GBMH), an organisation placing research and agency back into the hands of Black communities as change agents in their own health narratives. Key areas of research at GBMH include the impact of air pollution on Black women and their children. GBMH also supports the “Black Child Clean Air” initiative and the “Clean Air Wins” campaign.
Dolly Oladini is C40’s Senior Manager for Air Quality, bringing together global cities within the C40 Air Quality Network to share best practices and solutions for improving international air quality. Dolly previously worked as a senior policy officer for the mayor of London, where she promoted the T-Charge and Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) policies.
Links
The Cost of Fossil Gas: Policy Recommendations for a Clean Energy Transition and a Swift Gas Phase-out in Cities
A Pathway to Prioritizing and Delivering Healthy and Sustainable Cities
C40 Clean Air Accelerator
C40 Knowledge Hub - Air Quality Resources

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Calli Elipoulos and Peggy Whitfield.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/

bookmark
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FAQ

How many episodes does Cities 1.5 have?

Cities 1.5 currently has 53 episodes available.

What topics does Cities 1.5 cover?

The podcast is about Urban, Action, Society & Culture, Change, Climate, Policy, Earth Sciences, Podcasts, City, Economics, Science, Journal, Cities and Academic.

What is the most popular episode on Cities 1.5?

The episode title 'Herman Daly’s Great Debates: The enduring vitality of Ecological Economics' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Cities 1.5?

The average episode length on Cities 1.5 is 41 minutes.

How often are episodes of Cities 1.5 released?

Episodes of Cities 1.5 are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of Cities 1.5?

The first episode of Cities 1.5 was released on Jan 3, 2023.

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