Urban Exchange: Cities on the Frontlines

About Urban Exchange: Cities on the Frontlines

Urban Exchange: Cities on the Frontlines is the podcast series from SmartCitiesWorld and the Resilient Cities Network (R-Cities), delivering frank and open conversations between international city leaders and industry practitioners that share ideas to solve urban challenges. With the world’s cities under pressure to deliver a sustainable future for more than half of the global population – a figure that is consistently trending upwards – the Urban Exchange provides a platform for the people driving urban innovation and change to share their ideas and insights with those that need them most. As cities seek a future that is environmentally, economically, and socially resilient and sustainable, each episode of the podcast plays host to an in-depth conversation between a city leader and a smart city specialist to uncover the initiatives that cities are working on to deliver on these goals.

Publisher

urbanexchange

Category

government · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

5 Oct 2021

Latest episode

17 Dec 2025

Latest episodes

15 of 34 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   17 Dec 2025TRANSCRIPT

   Urban Exchange Podcast Episode 32 – Flood and energy resilience in Quezon City

   In this episode of The Urban Exchange, hosts Paul Wilson and Katrin Bruebach speak with Bianca Perez, Head of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office for Quezon City in the Philippines – a city that, in August 2025, experienced an extreme flooding event where the equivalent of five days of rain fell in just one hour. Bianca explains how Quezon City, the most populous city in the Philippines and part of the wider Metro Manila area, is grappling with more frequent and intense rainfall, legacy urbanisation, and an overstretched drainage system. She shares how the devastating 2009 floods led to a national disaster risk framework, and how the city has since been trying to adapt – with mixed results. The conversation dives into the critical interdependence of water and energy systems: you need power to pump and treat water, but water is also essential to keep energy systems running. When one fails, the other often follows. Using Quezon City’s experience, the episode explores what happens when national infrastructure projects are misaligned with local plans, including pumping stations that are built but not powered, poorly placed structures that worsen flooding, and a lack of systemic, cross-sector planning. Bianca also opens a window into the human and operational side of disaster response: command-centre decision-making with only minutes of warning, coordinating rescues and evacuations for thousands of people, and the toll on responders who work through days of continuous crisis. Finally, the episode looks ahead to energy resilience and clean energy transition in Quezon City – from reliance on generators toward a more integrated approach involving sensors, renewable energy, energy-efficient buildings, and a citywide resilience roadmap. This is a candid, ground-level account of what climate-driven flooding really means for a major city – and what it will take to build resilient, energy-smart urban systems. *This episode was recorded on 12 September, just under two weeks after the extreme weather event discussed hit Quezon City

2. 

   24 Sept 2025

   Urban Exchange Podcast Episode 31 – Resilient Sydney: 33 local governments, one resilience strategy

   Dive into the latest episode of the Urban Exchange Podcast, where hosts Paul Wilson and Lina Liakou are joined by Yvette Andrews, strategy and engagement manager for Resilient Sydney, and a key architect of the newly released Resilient Sydney Strategy 2025-2030. Together, they explore what it takes to build a truly resilient city in the face of climate change, natural disasters, and social challenges. Discover how Sydney’s journey toward resilience has evolved over the past decade, moving from a focus on the built environment to a holistic approach that embraces the natural world, digital innovation, and the diverse voices of its five million residents. Learn about the collaborative process that brought together 33 councils, state and federal governments, and communities from all walks of life – including First Nations peoples and young people – to shape a strategy that addresses both immediate shocks and long-term stresses. The conversation delves into the importance of inclusive engagement, the integration of traditional knowledge, and the role of digitalisation in modern resilience planning. Hear inspiring case studies, from cultural burning projects to youth-led climate initiatives, and discover how Sydney’s approach offers valuable lessons for cities worldwide. Whether you’re a city leader, urban practitioner, or simply passionate about the future of our cities, this episode offers a masterclass in building consensus, fostering hope, and creating strategies that stand the test of time. Tune in to find out how Sydney is setting the standard for urban resilience – and why their story matters now more than ever. Thanks to our sponsors, Sand Technologies, for their support on this episode. To find out more, click here.

3. 

   6 Aug 2025TRANSCRIPT

   Urban Exchange Pocast Episode 30 – Norfolk: building coastal resilience before the storm

   Hosts Paul Wilson and Nate Echeverria interview Norfolk's Kyle Spencer and Dr. Paul Robinson about pioneering coastal resilience strategies and innovative flood management solutions.

Inside a recent episode

Urban Exchange Pocast Episode 30 – Norfolk: building coastal resilience before the storm

Published 6 Aug 2025 · Transcript excerpt

[…] We're going to hear from Kyle about their work with the US Army Corps of Engineers and kind of what it means to work with the Army Corps on certain projects which here in the US is the US Army Corps's their jurisdiction is defined by the navigable waterways. So that's rivers, harbours, the Atlantic coast, the Pacific coast, they have a pretty wide jurisdiction. So I think that's going to be an interesting topic to discuss today. It's kind of some of the complexities of working with the Army Corps because they're really in a lot of cases you know the ones that help permit and finance these projects these particularly these nature -based solutions that you'd you'd mentioned from the UK. […]

Who has been a guest on Urban Exchange: Cities on the Frontlines

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Kyle Spencer
• Dr Paul Robinson
• Roland White
• Andrea de Nigris
• Ximena Cidras

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 32 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

26

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

96

Contact Urban Exchange: Cities on the Frontlines

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Urban Exchange: Cities on the Frontlines