Interviews
Since 2007, EUKN has regularly published interviews with urban professionals. In this section you find an overview of all these interviews. Use this webpage to get inspired by the ideas and opinions of professors, journalists, politicians, ministers, policy makers and practitioners.
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2012
- Avrig to become one of Romania's leading centres for renewable energy
- Wanted: partners for a bid around offender rehabilitation
- "In 2040, those over the age 65 will represent more than 45% of the working population aged 15-64 in the EU27"
- The Politics of Urban Governance - "One of the shortcomings in much of governance research is that it has been too much concerned with the cast of actors and the configuration of collaboration."
- "It is not the strongest of species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is most adaptable to change."
- Improving disadvantaged neighbourhoods in 11 European cities - "The potentials of integrated approaches are still far from being fully exploited."
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2011
- “It’s inspiring when we learn and work with each other.”
- Accrediting the success of Bilbao’s urban regeneration to the Guggenheim Museum is misguided
- The bourgeoisie, the proletariat and the Communist as superhero’s and villains in a comic book
- The Oxford Handbook of Local and Regional Democracy in Europe: rich in theory and data
- School truancy and drop out in France is visible to outside observers but not always within the school
- What would New York city be without Central Park?
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“There are no losers or winners in urban development”
It is ten o’ clock in the evening and a Romanian taxi driver is speeding through Bucharest’s streets and neighbourhoods to get my Romanian colleague and me to ‘The Ark’ . We have an appointment there with Teodor Frolu; an architect, communication expert, urban professional and entrepreneur. He is hosting a party tonight and thought we would like to come have a look as well. Close to a local flower market the taxi driver stops the car and informs us we have reached our destination. Outside, ‘The Ark’ – the recently renovated commodity stock exchange building built in 1896 – has become visible. Inside, the party hasn’t really started yet. Girls who are going to sell cigarettes are putting on their special costumes while the barmen check their stocks of beer. Teodor Frolu hasn’t arrived yet either. He’ll be there in about one hour. “Just enjoy a beer in the meantime!” he says cheerfully. When he arrives we meet a highly energetic and enthusiastic man, who is eager to tell us about his projects at ‘The Ark’ and his vision for the future of the city of Bucharest.
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“A strong economic base, transport and identity are essential for the success of new towns”
China is booming: literally. The Chinese are planning one new town after another. Urbanisation is seen as the driver of economic development. In Shanghai several dozen of new towns have been planned that will accommodate an average of 800.000 inhabitants by 2020. In these new towns, numerous buildings, roads and services therefore need to be developed. Dutch urban planner Harry den Hartog visits China on a regular basis to study the country’s enthusiasm for construction. In October his book ‘Shanghai New Towns’ will be released, in which he investigates the new towns around Shanghai. These new towns are often based on Western models. Could we learn something about what is happening in Shanghai’s new towns in Europe as well?
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Literary portraits of less-known European cities by artists
Sheffield, Skopje, Charlerois, Lublin, Graz and Chartres; they are all interesting European cities but they are not really well known amongst the greater public according to Flemish-Dutch cultural platform De Buren (The Neighbours). With this idea in mind the platform has chosen to invite artists from around the world to visit a number of ‘less-known’ European cities and write their personal story about their experience and life in the city in City Books.
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