The DNA of Cities

What does The DNA of Cities mean to global urban historians? Rosemary is Professor of History at Fordham University and she is the Director of the Urban Studies Programme. We were delighted to hear during this conversation about some of her recently published global comparisons from her book The Worlds of Victor Sassoon (The University of Chicago Press, 2024). Rosemary is also the President of the Global Urban History Project, which brings together scholars at all stages of their careers from around the world, with common interests in researching at the intersection of urban history and global history.  – 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 – Sound design by Josh Latham. 

We trace and explore the social patterns and mindsets in Mexico City. We want to know, how and where is The DNA of Mexico City expressed, how can it be felt and experienced? In particular, we ask, where does that survival instinct reveal itself, how does it manifest? We are joined by Tatiana Bilbao, Lorena Zárate, Felipe Correa, Gabriela Jauregui, Onésimo Flores Dewey, Mauricio Tenorio-Trillo, Juan Villoro, Ana Elena Mallet Cárdenas and Matt Vitz. We wish to thank them and Gabriella Gómez-Mont for all of her support in putting these episodes together.  – 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 – Sound design by Dainius Kacinskas.

Welcome to Part II of The DNA of Mexico City. This is the episode where we explore the kinds of traits and characteristics that Mexico City has inherited through its history and where we might see, feel and experience them today. If our first episode on The DNA of Mexico City could be summarised in one word, it would be ‘survival’ and in this episode, the term that comes up again and again is ‘layering’. We are hugely grateful to the esteemed experts who joined us in this episode to unpack the decode The DNA of Mexico City. Thank you to Dr Gabriela Jauregui, Tatiana Bilbao, Onésimo Flores-Dewey, A/Professor Matthew Vitz, Professor Mauricio Tenorio-Trillo, Juan Villoro, Ana Elena Mallet Cárdenas, Professor Felipe Correa and Lorena Zárate. We also wish to thank Gabriela Gómez-Mont for all of her support in the making of these episodes. To discover more about The DNA of Mexico and our guests, check out: Feral by Gabriela Jauregui Clara Porset: Butaque by Ana Elena Mallet Horizontal Vertigo by Juan Villoro A City on a Lake by Matt Vitz Mexico City: Between Geometry and Geography by Felipe Correa Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs by Camilla Townsend I Speak of the City by Mauricio Tenorio-Trillo Lorena Zárate's writing on the right to the city Onésimo Flores Dewey's writing on transport and infrastructure  – 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 – Sound design by Dainius Kacinskas.

At the turn of the 20th Century, Mexico City had a population of around 500,000 people and there are now over 21 million people who call the megacity home. It is the largest city in the Americas, it is the largest Spanish-speaking city in the world and it is the world’s oldest capital city.  We begin this episode by asking, what are the planetary characteristics of this location and how have they shaped the city that has emerged here?  As we will discover, this is probably one of the most unusual places to find a city. We are hugely grateful to the esteemed experts who joined us in this episode to unpack the survival of Mexico City. Thank you to Gabriela Jauregui, Tatiana Bilbao, Onésimo Flores-Dewey, Matthew Vitz, Mauricio Tenorio-Trillo, Juan Villoro, Ana Elena Mallet Cárdenas and Felipe Correa. We also wish to thank Gabriela Gómez-Mont for all of her support in connecting us with many of these inspiring and experienced experts.  – 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 – Sound design by Dainius Kacinskas.

Professor Philip Sheldrake shares his perspectives on spirituality and cities, how spirituality has been shaped by urbanisation, and how a sense of place enriches our human experiences. Philip is a historian of theology and spirituality. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Cambridge Theological Federation at the University of Cambridge and he is Professor and Director of the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Spirituality at Oblate School of Theology. – 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 – Sound design by Josh Latham. 

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. – 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 – 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.  – 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 – Sound design by Josh Latham. 

We meet the wonderful Dr Wangui Kimari. Wangui is Assistant Director at the American University Nairobi Abroad Program and she is an Honorary Research Associate at the African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town. We had a fantastic time learning from Wangui about The DNA of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city, and she also enlightened us about her starting points for understanding the uniqueness of cities as an urban anthropologist. – Here are a selection of Wangui's recent publications: Kimari, W. (2024) On the police as infrastructure and managers in the African city. (Link) Pfingst, A. and Kimari, W. (2021) Carcerality and the legacies of settler colonial punishment in Nairobi. (Link) Kimari, W. (2020) War-talk: an urban youth language of siege in Nairobi. (Link) Kimari, W., Melchiorre, L. & Rasmussen, J. (2020) Youth, the Kenyan state and a politics of contestation. (Link) – 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 – Sound design by Josh Latham. 

This is the episode where we attempt to understand identity, mindsets and social behaviours in Sydney and where we might look in the city’s history and evolution to find earliest signs of these traits or characteristics and how they became continuous. Although this is the final part of our mini-series, we know that there is so much more that we could attempt to decode in Sydney’s complex psyche – and we also know that there is no single truth waiting to be discovered. These conversations represent a contribution to discussions that have long been underway in Sydney about identity, character, perception and evolution. This mini-series has been almost five years in the making and was really only possible because of the generousity of our local experts. We wish to thank Monica Barone, Dr Sarah Hill, Dr Danièle Hromek, Lyn Lewis-Smith, Alex O’Mara, Professor Peter Read AM, Michael Rose AM, Rob Stokes and Eamon Waterford for joining us to decode The DNA of Sydney over these three episodes.  – 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 – Sound design by Dainius Kacinskas.

We ask ‘how many Sydneys are there?’ and uncover several distinguishing characteristics that layer together to produce a sense of pride and identity. We explore the geographies of its deep, diverse and continuous Aboriginal lifestyles and how waves of global migration have produced its contemporary cosmopolitanism. To do this, our local experts take us far beyond the Sydney we can all imagine and admire – the harbour icons and the beautiful eastern beaches – to the culturally rich suburbs that make up this vast city of villages. We are hugely grateful to the wonderful experts who joined us in this episode to decode what makes Sydney, Sydney. Thank you to Monica Barone, Lyn Lewis-Smith, Alex O’Mara, Professor Peter Read, Michael Rose AM, Rob Stokes and Eamon Waterford. You can read our full interviews with each of our local experts on our website.  – 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 – Sound design by Dainius Kacinskas.