Urban Radar – Details, episodes & analysis

In this feature, Tom and Beth discuss the Global Infrastructure Race with colleagues from the Urban Institute (UI), recorded live as part of the UI’s 10 year anniversary celebrations. Drawing on insights emerging from the GlobalCORRIDOR and Pluralize projects, Jon Silver, Zhengli Huang and Linda Westman share their interpretation of the Global Infrastructure Race, its urban impacts and how we can centre and decentre the role of China. Specifically they discuss:

• What is the Global Infrastructure Race and how can we understand its diverse geopolitical and economic manifestations?
• How can historical and contemporary analysis help unpack the role of China and Chinese investments?
• What are the impacts on cities and urban inequalities of these activities in and beyond China?             

Guests

Professor Jon Silver is an urban geographer interested in the uneven ways in which infrastructure is planned, operationalised and experienced, working across a range of cities in the global norths and south. He leads the GlobalCORRIDOR project.

Dr Zhengli Huang works on Chinese investment in infrastructure across Africa. She worked and lived in Kenya and her fieldwork experience extends to Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia, and Mozambique. She works on GlobalCORRIDOR and Pluralize. 

Dr Linda Westman focusses on climate politics, urban transformation, and sustainability discourses, including the policy/governance aspects of low-carbon development in cities in China. She leads the Pluralize project. 

Read More 

The Material Geographies of the Belt and Road Initiative

Governing Climate Change in a Changing World 

Chinese Economic Zones in Africa

Funding

GlobalCORRIDOR (ID: 947779) funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

Pluralize was originally granted by the HORIZON Call: ERC-2022-STG and funded by UKRI (EP/Y00020X/1).

Hosts:

Tom Goodfellow is Professor of Urban Development in the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester.  His research focuses on the political economy of urban development and change in Africa, particularly the politics of urban land and transportation, conflicts around infrastructure and housing, and urban institutional change. (linkedin.com/in/tom-goodfellow-0b418441) 

Beth Perry is Professor of Urban Epistemics and Director of the Urban Institute at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on the relationships between urban expertise, governance and justice, underpinned by a commitment to co-producing collective intelligence across multiple scales to address complex urban challenges. She has worked in cities in Africa, Europe and the UK. (linkedin.com/in/itsbethperry)

Email feedback to: urbanradarpod@gmail.com

You can also follow us on instagram: @urbanradarpodcast

Thanks to the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester for providing time, resources and equipment to support this podcast. 

Released to coincide with World Cities Day on 31 October, this episode sees Beth and Tom first joined by Prof. Matthew Flinders (26:09) to discuss what the rise in fortunes of the Green Party, UK, under Zack Polanski, means for progressive politics in the UK, and for a city like Sheffield. Then, with Said Zaaneen (51:46), they dive into what the history of refugee camps in the Gaza strip tells us about the role of international humanitarian aid, and consider implications for future reconstruction. 

Also on our radar:

• The ongoing impacts of Brexit on Northern cities
• Rats and multi-species urban life
• Urbanisation, colonisation, colonialism & outer space
• Cable cars, white elephants and Gen Z protests in Madagascar
• The Louvre heist & the material fabric of the city
• Why New Yorkers are not friends with AI Friend

Guests:

Matthew Flinders is Professor of Politics, Vice-President of the Political Studies Association and Chair of the Universities Policy Engagement Network. A former special advisor in both the House of Lords and House of Commons, he specialises in theoretically-informed policy-relevant research including on accountability, blame and democracy. 

Said Zaaneen is in the final stages of his PhD here at the University of Sheffield on Humanitarian aid, socio-spatial dynamics, and the evolution of refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, focusing particularly on two specific camps in Gaza - Jabalia and Deir Al Balah. Said also has an MSc in Management and Implementation of Development Projects from the University of Manchester, and prior to his PhD had more than 10 years experience working in humanitarian and development projects in the Gaza Strip.

Read More:

Madagascar protests: how ousted president Andry Rajoelina’s urban agenda backfired

Decolonial Museology, Space Travel and the Mineral Cabinet | Museum & Society

Hosts:

Tom Goodfellow is Professor of Urban Development in the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester.  His research focuses on the political economy of urban development and change in Africa, particularly the politics of urban land and transportation, conflicts around infrastructure and housing, and urban institutional change. (linkedin.com/in/tom-goodfellow-0b418441) 

Beth Perry is Professor of Urban Epistemics and Director of the Urban Institute at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on the relationships between urban expertise, governance and justice, underpinned by a commitment to co-producing collective intelligence across multiple scales to address complex urban challenges. She has worked in cities in Africa, Europe and the UK. (linkedin.com/in/itsbethperry)

Email feedback to: urbanradarpod@gmail.com

You can also follow us on instagram: @urbanradarpodcast

Thanks to the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester for providing time, resources and equipment to support this podcast. 

In this first stand-alone feature, Tom and Beth introduce an uncut conversation with Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram - the Mayors of Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region in the North of England, recorded at Sheffield's Festival of Debate.

The conversation was chaired by Beth at the Octagon Theatre, and focussed on Andy and Steve's 10-point plan for a fairer, more equal Britain, set out in their book Head North: A Rallying Cry for a More Equal Britain (2024). In the discussion, they reveal how their time spent as MPs in Westminster convinced them that devolution is the answer to a fairer future and a balancing of power and resources.

The feature starts at 5:22 and is followed by a short analysis from Tom and Beth reflecting on whether the German model of federalism does hold the answers to addressing regional inequalities in England, the differences between de-concentration, decentralisation and devolution, and the wider role of the 'Global North' in addressing world-wide inequalities. 

Speakers:

Andy Burnham was elected Mayor of Greater Manchester in May 2017, and was re-elected for a second term in May 2021 to chair the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. Prior to this, Andy was MP for Leigh from 2001. In Government, Andy has held Ministerial positions at the Home Office, Department of Health and the Treasury. In 2008 he became Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, where he met Steve. 

Steve Rotheram was elected metro-mayor of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority in May 2017 and was re-elected in May 2024. Steve held the ceremonial title of Lord Mayor of Liverpool during the city’s European Capital of Culture year. He then served as Labour MP for Liverpool Walton from 2010 to 2017, where he led campaigns for justice for the Hillsborough families.

Credits:

Thanks to Festival of Debate for hosting the conversation and to festival organisers, Opus Independents, for the opportunity.

Hosts:

Tom Goodfellow is Professor of Urban Development in the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester.  His research focuses on the political economy of urban development and change in Africa, particularly the politics of urban land and transportation, conflicts around infrastructure and housing, and urban institutional change. (linkedin.com/in/tom-goodfellow-0b418441) 

Beth Perry is Professor of Urban Epistemics and Director of the Urban Institute at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on the relationships between urban expertise, governance and justice, underpinned by a commitment to co-producing collective intelligence across multiple scales to address complex urban challenges. She has worked in cities in Africa, Europe and the UK. (linkedin.com/in/itsbethperry)

Email feedback to: urbanradarpod@gmail.com

You can also follow us on instagram: @urbanradarpodcast

Thanks to the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester for providing time, resources and equipment to support this podcast. 

In this month’s Radar, we dive into the issue of community power - the energy kind! - with Dr Jayne Carrick (22:28), before discussing how a new pope (or an AI confession box!) will alter relations between religion, faith and the city with Dr Krzysztof Nawratek (35:26). On our urban radar (02:41) we also consider: 

• The UK government’s Immigration White Paper and the ‘local impacts’ of international student recruitment
• Race and space in Trump’s welcoming of white South African ‘refugees’
• Urbicide in Gaza and its historical antecedents
• Gambling and its urban discontents 
• The urban impacts of deconcentrating central government departments outside London 

Guests

Jayne Carrick is a researcher in the South Yorkshire Sustainability Centre, and School of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations. Her work is intended to improve efforts to engage public stakeholders in environmental and climate change policy making.

Krzysztof Nawratek is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture and Landscape, and UI Associate. His Future Faith(s) project looks at religions, spaces & innovations in the city, building on work in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Key references

Technocapitalism w/Sami Moisio & Ugo Rossi, host Remi Edwards (SPERI podcast)

Beirut Urban Lab

Roger Southall (Conversation)

Rob Davies (Guardian)

Views from the Centre

Hosts:

Tom Goodfellow is Professor of Urban Development in the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester.  His research focuses on the political economy of urban development and change in Africa, particularly the politics of urban land and transportation, conflicts around infrastructure and housing, and urban institutional change. (linkedin.com/in/tom-goodfellow-0b418441) 

Beth Perry is Professor of Urban Epistemics and Director of the Urban Institute at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on the relationships between urban expertise, governance and justice, underpinned by a commitment to co-producing collective intelligence across multiple scales to address complex urban challenges. She has worked in cities in Africa, Europe and the UK. (linkedin.com/in/itsbethperry)

Email feedback to: urbanradarpod@gmail.com

You can also follow us on instagram: @urbanradarpodcast

Thanks to the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester for providing time, resources and equipment to support this podcast. 

In this month's bumper episode we are joined by Malcolm Tait, Kiera Chapman and Hugh Ellis for a feature (45:13) on the UK government's planning reforms, how we can save nature and whether we need more utopian thinking to engage citizens in planning for sustainable communities. 

With Liz Sharp and Antonio Navas, Tom and Beth also dive into the local impacts of the UK's water crisis (20:35) and the urban impacts of tariff wars (33:37). 

Also on our radar (3:15):

• How levels of urbanization impact on Myanmar's earthquake resilience, and man-made factors shaping urban crisis 
• Paris city hall's anti-tagging campaign, and the implications for graffiti and protest art in urban public space
• Does Gen Z struggle to pick up the phone? The importance of communication amongst strangers to city life 
• The potential impacts of closing embassies in cities abroad on diplomatic relations globally 

Guests:

Liz Sharp is a Professor of Water and Planning in the School of Geography and Planning. She is an environmental social scientist whose work supports practical interventions related to water supply, waste and flooding. 

Antonio Navas is a Lecturer in the School of Economics. His work focuses on international trade, foreign direct investment and technology adoption. 

Malcolm Tait is Professor of Planning in the School of Geography and Planning.  He leads the  Planning for Nature project, and is interested in how planning relates to ecology, housing, and urban renewal.

Hugh Ellis is the Director of Policy for the Town and Country Planning Association and Honorary Professor of Utopian Studies (according to the website) at the University of Sheffield. 

Kiera Chapman is an author and Research Fellow at the University of Oxford. She was lead author on the Lost Nature report for Wild Justice.

Hosts:

Tom Goodfellow is Professor of Urban Development in the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester.  His research focuses on the political economy of urban development and change in Africa, particularly the politics of urban land and transportation, conflicts around infrastructure and housing, and urban institutional change. (linkedin.com/in/tom-goodfellow-0b418441) 

Beth Perry is Professor of Urban Epistemics and Director of the Urban Institute at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on the relationships between urban expertise, governance and justice, underpinned by a commitment to co-producing collective intelligence across multiple scales to address complex urban challenges. She has worked in cities in Africa, Europe and the UK. (linkedin.com/in/itsbethperry)

Email feedback to: urbanradarpod@gmail.com

You can also follow us on instagram: @urbanradarpodcast

Thanks to the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester for providing time, resources and equipment to support this podcast. 

This month’s special feature focuses on the rise of authoritarianism in cities (34:48).  What are the strategies and tactics that authoritarian regimes might use to control their capital cities? Beth and Tom are joined by David Jackman to discuss the insights provided in his edited book with Tom, as well as a discussion of urban political dynamics in Bangladesh - the subject of David's other new book. 

With Miguel Kanai and Hannah Lewis, they dive into urban interventions to address air pollution (13:17) and discuss the UK’s hostile asylum regime and how Cities of Sanctuary can help (22:59).

Also on our radar (2:51):

• Looming war in the Horn of Africa, and the role of cities and towns
• AI facial scanning technologies in Sheffield, and its potential risks
• Student protests in Serbia and their link to major urban investments
• The challenges of urban infrastructure - from water shortages to potholes in Johannesburg and UK cities

Tune in now for a jam-packed informative episode brought to you by Sheffield Urbanism. 

Guests:

Miguel Kanai is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Geography and Planning. His work examines the urbanisation of the world under contemporary globalised capitalism and implications for communities in the Global South. 

Hannah Lewis is a Senior Lecturer in Sociological Studies. Her recent work has explored how the social and legal status of migrants can create lasting insecurities and vulnerabilities to poverty and social exclusion. 

David Jackman is a Lecturer in Development Studies at the Oxford Department of International Development (ODID). His recent book ‘Syndicates and Societies’ explores life in Kawran Bazar, in Dhaka, and offers a new approach to understanding the nexus of urban life, crime and politics.

Read more:

Green fences for Buenos Aires: implementing green infrastructure for (more than) air quality

Faith, bordering and modern slavery: A UK case study

Controlling the Capital: Political Dominance in the Urbanizing World

Syndicates and Societies: Criminal Politics in Dhaka

Hosts:

Tom Goodfellow is Professor of Urban Development in the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester.  His research focuses on the political economy of urban development and change in Africa, particularly the politics of urban land and transportation, conflicts around infrastructure and housing, and urban institutional change. (linkedin.com/in/tom-goodfellow-0b418441) 

Beth Perry is Professor of Urban Epistemics and Director of the Urban Institute at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on the relationships between urban expertise, governance and justice, underpinned by a commitment to co-producing collective intelligence across multiple scales to address complex urban challenges. She has worked in cities in Africa, Europe and the UK. (linkedin.com/in/itsbethperry)

Email feedback to: urbanradarpod@gmail.com

You can also follow us on instagram: @urbanradarpodcast

Thanks to the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester for providing time, resources and equipment to support this podcast. 

In this month's feature (21:09), Tom & Beth turn their attention to Manchester’s model of property-led development. As the UK government pins hopes on enabling greater private sector investment to boost economic growth, can the 'Manchester model' deliver the expected outcomes? They are joined by Adam Leaver and Richard Goulding to discuss their new report, co-authored with Jon Silver, on the "Centripetal City: A Critique of Supply-Side Urban Development". 

In our wrap-up of what’s on our radar (01:49) we also cover:

• What fatbergs and sinkholes tell us about the urban underground 
• How Artificial Intelligence might affect  urban culture
• The spatial implications of UK cuts to aid to finance defence spending 

And, with Madeleine Pill, we dive (08:23) into the urban dimensions of the German elections and the governance questions that sit behind current concern about local government finances in England. 

Guests:

Madeleine Pill is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Geography & Planning. Her work takes a critical approach to the theory and practice of governance and policy at the urban/ local/ neighbourhood scales. 

Adam Leaver is Professor in Accounting & Society and Director of the Centre for Research on Accounting and Finance in Context (CRAFIC). Adam’s primary research interest is in the financialization of the firm. 

Richard Goulding is a Lecturer at the Management School. His interests lie in the interaction between finance, social reproduction and urban space, exploring how these combine to shape housing geographies.

Feature References:

New report critiques supply-side urban development | CRAFiC | The University of Sheffield

The Rentier City: Manchester and the Making of the Neoliberal Metropolis - Repeater Books

The Greater Manchester Gentrification Index

Hosts:

Tom Goodfellow is Professor of Urban Development in the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester.  His research focuses on the political economy of urban development and change in Africa, particularly the politics of urban land and transportation, conflicts around infrastructure and housing, and urban institutional change. (linkedin.com/in/tom-goodfellow-0b418441) 

Beth Perry is Professor of Urban Epistemics and Director of the Urban Institute at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on the relationships between urban expertise, governance and justice, underpinned by a commitment to co-producing collective intelligence across multiple scales to address complex urban challenges. She has worked in cities in Africa, Europe and the UK. (linkedin.com/in/itsbethperry)

Email feedback to: urbanradarpod@gmail.com

You can also follow us on instagram: @urbanradarpodcast

Thanks to the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester for providing time, resources and equipment to support this podcast. 

On this month's Urban Radar, Beth & Tom zoom in on:

• Why recognising the rights of a New Zealand mountain is an urban issue 
• Conflict in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and its impacts on the city of Goma
• How cutting US international development funding will impact cities 
• Whether ‘more-than-schools’ can offer community level responses to the crisis in young people and children’s mental health
• Waste tipping in Litchfield, UK

And in our Special Feature (24:20) on Cities and Climate Change, they are joined by Vanesa Castán Broto and David Dodman, two external authors of the UN-Habitat World Cities Report to discuss:

What role do cities and local governments have in addressing climate change?Which communities are impacted most by climate change? What is a just transition? How do formal and informal systems at local, national and international levels support or hinder low carbon action? 

Guests:

Vanesa Castán Broto is Professor of Climate Urbanism at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on the governance of global environmental change in an age of urbanization. She leads the JustGESI project which aims to advance equality and inclusion in community energy projects and policy frameworks, by addressing the skills gaps that have historically kept women and marginalised groups out of the clean energy economy.

David Dodman is the General Director at The Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS) at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, a key global institution on education, research and policy work on urban development since its foundation 65 years ago. He has worked on sustainable urban development research in universities and research institutes for the past 20 years. His research interests focus on urban climate change resilience and informality.

Guest editor:

Linda Westman is a Senior Research Fellow at the Urban Institute. Her research revolves around environmental politics, with a focus on urban climate governance, transformations, and justice. She leads a European Research Council project on just transitions in the context of environmental politics in China.

Hosts:

Tom Goodfellow is Professor of Urban Development in the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester.  His research focuses on the political economy of urban development and change in Africa, particularly the politics of urban land and transportation, conflicts around infrastructure and housing, and urban institutional change. (linkedin.com/in/tom-goodfellow-0b418441) 

Beth Perry is Professor of Urban Epistemics and Director of the Urban Institute at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on the relationships between urban expertise, governance and justice, underpinned by a commitment to co-producing collective intelligence across multiple scales to address complex urban challenges. She has worked in cities in Africa, Europe and the UK. (linkedin.com/in/itsbethperry)

Email feedback to: urbanradarpod@gmail.com

You can also follow us on instagram: @urbanradarpodcast

Thanks to the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester for providing time, resources and equipment to support this podcast. 

In this trailer, we set out the background to Urban Radar, the format of the show and the main questions that we will explore. 

Urban Radar is a podcast series which reflects on current events and emerging trends through the lens of cities and urban life. It is brought to you by Sheffield Urbanism, a community of urban researchers in the Faculty of Social Science at the University of Sheffield, UK. 

Urban Radar places urban dynamics at the centre of contemporary global affairs. In each episode we scan the news to bring unique urban perspectives into the issues that shape our world. We will invite members of our research community to provide evidence-based informed insights into the ways that cities and urban communities are impacted by, driving and responding to current events.

We will also include special features that profile cutting-edge research and analysis happening within and beyond the Sheffield Urbanism community. These link to the overarching questions we will explore in the podcast, including: 

• How can urban research help to build solidarity and a sense of belonging in the face of rising individualism, consumerism, and capital accumulation?
• How can we foster place-based innovation to harness technological developments as tools to address inequalities between different groups within and across urban areas? 
• What potential does urban political mobilisation have to transform power relations in a world characterised by authoritarianism and oligarchy? And what are its limits?
• Whose knowledge and expertise - human, non-human and artificial - gets to determine the way we live together in urban space?
• How can and do urban communities re-imagine cities as spaces of environmental justice and sustainable inhabitation?

Join us each month as we attempt to decode some of the events and issues on our urban radar - and if you want to know more, follow Sheffield Urbanism on LinkedIn and Bluesky.

CREDITS:

Podcast production, presentation and editing: Tom Goodfellow and Beth Perry 

Post-production editing and marketing: Polly Clifton

Training and production support: Jack Clayton

Distribution, promotion and marketing: Riya Singh and Vicky Simpson

Music: Horizon (original music by Tom Goodfellow, recorded and produced by Alan Thomson)

Podcast Cover: Dan Farley Designs

Hosts:

Tom Goodfellow is Professor of Urban Development in the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester.  His research focuses on the political economy of urban development and change in Africa, particularly the politics of urban land and transportation, conflicts around infrastructure and housing, and urban institutional change. (linkedin.com/in/tom-goodfellow-0b418441) 

Beth Perry is Professor of Urban Epistemics and Director of the Urban Institute at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on the relationships between urban expertise, governance and justice, underpinned by a commitment to co-producing collective intelligence across multiple scales to address complex urban challenges. She has worked in cities in Africa, Europe and the UK. (linkedin.com/in/itsbethperry)

Email feedback to: urbanradarpod@gmail.com

You can also follow us on instagram: @urbanradarpodcast

Thanks to the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester for providing time, resources and equipment to support this podcast. 

In this month’s feature Tom and Beth are joined by two leading scholars of the urban condition - Ash Amin and AbdouMaliq Simone - to reflect on questions of inclusion and belonging in the search for the 'good city'. Building on their collaborative work for the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research's Humanity's Urban Future programme, our guests consider: 

• Are ideas of the good city still relevant in face of worsening inequality, segregation and individualism?
• Can a progressive politics of belonging overcome these divisions in a renewed urban public sphere? 
• And, as Black History Month draws to an end, how might ideas of ‘black urbanism’ inform and enrich the field of urban studies?

Guests

AbdouMaliq Simone works on issues of spatial composition in extended urban regions, the production of everyday life for urban majorities in the Global South, infrastructural imaginaries, collective affect, global blackness, and histories of the present for Muslim working classes. He is Professor Emeritus at the Urban Institute (University of Sheffield) and co-director of the Beyond Inhabitation Lab, Polytechnic University of Turin. In this episode he draws on themes explored in his work including The Surrounds: Urban Life within and beyond Capture and Improvised Lives. 

Professor Amin (University of Cambridge) is known for his work on the geographies of modern living: cities and regions as relationally constituted; globalisation, race and multiculture as a hybrid of biopolitics, and vernacular practices. He was founding co-editor of the Review of International Political Economy, is associate editor of City and is a Fellow of the British Academy and the Academy of Social Sciences.  In this episode we discuss his recent book After Nativism: Belonging in an Age of Intolerance and refer back to previous work including Seeing Like a City.

Hosts:

Tom Goodfellow is Professor of Urban Development in the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester.  His research focuses on the political economy of urban development and change in Africa, particularly the politics of urban land and transportation, conflicts around infrastructure and housing, and urban institutional change. (linkedin.com/in/tom-goodfellow-0b418441) 

Beth Perry is Professor of Urban Epistemics and Director of the Urban Institute at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on the relationships between urban expertise, governance and justice, underpinned by a commitment to co-producing collective intelligence across multiple scales to address complex urban challenges. She has worked in cities in Africa, Europe and the UK. (linkedin.com/in/itsbethperry)

Email feedback to: urbanradarpod@gmail.com

You can also follow us on instagram: @urbanradarpodcast

Thanks to the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester for providing time, resources and equipment to support this podcast.