Conversations with Visionary Leaders
This podcast features conversations with visionaries and thought leaders about transforming the places we call home. It is about the urban planning, design, architecture and leadership of cities around the world. Our aim is to ignite inspiration and catalyze innovative solutions for the challenges faced by communities worldwide.
Your host, Karmi Palafox, brings a wealth of experience as an urban planner, economist, and place and city strategist. With a diverse portfolio ranging from remote islands to bustling metropolises, Karmi has lent her expertise to various projects including master plans for townships and communities, transportation networks, and public parks.
Tune in to Beyond Places, and let the stories of our guests fuel your own creative endeavors in shaping vibrant, sustainable communities.
Designing Against Crime
John Maynard is a specialist in crime prevention and community safety, focusing on the relationship between crime and architecture. He applies CPTED principles and advises on safety issues in various settings. Currently, he is working on publishing a book on preventing crime in urban situations and has authored multiple crime prevention plans and strategies.
Enabling Quality Infrastructure and Housing
Senator JV Ejercito, elected in 2013 and 2022, serves as the Chairperson of the Committee on Local Government and the Committee on Urban Planning, Housing, and Resettlement. He advocates for updating Philippine infrastructure, affordable housing, public transportation, and healthcare accessibility. Prior to his senatorial role, he served as Mayor and Congressman of the City of San Juan.
A More Walkable Manila
Buds Wenceslao is the CEO of DM Wenceslao & Associates (DMWAI), a leading real estate development and construction company in the Philippines. He oversees the development of Aseana City, a 204-hectare mixed-use district along Manila Bay. Buds is also involved in managing the group's real estate development subsidiaries and IT solutions for the real estate sector. With over 20 years of experience, he is well-versed in financial analysis, project management, and property management. On this Beyond Places episode, Buds discusses how to create more walkable and people-friendly places and his company's adaptability to changing needs.
Vision for Ho Chi Minh City
Dzung Do Nguyen discusses Ho Chi Minh City's potential as an economic powerhouse in Asia. He is the co-founder and CEO of enCity, an urban planning and design studio. enCity is involved in designing the Ho Chi Minh Innovation District and Thu Duc City. Dzung is an influential figure in city planning and design, with experience in creating urban solutions for fast-growing regions. He is also a lecturer in urban planning at the National University of Singapore, and his company has offices in Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
Swedish Cleantech with Patric Kjellin
Patric Kjellin shares how the Swedish capital became the global leader in cleantech and the efforts being made to reach net-zero. Patric takes us through some of their practices in transport, energy, building and construction, and waste management. Waste is considered a valuable resource in Sweden so much so that they have been recycling 99% of their household wastes. Find out how the building and construction industry is working towards recycling more.
Smart Water: Lessons from Israel and the USA
Shirley Ben-Dak is the CEO and Founder of Bird Eye Consulting, an impact-driven project management firm working with public, private and non-profit partners across water, smart cities, digital transformation, and sustainability. She is also the Vice President for Strategy and Innovation of SWAN – the Smart Water Networks Forum, the leading global hub for the smart water sector. She also serves as a strategic advisor to WaterClick, a data-driven company focused on delivering affordable cloud-based solutions to small and medium size water utilities.
Ageing Well in Our Cities
By 2030, 1 in 6 people will be over the age of 60 worldwide. There is an urgent need to rethink our views of ageing. In this episode, we talk about new opportunities with more people over 60 staying active in their careers. What would this mean for the workplace, our homes and cities? Learn about the places that are redesigning their streets, public spaces, and communities to allow us to age healthily.
Linda Kurti is a social researcher and health system specialist, with a focus on healthy ageing and communities. Originally from the US and now based in Australia, she is the founder and Managing Director of Stillpoint Strategy, a social research and strategy firm.
Creative Leadership and the 2050 Vision for Sydney
Jess Scully was elected to the City of Sydney Council in 2016 and as Deputy Lord Mayor in 2019. She advocates for new models to address the housing crisis and support workforces of the future, is working on reviving nightlife and expanding access to culture.
Most of her career has focused on the creative world. She is a curator who uses creativity to engage people in the knowledge economy and to shape a sustainable and inclusive future. From 2009 to 2017 Jess was the founding director of Vivid Ideas, Australia's largest creative industries event.
Redefining Public Art with JEFRE
Jefre Figueras Manuel is an internationally acclaimed public artist with iconic sculptures in cities such as Miami, San Antonio, London, Abu Dhabi and Manila. He worked for over 10 years in top consultancies as a landscape architect, urban designer and planner, collaborating with some of architecture’s greats such as Bjarke Ingels, Santiago Calatrava and Zaha Hadid. Despite recognitions such as the Designer Award of Merit by the American Institute of Architects, he pursued his true passion as a public artist in 2008. Notable awards he has received as a public artist include Consultant of the Year in 2016 by the AIA and Up and Coming International Public Artist by the Marlborough Gallery in New York City.
How Restoring a River Revitalized Seoul
Dr. In Keun Lee served the Seoul Metropolitan Government for 32 years, including as Assistant Mayor. As a senior civil servant, he formulated strategic urban policy and plans, guiding the capital to become a more sustainable, human-oriented, and public transit city.
He was involved in managing landmark projects including the planning and development of highways, subways, waterworks, and the prestigious Cheonggyecheon Restoration project. Demolishing Seoul’s major east to west thoroughfare to revive the stream was a mammoth task that the Metropolitan Government accomplished in just over two years – from planning to opening. From the outset, the project was more than restoring the river but about revitalising the whole city.
Green by Design with Joy Martinez Onozawa
Joy Martinez Onozawa is an architect and environmental planner that practices an ecological approach to design. Every project starts by studying what the land can offer with building materials and what the local community knows about working with the materials. The green design professional believes that when you build based on the property’s ecosystem, the buildings - and the people living in them - thrive.
Joy grew up in an urban farm in Cebu, the creative capital of the Philippines. Her family grew their own food, picked medicines from the backyard, and built toys from bamboo. Find out how this early appreciation of nature has allowed her to design a truly green lifestyle.
Planning Resilient Cities with Felino Palafox Jr.
Felino Palafox, Jr founded, led and managed Palafox Associates and Palafox Architecture Group in the planning of over 44 billion square meters of land, and the design and architecture of 16 million square meters of building floor area in 40 countries. In 2012, London-based World Architecture Magazine cited Palafox Associates in the Top 100 largest practices and the Top 8 in leisure projects in the world.
Architect Palafox shares his insights on visionary leadership and planning resilient cities. He was only 26 years old when he was invited to work with an international team to “plan Dubai as if there was no oil”. A trusted advisor to leaders in property development and government, he talks about the different developments he has planned - from world-class golf course communities to business parks and new townships. He also shares his vision for Philippine cities and communities by 2050, when there will be 40 million more Filipinos.
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Rwanda is Leading Africa’s Smart Cities
It is remarkable how Rwanda has transformed from the aftermath of the 1994 genocide to a knowledge-based economy with sustained growth for 20 years. The World Bank ranks it as the 2nd best place to do business in Africa and 38th in the world (for comparison, Australia ranked 14th, Netherlands 42nd, Colombia 67th and Philippines 95th). It has also been recognised as the cleanest and safest country in the continent.
This episode features Edward Kyazze, the Director General of the Ministry of Infrastructure Rwanda. He oversees matters related to urbanisation, human settlements and housing development in the African nation. He is also a lecturer at the Civil Engineering and Environmental Technology Department of the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology.
The Future of the Workplace with Lars Wittig
Lars Wittig works with IWG plc, the largest provider of flexible workspaces in the world. He is the Country Manager for Regus and Spaces in the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia, and Vice President for Sales in the ASEAN countries, Taiwan and South Korea with over 175 centres.
He is an active member of business organisations in Asia, including as President of the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines. Since Regus was founded over 30 years ago, it has helped transform the workplace in many ways.
Lars talks about the benefits of hybrid working among people of different generations and the possibilities that have opened for secondary cities and the suburbs. He also shares the key ingredients and necessary reforms to attract investments to a locality.
Improving Road Safety in Colombia with Natalia Tinjaca
Natalia Tinjaca is adviser to the Urban Mobility Secretary of Bogota and was spokesperson for the Bloomberg Initiative for Road Safety. The initiative helped save 100 lives in three years in the Colombian capital. Natalia was also coordinator in road safety and innovation for the Safer Cars Initiative with the Global Health Advocacy Incubator.
Find out in this episode how addressing road safety for women, children and the vulnerable improves mobility for all. She shares Bogota’s history of reclaiming streets for pedestrians and bicycles, and how doing so encourages empathy for everyone using the road.
Redesigning Cities through a Health Lens
Dr Lei Camiling-Alfonso is an independent consultant for health systems and policy. Her expertise has been sought by government, non-profits, and the UN. She is also a volunteer specialist for the Philippine Society of Public Health Physicians active in COVID-19 technical groups. She learned early in her career as ‘doctor to the barrio’ that medicines can only do so much if people go back to the environments that make them sick.
As a student of public health in Antwerp, well-planned environments and urban spaces sensitized her on what is possible. The COVID-19 pandemic and its modes of transmission underscore the urgency to create better environments for a healthier population.
Building Equitable and Inclusive Communities with Ernst Valery
Ernst Valery is the president of EVI, a private, minority-owned real estate investment firm he established in the US. He has successfully invested in and developed affordable and market rate housing developments in Maryland, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, Virginia, California, and New York.
In this episode, Ernst defines what it means to build inclusive communities and describes his company’s platform of ‘development without displacement.’
Find out why he thinks addressing the culture of inequality helps with innovation. He also talks about how his background in architecture, urban planning and policy have influenced his approach to property development.
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Conversations with visionaries and thought leaders about transforming the places we call home.