The #CitiesFirst Podcast

Dr. Laura Narvaez Zertuche is an architect, urban designer, and a spatial scientist. She is a Partner in the Urban Design Group at Foster + Partners, where she leads people movement and data analytics within the firm since 2015. Her work incorporates evidence-based and research-led design that combines informed decision-making with simulation-powered design tools and strategic development of methodologies with their application to architecture and urban design. She has +17 years of experience working in urban design and master planning internationally, primarily in Mexico, UK, the Middle East and Asia. She is a specialist in assessing how issues such as pedestrian footfall, economic activity and social interactions will impact the viability, growth, and long-term evolution of projects, ranging from new cities to complex buildings. Laura works pro-bono as a contributor and advisor, and as a member of the Board of Directors of Urban AI -an international multi-disciplinary think-tank that investigates the ethical modes of governance and sustainable uses of artificial intelligence in cities. Laura is also a Lecturer at the Chair of Cognitive Sciences in ETH Zurich. She gained a MSc and PhD in Architecture and the Built Environment from the Space Syntax Laboratory at The Bartlett, UCL.

Here's a sneak peek into the episode, which is all about urbanism and AI: 👇👇👇

✅Tell us about your journey from academia to practice

✅What can AI tell us about the built environment and urban design

✅How do you approach technology when applied to the urban scale

✅What are some of the best examples of AI & machine learning in design

✅Tell us about Urban AI and latest contributions to the think tank

Alex is Founder and Managing Director at Full Turn Capital, where he invests in early-stage companies innovating at the intersection of cleantech and mobility. Previously, Alex was the SVP of Market transformation at the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), where he oversaw LACI's technical priorities, multi-stakeholder programs and initial pilots and deployments. He joined LACI from Groupe PSA in Paris where he was VP of Corporate Strategy, co-leading the company’s acquisition of Opel from General Motors and leading the company's work on autonomous mobility. Previously he haded the automotive automotive industry vertical at the World Economic Forum, with a focus on autonomous mobility. Alex has also served VP of retail sales at an LA-based EV startup CODA Automotive, Inc., and worked at Toyota Motor Europe and McKinsey & Company.

Here's a sneak peek into the episode, which is all about Los Angeles: 👇👇👇

✅Who Framed Roger Rabbit and the dismantling of the Pacific Electric railcar system

✅Watts Uprising - how a community that had been one of the prime nodes of the Pacific Electric railcar system rioted, but kept the rail station intact, a telling reminder of the importance of mobility in people's lives

✅1984 Olympics - LA created a bus rapid transit system and changed commute patterns!

✅Why LA might be the 2nd city in the US to have congestion pricing!

✅How the 2028 Olympics are a nice to have in the existing plan to build a functioning metro system

Augustin Friedel is a Mobility Transformation Expert and Advisor and was previously responsible for the intermodality strategy at Volkswagen AG. Intermodality services at Volkswagen are defined as customer centric offerings in the three segments of Vehicle on Demand (VoD), Mobility on Demand (MoD) and Logistics. Before joining Volkswagen, Augustin was responsible for building and developing several MoD (e.g. Uber, ioki) and logistics (e.g. Zipjet) services in European cities. He is the founder of the online mobility magazine GetMobility, which was acquired by Deutsche Bahn in 2018. He has a Dipl.-Ing. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Technical University of Munich and spent some time at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 🛴🚝🚌🧑‍💻📈

Here's a sneak peek into the episode: 👇👇👇

✅How are European cities accommodating for mobility transformation in 2023

✅What are some of the latest trends in urban logistics & deliveries?

✅How can micromobility reinforce its value proposition to urban stakeholders

✅What's the latest in autonomous driving and who are the main industry players?

Carol Schweiger, President of Schweiger Consulting. Carol has over 40 years of experience, and is nationally and internationally recognised in transportation technology consulting. She has wide-ranging and in-depth expertise in several specialty areas, including technology strategies for public agencies, public transport technology, traveller information strategies and systems, and systems engineering.

We discussed a wide range of burning topics, such as: #PublicTransit, #Equity, #Microtransit, #MaaS, #ArtificialIntelligence, and #BigData. Here's a sneak peak into the podcast agenda:

• How can we get public transit back to basics (and put safety and operations first)?
• Microtransit and fixed route: what is the right mix for cities and suburbs?
• What is the current state of the industry in MaaS and where are we at in 2022
• How are innovations in AI/ML revolutionizing public transit data analysis?

Ryan Russo is Principal at Together Projects, LLC. Widely recognized as an urban innovator, Ryan most recently served as the first Director of the Oakland Department of Transportation (OakDOT), where he led the new agency through its inaugural five years of operation.

Under Ryan's leadership, OakDOT quickly became a national model for incorporating equity into transportation planning, policy, programs and operations. A start-up in government, OakDOT was formed to pursue a vision of a more equitable, safer Oakland with improved access to housing, jobs, schools and services. From paving plans to emerging mobility, OakDOT worked to center racial equity in every organizational aspect and long-neglected communities are now being more authentically engaged and collaborating with government. Ryan also led OakDOT to launch quickly implemented programs to repurpose streets in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most notably, OakDOT’s “Slow Streets” initiative spurred cities around the country to designate neighborhood streets as shared spaces to serve critical community needs of the moment.

Previously, Ryan spent nearly 14 ground-breaking years at the New York City Department of Transportation, ultimately rising to the position of Deputy Commissioner and serving as an instrumental leader in the transformation of NYCDOT from a focus on moving cars and trucks to meeting the needs of residents, businesses and visitors. 🛴🚝🚌🧑‍💻📈

Here's a sneak peek into the episode: 👇👇👇

✅What mobility lessons learned from Oakland and New York City can be applied on an International scale?

✅How has COVID changed the power dynamics in urban and transportation planning?

✅Can slow streets be scaled as a permanent fixture of the built environment

✅What are your predictions for active and shared transportation in the post COVID city?