The DNA of Cities – Details, episodes & analysis

Anna Cambell-Jones tells us how she brings a sense of place, neighbourhood and location into the homes that she interior designs. Anna is an interior designer, broadcaster and educator. She is the founder of residential interior design practice Habitus and she is the founder of her eponymous retail store, annacampbelljones.com. You will also recognise Anna as a judge on BBC Scotland's Home of The Year.

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What are the Keynotes? These are the episodes where we zoom out from our city-to-city voyage to meet global expert voices from a range of different disciplinary vantage points (e.g. from history, to theology, to genetics, to archaeology, to design) to understand the place of cities in their work. We want to know how they would approach and investigate the relationship between cities and human experience and evolution. 

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Bass Vibes - Rollin at 5 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100462

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Sound design by Josh Latham. 

We speak to Gonzalo about how he decodes the uniqueness of cities and how a sense of place shapes branding strategy and activation. He also reveals how city branding compares to national branding or corporate branding. 

Gonzalo is Global CEO at Interbrand where he leads the day-to-day operations of the global brand consultancy, spearheading the growth agenda and supporting marketing and consulting efforts in all regions. 

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What are the Keynotes? These are the episodes where we zoom out from our city-to-city voyage to meet global expert voices from a range of different disciplinary vantage points (e.g. from history, to theology, to genetics, to archaeology, to design) to understand the place of cities in their work. We want to know how they would approach and investigate the relationship between cities and human experience and evolution. 

–

Bass Vibes - Rollin at 5 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100462

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Sound design by Josh Latham. 

We are honoured to have historian Ben Wilson as our first Keynote guest. Ben is the author of several acclaimed books, including Metropolis which was released in 2020 and Urban Jungle which was published in 2023. 

In Part I of this global adventure spanning 5,000 years of urbanisation, Ben reveals:

• How cities rewire humans biologically, culturally and socially both individually and collectively
• Why the permanence of human settlement in cities catalyses innovation
• The innate duality of cities as places of opportunity and hardship, brute and beauty, enchantment and horror

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What are the Keynotes? These are the episodes where we zoom out from our city-to-city voyage to meet global expert voices from a range of different disciplinary vantage points (e.g. from history, to theology, to genetics, to archaeology, to design) to understand the place of cities in their work. We want to know how they would approach and investigate the relationship between cities and human experience and evolution. 

–

Bass Vibes - Rollin at 5 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100462

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Sound design by Dainius Kacinskas.

In Part II of The DNA of Kyiv, we learn about the people who live in Kyiv and the strong feelings the city stirs within those who choose to make it their home. We discover what it means to be and become a Kyivan, and we explore the manifestations of the common struggle for cultural freedom and self-government in the city's protests and revolutions.

Against the backdrop of war in Ukraine and amid possible air-raid sirens, power-blackouts and the threat of Russian missile strikes, our local experts spoke about how Kyiv has been responding to the full-scale invasion and enduring under more than 1,000 days of war. They told us how the trauma of war has scarred the city, and their dreams for the future of the city. 

With special thanks to Denys Nazarenko, Dr Victoria Itskovych, Professor Serhy Yekelchyk, Yulia Bevzenko and Stanislav Kukhtyk for joining us in this episode, and to Denys for the invitation to explore Kyiv in this season of the podcast.

To learn more about The DNA of Cities and to read each of our interviews in full, head to www.thednaofcities.com.

To find out more about the history of Kyiv, check out these resources:

Yulia Bevzenko - Shukai

Serhii Plokhy - The Gates of Europe

Serhy Yekelchyk - Ukraine: What Everyone Needs to Know

Serhy Yekelchyk - Understanding Ukraine for Legion Magazine

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Bass Vibes - Rollin at 5 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100462

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Sound design by Dainius Kacinskas.

We were privileged to be invited by Denys Nazarenko of Kyiv City Council to include his beloved city in The DNA of Cities following the devastating full scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

We might think of Kyiv as an ancient city in a turbulent present in which its citizens have been actively fighting for more than 1,000 days to defend Ukrainian independence, freedom and sovereignty from Russia. In this episode, we explore the birth of Kyiv as a city and its historical role as the main centre in the Kyivan Rus, an extremely large federation that gave rise to what we now recognise as the Eastern Slavic States of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. 

We are incredibly grateful to Denys Nazarenko, Dr Victoria Itskovych, Professor Serhy Yekelchyk and Yulia Bevzenko for joining us in this episode. We learnt so much from each of them.

To learn more about The DNA of Cities and to read each of our interviews in full, head to www.thednaofcities.com.

To find out more about the history of Kyiv, check out these resources:

Yulia Bevzenko - Shukai

Serhii Plokhy - The Gates of Europe

Serhy Yekelchyk - Ukraine: What Everyone Needs to Know

Serhy Yekelchyk - Understanding Ukraine for Legion Magazine

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Bass Vibes - Rollin at 5 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100462

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Sound design by Dainius Kacinskas.

Welcome to Season 2 of The DNA of Cities. Subscribe and join us fortnightly from Thursday 30th January 2025 as we continue to decode what makes our cities so unique. 

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Bass Vibes - Rollin at 5 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100462

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

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Sound design by Dainius Kacinskas.

In our final episode of Season 1, we ask our urban experts 'what does The DNA of Cities not yet explain about how cities evolve?' We debate the limits of The DNA of Cities and what it is that cannot be explained using this way of exploring, conceptualising and understanding urban identity. 

Thank you to Professor Michele Acuto, A/Professor Ellie Cosgrave, Gabriella Gómez-Mont, Professor Edgar Pieterse, Dr Jaana Remes, Dr Karissa Sanbonmatsu and Geerte Udo for joining us in this episode. We also hear from Abha Joshi-Ghani, who we dedicate this season to with great respect and affection.

Whether this is the first episode you have listened to this season, or you have been with us from the beginning, thank you for tuning in. 

We will be back soon! 

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

This is the first of two concluding episodes to our bumper first season of The DNA of Cities. We return to the urban experts we spoke to at the very beginning of this season to understand how, and why, The DNA of Cities might be used.

With special thanks to Professor Michele Acuto, Professor Ricky Burdett CBE, Alice Charles, Gabriella Gómez-Mont, Dr Shi Nan, Professor Edgar Pieterse, Dr Jaana Remes, Professor Pete Tyler, Geerte Udo, Natalia Uribe and Dr Alfonso Vergara for joining us in this episode. We also hear from Abha Joshi-Ghani, who we dedicate this season to with great respect and affection.

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

In this episode, we hear from even more of our wonderful listeners. They tell us about the DNA of a city that they love or find meaningful or inspiring, transporting us to fascinating cities of all sizes around the world.

We also begin to crowdsource ideas about the cities we should visit in Season 2 of the podcast. We'd love to hear your thoughts too!

Huge thanks to Andrew Boraine, Jessica Bowles, Scott Cain, Carlo Castelli, Billy Cobbett, Jane Cunningham, Angelica Figueroa, Nuala Gallagher, Sadhana Manthapuri and Natalia Uribe for being listeners and for joining us in this second special episode.

To learn more about The DNA of Cities, suggest your ideas for our next season and sign up for our latest updates visit www.thednaofcities.com

In this episode, we give the microphone to some of our listeners from around the world who tell us what they have been enjoying from the series so far.

How does the idea of the DNA of Cities resonate with the varied work that they do in and with cities around the world? And how might this way of understanding cities be used or applied in practice?

We thank Andrew Boraine, Jessica Bowles, Lael Bethlehem, Scott Cain, Carlo Castelli, Jane Cunningham, Gabriella Gómez-Mont and Magali Thompson for being listeners and for joining us in this episode!

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