The DNA of Barcelona - Part I

In our second episode on The DNA of Shanghai we discover more about the social and cultural factors that make Shanghai, Shanghai.

We ask how many Shanghai’s are there? What is the city’s role within China and what is its relationship to other Chinese cities? And we find out how Shanghai’s unique history led it to become the birthplace of the Chinese adaptation of communism. 

With special thanks to Stella Dong, Dr Hou Li and Professor Jenny Lin.

To learn more about the DNA of Cities and sign up for our latest updates visit www.thednaofcities.com.

When we think about The DNA of Shanghai, we almost have to almost think in quantum ideas. This is, of course, the place where one of the longest rivers in the world and one of the world’s largest oceans meet, producing a city of over 26 million people. Shanghai is the largest city in China and the anchor of the Yangtze River Delta; a region that includes over 20 cities and a population of over 235 million people. 

In this episode, we take a historical perspective to discover how Shanghai has emerged and why it has become almost an icon of modern China. We hear from Stella Dong, Dr Hou Li and Professor Jenny Lin.

To learn more about the DNA of Cities and sign up for our latest updates visit www.thednaofcities.com

If you would like to share your feedback with us by voice message, you can email an MP3 recording to hello@thednaofcities.com. 

In this second episode on the DNA of Dubai we explore the distinctiveness of Dubai’s urban form and fabric by asking local experts “How many Dubai’s are there?”

We spend time exploring the everyday spaces and rhythms of Dubai. What can the more ordinary, mundane, vernacular aspects of life here tell us about a city often characterised by its iconic urban infrastructure and its globally showcased buildings.

We hear from Abdulaziz AlJaziri, Her Excellency Hala Badri and Professor Yasser Elseshtawy.

To learn more about the DNA of Cities and sign up for our latest updates visit www.thednaofcities.com.

Dubai is a city that has witnessed a profound transformation over the past century, from a sleepy fishing and pearling village to a globally connected metropolis that showcases boundary-pushing urban development.

In this episode, we discover The DNA of Dubai by tracing the influence of water, climate, geography and society on the processes of urbanisation that have moulded it into a distinctive and vivid city. We learn about the different groups that make up Emirati society and we meet the people from all corners of the world who contribute to Dubai’s cosmopolitanism and cultural richness.

In this episode, we hear from Abdulaziz AlJaziri, Her Excellency Hala Badri and Professor Yasser Elseshtawy.

To learn more about the DNA of Cities and sign up for our latest updates visit www.thednaofcities.com.

This coastal location at the meeting point of the Mediterranean sea and the Middle East has experienced rapid change over the past 100 years or so.

In our second episode on Tel Aviv, we discover how The DNA of the city manifests itself today. Local experts take us on a journey through Tel Avivian cultures, societies, mythographies, geographies, economies and into the hearts and minds of the leaders who have profoundly shaped the city.

In this episode, we hear from Professor Maoz Azaryahu, Professor Rassem Khamaisi, Eytan Schwartz and Sharon Landes-Fischer.

To learn more about the DNA of Cities and sign up for our latest updates visit www.thednaofcities.com.

In just over 100 years, Tel Aviv has become home to a stock exchange, major global businesses and the highest concentration of start-ups per capita of any city in the world.

We explore how this location actually has two genetic structures; one strand beginning with the old city of Jaffa, the second strand comprising the more recent story of Tel Aviv itself. It is a story of how the Jewish diaspora, inspired by the dream of a Jewish, Hebrew-speaking city, established a neighbourhood on the sand dunes next to Jaffa. It was this new neighbourhood which became the city of Tel Aviv.

In this episode, we hear from Professor Maoz Azaryahu, Professor Rassem Khamaisi, Eytan Schwartz and Sharon Landes-Fischer.

To learn more about the DNA of Cities and sign up for our latest updates visit www.thednaofcities.com

In the last episode we heard about the arrival of the Quaker settlers and the emergence of Philadelphia between the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers. We heard why the US Constitution was signed in Philadelphia, the role of the city in the Civil War, the rise and fall of industry, and how all of this has shaped the Philadelphia of today.

Amongst all of this fascinating history are, of course, human stories of bold individuals and groups of people who have shaped and been shaped by the city. We know for example that Philadelphia’s Quaker society was deliberately premised on an relatively egalitarian, tolerant and liberal philosophy, without deference to Kings and Queens.

Understanding more about where that quintessentially Philadelphian mindset has come from, our task in this episode is to understand the unique ways this manifests itself in the modern city.

In this episode, we hear from Professor David Brownlee, Sylvie Gallier-Howard, Eleanor Sharpe and Lauren Swartz.

To learn more about the DNA of Cities and sign up for our latest updates visit www.thednaofcities.com.

It’s hard to say anything about Philadelphia without talking about the founding of America or the fact that this city is home to the first library, hospital, university, art gallery, stock exchange, and of course, the Philly Cheese Steak, Rocky and Sound of Philadelphia.

In this episode we explore the long history behind this Quaker city that emerged between the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers. It is important to take a historic perspective in Philadelphia because its most recent chapter has not been as prosperous as the previous 350 years or so. Philadelphians often ask themselves how they can reconcile the story of Philadelphia as a great social innovator with its present.

In this episode, we hear from Professor David Brownlee, Sylvie Gallier-Howard, Eleanor Sharpe and Lauren Swartz. 

To learn more about the DNA of Cities and sign up for our latest updates visit www.thednaofcities.com.

In part II of our visit to London we explore how the city’s enormous size gives it the ability to regenerate in the face of shock. We ask how London's diversity creates and contributes to the city's strength, resilience and innovation. We discover the London of freedom - a city that respects individual privacy, encourages freedom of thought and honours freedom of expression. While London’s social contract may be one of live and let live, we ask how these organising ideas about London continue to materially shape the city.

Our guests in this episode are Laura Citron, Professor Vanessa Harding, Rt Hon David Lammy MP and Professor Tony Travers.

To learn more about the DNA of Cities and sign up for our latest updates visit www.thednaofcities.com.

London sits in the south-east corner of a temperate and fertile island on the easterly flowing, tidal River Thames. In this episode we discover how London’s endowed assets of island location, river, winds and temperate climate have combined with its inherited and acquired traits of global trade, wealth creation, civic freedom, innovation, creativity, diversity and connectivity.

All of this has produced a resilient and diverse metropolis of large scale, high productivity, soft power, self-confidence and reinvention. Many cities compete with London in lots of areas, but very few cities compete with London in everything. We ask why is that? Why London?

Our guests in this episode are Laura Citron, Professor Vanessa Harding, Rt Hon David Lammy MP and Professor Tony Travers.

To learn more about the DNA of Cities and sign up for our latest updates visit www.thednaofcities.com.