Urban Exchange Episode 2: Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb, City of Rotterdam
10/13/21 • 24 min
Episode 2 of the Urban Exchange podcast welcomes the City of Rotterdam’s Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb as its special guest, as he discusses how to advance urban resilience for climate adaptation with the Resilient Cities Network’s (R-Cities) executive director, Lauren Sorkin.
During the discussion, Mayor Aboutaleb speaks about the challenges facing his city at the moment, the steps he’s taking to face them, and the importance of collaboration in building resilience against them.
As part of R-Cities’ Board, the Mayor explains to Lauren his reasons for committing himself to urban resilience – not only for the sake of Rotterdam, but for cities around the world. Mayor Aboutaleb describes the steps and actions required to onboard other cities with regards to the urban resilience agenda and narrative, plus, how coalitions such as ‘1000 Cities Adapt Now’ are important to making progress to the global challenges facing cities.
Mayor Aboutaleb also reflects on his time in office, 12 years after he originally took up his position as Mayor of Rotterdam. He explains how he has changed the city’s approach to building resilience in that time, how he has taken citizen engagement to a new level, and how community cohesion helps to contribute to achieving objectives around resilience.
Elsewhere, the Mayor speaks specifically about climate resiliency in Rotterdam, describing how cities must continue to innovate to protect against climate stresses, what this looks like in Rotterdam and across the Netherlands, and which examples of climate resilience innovation he finds most impressive.
Following on from this, Lauren invites Mayor Aboutaleb to share his hopes and expectations for the crucial upcoming COP26 talks in Glasgow, with the Mayor revealing the role that he believes Rotterdam can play in leading on climate action, and, in line with SmartCitiesWorld’s COP26 open letter campaign, the role that cities will play in achieving the climate action goals and objectives that follow.
The Urban Exchange podcast is produced by SmartCitiesWorld and the Resilience Cities Network, with support on this episode from The World Bank.
Episode 2 of the Urban Exchange podcast welcomes the City of Rotterdam’s Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb as its special guest, as he discusses how to advance urban resilience for climate adaptation with the Resilient Cities Network’s (R-Cities) executive director, Lauren Sorkin.
During the discussion, Mayor Aboutaleb speaks about the challenges facing his city at the moment, the steps he’s taking to face them, and the importance of collaboration in building resilience against them.
As part of R-Cities’ Board, the Mayor explains to Lauren his reasons for committing himself to urban resilience – not only for the sake of Rotterdam, but for cities around the world. Mayor Aboutaleb describes the steps and actions required to onboard other cities with regards to the urban resilience agenda and narrative, plus, how coalitions such as ‘1000 Cities Adapt Now’ are important to making progress to the global challenges facing cities.
Mayor Aboutaleb also reflects on his time in office, 12 years after he originally took up his position as Mayor of Rotterdam. He explains how he has changed the city’s approach to building resilience in that time, how he has taken citizen engagement to a new level, and how community cohesion helps to contribute to achieving objectives around resilience.
Elsewhere, the Mayor speaks specifically about climate resiliency in Rotterdam, describing how cities must continue to innovate to protect against climate stresses, what this looks like in Rotterdam and across the Netherlands, and which examples of climate resilience innovation he finds most impressive.
Following on from this, Lauren invites Mayor Aboutaleb to share his hopes and expectations for the crucial upcoming COP26 talks in Glasgow, with the Mayor revealing the role that he believes Rotterdam can play in leading on climate action, and, in line with SmartCitiesWorld’s COP26 open letter campaign, the role that cities will play in achieving the climate action goals and objectives that follow.
The Urban Exchange podcast is produced by SmartCitiesWorld and the Resilience Cities Network, with support on this episode from The World Bank.
Previous Episode
Urban Exchange Episode 1: Mayor Sylvester Turner, City of Houston
Cities on the Frontlines: Resilient Infrastructure
Preview: The first episode of the Urban Exchange podcast sees Mayor Turner of Houston, the Chair of the Resilient Cities Network Board of Directors, in conversation with Paul Wilson, Chair of the SmartCitiesWorld Advisory Board. Together, they discuss Houston’s definition of resilience, Houston’s plans to build resilience, and why Houston’s status as an energy city places specific emphasis on its climate action plans.
Next Episode
Urban Exchange Episode 3: Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council
On the third episode of the Urban Exchange podcast, Jeff Risom, chief innovation officer at Gehl Architects and member of the SmartCitiesWorld advisory board, speaks with Glasgow City Council leader, Susan Aitken, to discuss urban design for a sustainable future and why Glasgow is the perfect host for COP26.
During the conversation, Jeff discovers how Councillor Aitken came to be in her position on Glasgow’s City Council today, as the councillor reflects on her political activism through the years, the events that led her into elected office, and how her view of the city has changed since taking office.
Diving into Glasgow as host of COP26, Councillor Aitken explains why the city feels like its in transition in regards to its climate and sustainability efforts, detailing how its move from a post-industrial city is presenting new green opportunities for social justice and urban development.
Jeff also gets into the thick of Glasgow’s £30 billion investment plan to become a net zero city by 2030, as Councillor Aitken details the infrastructure interventions that make up a significant part of the work in the bold plan, and the potential to tackle fuel poverty through renewables, among other things such as transport and connectivity.
Elsewhere, the Councillor reflects on the role of citizens in sustainability efforts, explaining why the narrative should change from giving things up to making better choices, and the difference such a message has for all types of people in communities.
Later in the episode, Jeff and Councillor Aitken discuss the need for changing leadership styles as urban challenges and requirements also change over time.
The Urban Exchange podcast is produced by SmartCitiesWorld and the Resilience Cities Network, with support on this episode from The World Bank.
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