Cities Reimagined is a podcast about the ideas, people and places that are reshaping urban life. It was born out of a simple realisation: too often, the real stories behind urban change go untold. Cities Reimagined opens up space for deeper conversations, where facts meet stories, and policy meets the personal.
Join us as we uncover the stories, that challenge the status quo of “doing” urbanism by proving ideas and actions for reshaping our cities.
Don't be shy to get in touch with feedback, wishes and your stories by sending an email to johannes@anthropocene.city (mailto:johannes@anthropocene.city) or via LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannes-riegler/).
Reimagining Ghent: From Grey to Green - with Flore Provost, Anika Depraetere and Loes Verschuere
Reimagining Ghent: From grey to green.
What does it really take to bring nature back into a dense and growing city?
In this episode, we return to Ghent and the European Urban Initiative project REWILD. The project is not simply about removing asphalt or adding more greenery. It is an attempt to change the rules, routines and relationships that have made soil sealing the default way of building cities.
Johannes speaks with members of the REWILD project about the project’s first year of experimentation. They discuss working with residents and businesses, creating space for nature on public and private land, and addressing the institutional barriers hidden beneath Ghent’s ambitions.
Because breaking up the asphalt may be the easy part. Lasting change also means questioning established standards, balancing competing interests and finding ways to turn individual experiments into a new way of working across the city.
In this episode:
Why is desealing much more than a technical challenge?
Which rules and routines prevent cities from making space for nature?
How can residents and businesses become part of urban rewilding?
What can cities learn from small experiments in streets, courtyards and brownfields?
How can REWILD help make desealing the new normal across Ghent?
Listen to the previous Ghent episode
In Reimagining Ghent: De-sealing the City (https://www.anthropocene.city/podcast/19_reimagining_ghent/), Linde Vertriest from the City of Ghent and Annelies Sevenant from the Ghent Environmental Front introduce REWILD and explore what it takes to rewild an entire city.
Read more about REWILD on Portico
Building belonging through climate adaptation: The story of Ghent’s Buurtpark Hãm (https://portico.urban-initiative.eu/urban-stories/european-urban-initiative/building-belonging-through-climate-adaptation-story-ghents-buurtpark-ham-9304) How the temporary use of a former industrial site is helping Ghent build community and shape the identity of a future neighbourhood park.
A blueprint to overcome institutional desealing barriers (https://portico.urban-initiative.eu/urban-stories/european-urban-initiative/blueprint-overcome-institutional-desealing-barriers-ghent-shares-their-rewilding-practice) A practical look at how Ghent identified the regulations, standards and competing interests that stand in the way of desealing.
REWILDing by doing… and undoing: Urban Diary #1 (https://portico.urban-initiative.eu/urban-stories/european-urban-initiative/rewilding-doing-and-undoing-urban-diary1-8702) The experiences, achievements and lessons from REWILD’s first year in Ghent.
Explore the full REWILD collection on Portico (https://portico.urban-initiative.eu/european-urban-initiative/fast-forward-rewild-city-6971)
More information
Visit the REWILD project website (https://www.rewildthecity.eu/)
Learn more about the European Urban Initiative (https://www.urban-initiative.eu/)
REWILD is an Innovative Action funded by the European Union through the European Urban Initiative. The project is led by the City of Ghent and explores how cities can reduce soil sealing, restore urban ecosystems and work towards the ambition of No Net Land Take.
21 Sept 2026
Reimagining Bruges' Historic Waters - with Ilse Vansevenant and Frederik Roelens
What happens when a city looks beneath its streets for answers to the climate crisis?
Bruges may be famous for its canals, but water did much more than create the city’s postcard views. It helped turn medieval Bruges into one of Europe’s largest and most internationally connected cities.
Beneath today’s streets, parts of that historic water system still survive. Ancient pipes continue to carry water. Medieval wells are rediscovered during construction work. One was found when the city tried to plant a tree.
Could this forgotten infrastructure help Bruges prepare for drought, heavy rainfall and a changing climate?
For this episode, I sit beside the canals with Ilse Vansevenant and city archaeologist Frederic Roelens from the City of Bruges. Tourist boats pass as we explore a water story spanning more than 700 years.
We talk about the network that once supplied “medieval Manhattan” with fresh water, why residents knew exactly which well provided the best water for peas or tea, and how one of these wells could soon help people water their plants again.
But this is not only a story about the past. Ilse explains how sensors are helping the city understand groundwater, water quality and the needs of individual trees. Together, we explore what happens when archaeology, climate adaptation and new technology meet.
In this episode:
How can a seemingly water-rich city prepare for both drought and flooding?
What can Bruges’ medieval water infrastructure teach us about climate resilience?
Could ancient underground water pipes be brought back into use?
How can sensors reveal when individual trees need water?
How can archaeology become an opportunity for urban innovation?
Why are citizen ownership and experimentation essential for living with water?
Find out more:
Blue4Green on Portico (https://portico.urban-initiative.eu/european-urban-initiative/blue4green-hydrating-city-combining-heritage-natural-and-high-tech-solutions-green-blue-challenges-6961)
Blue4Green and the City of Bruges on the European Urban Initiative website (https://www.urban-initiative.eu/ia-cities/brugge/about-projects)
Read: A new chapter in Bruges’ water identity with Blue4Green (https://portico.urban-initiative.eu/urban-stories/european-urban-initiative/smart-sensors-medieval-cultural-heritage-new-chapter-bruges-water-identity-blue4green-7760)
Listen to the previous Cities Reimagined episode from Bruges (https://www.anthropocene.city/podcast/22-reimagining-bruges/)
Explore all Cities Reimagined episodes (https://www.anthropocene.city/podcast/)
Subscribe to the (https://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/574810/173951455095424303/share)anthropocene.city (http://anthropocene.city) newsletter (https://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/574810/173951455095424303/share)
Blue4Green is an Innovative Action funded by the European Urban Initiative.
15 Sept 2026
Reimagining Urban Places - with Vivian Doumpa
What turns a space into a place?
Vivian is an urban planner, geographer and board member of Placemaking Europe. For her, placemaking is more than activating a square or adding colourful furniture. It is a mindset that brings communities, public authorities and professionals together to rethink how shared places are used, experienced and cared for.
What happens when a city turns back towards the water? And what do we lose when public space becomes too controlled, too polished or too predictable?
With Vivian, I talk about Thessaloniki’s rediscovered waterfront, hidden water beneath Athens and why a little friction and chaos might actually be good for urban life.
We also get into the bigger questions: climate change, privatisation, democracy and the pressure on the people trying to change cities. Because placemaking is not only about transforming places. It is also about how we relate to them, to each other and to ourselves.
IN THIS EPISODE:
• Why placemaking is about more than attractive public spaces
• How cities can reconnect people with water and nature
• Why friction and messiness are part of healthy urban life
• How public space supports participation and democracy • Why placemakers also need places of care
Links
Learn more about Placemaking Europe (https://placemaking-europe.eu/)
Connect with Vivian Doumpa on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/viviandoumpa/)
Read Vivian’s profile at Placemaking Europe (https://placemaking-europe.eu/profile_team/vivian-doumpa/)
CITIES REIMAGINED
Cities Reimagined explores the ideas, people and places reshaping urban life.
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Who has been a guest on Cities Reimagined
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Alenka Korenjak
Zala Velkavrh
Yvonne Franz
Stefan De Corte
Reach and audience
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YouTube views
749
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Spotify
5.0 / 5
11 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 37 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
24
Social presence
0
YouTube
66
Engagement
60
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