The Century of Cities

The Century of Cities welcomes Marie Lam - Frendo, Partner and Chief Strategy Officer at Meridiam, to explore how infrastructure has shifted from simply enabling growth to shaping resilience, inclusion, and long-term prosperity. She reflects on the move from car-led, output-driven cities to a new urban era where people, technology, energy, mobility, and nature must operate as one connected system.
The cities that thrive tomorrow will be the ones making smarter choices today. From clean transport and coastal defence to digital networks and circular energy, resilience is becoming central to how cities are planned, financed, and built. Marie's perspective is practical and optimistic: when public ambition and private capability move together, cities can strengthen communities, widen opportunity, and meet a far more uncertain future.

J. Byron Brazier, lead developer of Woodlawn Central, joins The Century of Cities to share a powerful model for building cities with communities, not around them. Rooted in Chicago's South Side and shaped by a legacy of civil rights leadership, Byron reflects on how cities have moved from an era defined by human connection and hard-won social progress to one shaped by technology, design, and global visibility. 
Through the Woodlawn 2060 plan, Byron is redefining urban regeneration by placing ownership, culture, and economic participation back in the hands of residents. From mixed-income housing and local job creation to cultural districts and vertical farming, his approach challenges traditional development models that often lead to displacement. He shares that the future of cities depends on accountability at the community level, alignment across institutions, and a commitment to regeneration that builds wealth, identity, and opportunity across generations.

Ami Kotecha, Co-Founder and Group President at Amro Partners, joins The Century of Cities to trace the evolution of cities through the lens of migration, capital, and lived experience. Reflecting on her upbringing in Mumbai and her work across European markets, she describes the shift from cities shaped by scarcity and informality to today's global urban economies, where growth has been powered by talent, mobility, and relentless expansion.
Ami argues that the next phase of urban change will be defined not by growth, but by demographics. As population peaks and workforces age, cities must rethink how they sustain productivity, from designing healthier, more accessible environments to embracing migration as a long-term economic necessity. Her perspective is grounded and direct: resilience will depend on how well cities adapt to changing populations, support independence across the life cycle, and remain open to the flows of people and ideas that drive prosperity.

Lisette van Doorn, Former Chief Executive at Urban Land Institute Europe, joins The Century of Cities to explore how real estate has shifted from a local, owner-led activity to a global, highly financialized industry, and what that means for cities. Drawing on more than two decades of experience, she reflects on how global capital and new investment models have reshaped the built environment, unlocking growth while also creating distance between financial value and lived experience.
Lisette argues for a rebalancing, where buildings are seen not only as assets, but as the environments that shape daily life. As cities face climate risk, economic uncertainty, and rising complexity, she emphasizes the need for long-term thinking, better alignment between stakeholders, and a more holistic approach to value. Her message is clear: stronger collaboration and a shift beyond short-term returns are essential to building more resilient, inclusive cities.

The Century of Cities welcomes Sowmya Parthasarathy, an Architect and Urban Designer leading Arup's Masterplanning and Urban Design team in London, who examines how city planning has shifted from centralized, top-down systems toward more people-centred and regenerative approaches. Drawing on her experience in 1980s New Delhi and her work across the UK, US, Middle East, and India, she reflects on how rapid urbanization outpaced planning capacity, and how climate risk and housing affordability now define urban priorities.
Looking to 2080, she argues that cities must move beyond net zero toward regenerative models that align human and natural systems. Drawing on her work with the UK's New Towns Task Force, she explores densification, retrofit, and the role of new towns, emphasizing that long-term success depends on integrating housing, infrastructure, placemaking, and stewardship into a single, sustained civic vision.