PREFIGURE researchers have appeared as guests on two popular podcasts exploring housing and energy issues.
Over the past few weeks, researchers from the EU project PREFIGURE at the University of Amsterdam, the Center for the Study of Democracy, and Malmö University’s Institute for Urban Research have appeared on the Energ’Ethic and Urbanistica – Cities for People podcasts.
Mirte on Energ'Ethic
Mirte Jepma, PhD researcher at the University of Amsterdam, was a guest speaker on the Energ'Ethic podcast.
Hosted by Marine Cornelis, a fervent advocate for energy justice, sustainable development, Energ’Ethic is a podcast that delves into real stories, from innovative energy solutions to creating smart, inclusive communities and cities - always putting people at the centre.
In this episode, Marine and Mirte reflected on lessons from Amsterdam, Milan, and Barcelona regarding collective housing and energy transitions, drawing on Mirte's research for PREFIGURE and activism. Indeed, Mirte also shared the story behind her film The Sinking Fringe, which follows the residents of a social housing neighbourhood in Amsterdam who are resisting displacement under the guise of urban ‘improvement.’ With her background in politics, philosophy and urban studies, Mirte offered a grounded perspective on the human cost of gentrification and top-down planning.
Kalina and Defne at Urbanistica – Cities for People Podcast
Dr. Defne Kadioğlu, project researcher at Malmö University’s Institute for Urban Research, and Kalina Tcolova, analyst in the Energy and Climate Programme at the Center for the Study of Democracy, were the main guests on episode 516 of the Urbanistica podcast.
Urbanistica – Cities for People is a podcast about how cities can be planned and designed for people in mind. It is hosted by Mustafa Sherif, an urban planner and designer based in Sweden, and has listeners from 140 countries.
Kalina and Defne joined Mustafa to share the inspiration behind the project and explain how it is implemented through a unique blend of quantitative and qualitative methods. They also discussed the role of the MobiLab, a mobile urban living lab, in co-creating solutions with local communities. The guests explored case studies from Scandinavia and Bulgaria, unpacked what a 'just energy transition' really means in practice, and discussed how social, policy and market innovations can become real-life 'prototypes of change' in cities across Europe.
Listen to the full episodes here:
PREFIGURE is a EU-funded research project exploring the intersection of housing inequality and energy poverty across seven European countries. Running from 2024 to 2027, PREFIGURE aims to reimagine how we create fairer, more sustainable cities through innovation, community knowledge, and just transitions.
Contacts:
Project coordinator:
Michael Janoschka, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, michael.janoschka@kit.edu
Communication Manager:
Costanza Danovi, Fondazione ICONS, costanza.danovi@icons.it
Project website: https://prefigure.eu/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/prefigure-eu-project/
Twitter: https://x.com/PrefigureEU