The Century of Cities

• Samer Bagaeen: The Future is Local, Resilient, and Human

  Samer Bagaeen, professor, urban planner, academic, and city councillor, joins us on The Century of Cities. Samer walks us through a personal and professional timeline of urban transformation, reflecting on his childhood city of Amman in 1980, today’s challenges in urban resilience and capacity-building, and what cities might face by 2080. Samer explains the tension between civic needs and public opinion, and the growing gaps in infrastructure and workforce shaping the future of cities. From whispering into mayors’ ears to spearheading urban resilience in cities like Rome and Milan, Samer reveals how leadership, political will, and technical capacity intersect to shape cities for generations to come. He advocates for a new kind of civic listening, especially when funds are limited, and makes the case for hyperlocal interventions as building blocks for future-ready cities. 

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• Debra Lam: The Future of Innovation Is Low-Tech, Local, and Community-Led

  The Century of Cities welcomes Debra Lam, Founding Executive Director of the Partnership for Inclusive Innovation, a regional public-private partnership driving innovation, workforce development, and economic opportunity. Debra challenges the long-held belief that innovation must be high-tech, making the case for low and no-tech approaches that prioritize people, process, and place. Debra offers a bold vision for the future of cities. She shares a powerful case study from Thomasville Heights in Atlanta, where drones and collaborative design helped alleviate energy poverty, and she unpacks the kind of decentralized, inclusive leadership needed to scale this work. Her insights remind us that the future of urban innovation lies not in flashy tech but in thoughtful partnerships, empowered communities, and a relentless focus on equity and access. 

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• Victor Santiago Pineda: Rewiring Cities for Radical Inclusion

  In this episode of The Century of the Cities, we are grateful to be joined by Victor Santiago Pineda, a global human rights expert, serial founder, UC Berkeley lecturer, and lifelong advocate for inclusive urban futures. Born into a city that wasn’t built for him, Victor shares a deeply personal story of growing up in Caracas in the 1980s, where architectural barriers and social neglect nearly robbed him of an education. Through radical resilience and a commitment to structural change, Victor not only rewrote his future but is also reshaping the future of cities worldwide. From advising the United Nations to launching the Smart Cities for All initiative, Victor has become a leading voice in making accessibility a legal, economic, and design imperative. Victor shares how inclusive innovation isn’t a fringe benefit but the very foundation of a thriving city. He explores how technologies initially designed for people with disabilities, such as speech synthesis or alt-text, have powered today’s generative AI and digital tools. He also lays out a five-pillar framework for meaningful change, urging city leaders to move beyond compliance and into radical intentionality. By redefining participation, policy, and leadership, Victor explains how to build cities that are barrier-free, frustration-neutral, and rich with untapped human potential.  

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• Eleanor Sharpe: Redesigning Cities for Equity and Imagination

  Eleanor Sharpe, founder of Sharpe Solutions and former interim Deputy Mayor and Director of Planning and Development for the City of Philadelphia, joins us on The Century of Cities. In this bold and deeply personal conversation, Eleanor reflects on Philadelphia’s transformation from the post-industrial 1980s to a city defined by “eds and meds,” creative resurgence, and continued racial inequities. Drawing from her own life, she unpacks how systemic design, not individual choice, shapes our cities and our neighbourhoods, often in ways we don’t realize. Eleanor raises hard questions about education, equity, and who cities are built for. From redlining and racialized land use to calls for planners to actively redress past harms, Eleanor makes the case for a new kind of planning, deliberate, transparent, and deeply community-rooted. As she turns her attention toward her hometown of Kingston, Jamaica, she calls for a bold cultural and civic renaissance built not just on money, but on shared vision.  

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• Angelica Nunez: Financing, Flexibility, and the Fight for Inclusive Cities

  The Century of Cities welcomes Angelica Nunez, Practice Manager of the Global Programs Unit in the Urban, Resilience, and Land Global Department of the World Bank. With decades of experience in affordable housing and urban finance, Angelica shares a hopeful yet grounded vision for the future, where connectivity, better planning, and smarter housing policies can help cities live up to their promise of opportunity for all. From the explosive growth of cities like Mexico City to the rising urbanization of Africa, Angelica discusses how jobs, housing, and the private sector must work together to shape inclusive, livable, and resilient urban futures. Along the way, she reflects on land value capture, urban mobility as a social equalizer, and what it will take to move from fragmented cities to ones where prosperity is widely shared.

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