Podcasts and Interviews

Community, Nature, Wellbeing Andy Harrod

Interview with Dr. Andy Harrod, human geographer with a therapeutic background and head of the research group for health and wellbeing. Andy speaks about community/individual today, the influence of nature for individual wellbeing and identity, and about  the positive effects of nature-related activities for communities. In these regards, the relations between the city, community and […]

Ana Schluth (youth series)

Interview with Ana Schluth, student of architecture, about the life of younger Americans in times of increasing economic pressure, compared to their parents’ generation; about the shift from online life to real life; about the city wanted and the need for a human-scaled city.   

Sarah Haeflinger ( youth series)

In our series about the younger generation, Ideal Spaces interviewed Sarah Haeflinger, student of architecture and urban design at the Catholic University of America, Washington D.C. In the context of the Ideal Spaces workshop on Identity, Place, and Citizenship, Sarah speaks about her generation, how a humane city should look like, together with the need […]

Luke Kelly (youth series)

In the context of our younger generation-series and the Ideal Spaces workshop on Place, Identity, Citizenship held in October 2025 with Jason Montgomery from the Catholic University of America, Washington D.C. and Ettore Mazzola from the University of Notre Dame in Rome, Ideal Spaces interviewed one of Jason’s students, Luke Kelly. What is his view […]

Jackson Truong Montgomery (youth series)

In our youth-series, Ideal Spaces had a podcast with Jackson Truong Montgomery, son of Jason Montgomery with whom we made our Ideal Spaces workshop on Identity, Place, Citizenship in October 2025. Jackson, a student of architecture, gives his view on the city today, citizenship, improvements needed, and his vista of a good city.

Prof. Jason Montgomery/Catholic University of America will discuss with Prof. Ettore Mazzola/University of Notre Dame Rome, Prof. John Roberts/Brunel University London

Introducing dialogues on important topics as a new podcast format, we start with a discussion on the topics treated in our workshop on Identity, Place, Citizenship. Prof. Jason Montgomery/Catholic University of America will discuss with Prof. Ettore Mazzola/University of Notre Dame Rome, Prof. John Roberts/Brunel University London, and Dr. Ulrich Gehmann and Grant F. Raynham […]

Prof. Ettore Mazzola from University of Notre Dame, Rome

In the context of our Ideal Spaces workshop on Place, Identity, Citizenship and Democracy we had a podcast with Prof. Ettore Mazzola from University of Notre Dame, Rome about the connections between urbanism, architecture, and art.  

Prof. John Roberts from Brunel University/London

In the context of the Ideal Spaces Workshop on Place, Identity, Citizenship and Democracy we had a podcast with Prof. John Roberts from Brunel University/London on these topics.     Human Condition today. Dublin, Ireland. Photo U. Gehmann  

Identity, Place, and Citizenship, Prof. Jason Montgomery

In moderating the Ideal Spaces workshop on Identity, Place, and Citizenship, Prof. Jason Montgomery from the Catholic University of America, Washington D.C. presented his views on the topics of urban form today, together with the importance of places, community, and placemaking for citizens.

Christina Honcharenko, Ukraine (youth series)

Dig deep into things, not into yourself This was what Christina wanted to be posted, due to a suicide of a friend of her age group. It directly relates to the topics addressed in the podcast, dealing with the younger generation, isolation, depression, narcissism and nihilism. In parallel, the podcast looks at the aspirations, desires, […]

Anastasia Pawlik, Iffezheim (youth series)

In our series about the younger generation, continuing what we started with Lia Macedo, we interviewed 18-year old student Anastasia Pawlik about her impressions of her peer groups, their mindset, fears, aspirations, and habits. Although Lia and Anastasia come from different cultures (Portugal, Germany), many of their observations are congruent. It is an indicator of […]

Digitalization and the Recent Western City Pedro Guimaraes and Daniel Paiva, University of Lisbon/Portugal

The recent Western city is undergoing wide-reaching changes today, ranging from housing problems, gentrification, the exodus of old-established residents to a phenomenon called “digitalization”. With Professor Pedro Guimaraes and his colleague Daniel Paiva from the University of Lisbon, Ideal Spaces spoke about recent trends transforming the city in the context of its increasing digitalization. These […]

Younger Generation Today, Lia Joana Macedo, Guimaraes/Portugal (youth series)

Younger Generation Today Lia Joana Macedo, Guimaraes/Portugal In our series about the younger generation, ranging from 15 years old to the mid thirties,  we started with a podcast about the mindset, hopes and behaviours of the youngest of this group, with 15-year-old pupil Lia. She offers a view on her age group, giving a quite […]

New Organizational Ecologies, Democracy, Art and Community – an interview with Aviv Kruglanski

New Organizational Ecologies, Democracy, Art and Community – an interview with Aviv Kruglanski (3 Stages of Succession / Community Economies Institute) Hull/UK Part 1: Part 2:

About Video Performance Art, and Art Today

Aysha Quinn is an internationally recognized, talented and vibrant video performance artist. Based in New York, her eco-feminist artwork has wonderful movement and structure that puts Aysha as a leader in the video performance art scene. We discussed her past and present work, and her thoughts of the art industry today with a view to […]

The Need for Public Place, Jason Montgomery

In a podcast with Prof. Jason Montgomery from The Catholic University of America, School of Architecture and Planning, Washington D.C., the need for public places was outlined, taking the example of the American city. A special emphasis was on the need for public squares, their positive influence on everyday quality of life, sociality, and citizen […]

Podcast with Karo Godles, international scene painter and free artist, about art today

Karo Godles, an international scene painter and free artist trained in scenography painting and graffiti art, talks about scenography and atmosphere, and about the role of art today, in particular for the public space. Furthermore, she illuminates the role of art in a capitalist context, taking graffiti art and its evolution as a case example. […]

Khalid Kadir, University of Berkeley, California/USA: The Self in today’s Neoliberal Capitalism

Khalid Kadir, an expert in Political Economy, is a Continuing Lecturer at UC Berkeley and recipient of the 2017 Distinguished Teaching Award, UC Berkeley’s most prestigious honour for teaching. In our podcast, he speaks about the frictions for the individual Self in recent socioeconomic and sociopolitical contexts, and what this means for the very self-understanding […]

John M. Roberts, Brunel University/UK: Neoliberal Agenda, public parks and public spaces

Cathartic Crime and the Neoliberal City. Molly Slavin, Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia/USA

Thomas Kolbe : The Human Image from a Libertarian Perspective – Premises and Concepts

J Michael Heynen, Equilibration: Spirit and Life

Dieter Plehwe, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung: The Genesis of Neoliberal Agenda Concepts

Cultural Heritage and Need for New Cities, Guimaraes/Portugal 2024

Dr. Ulrich Gehmann, director of the Ideal Spaces Foundation, met with the City Council of UNESCO City Guimaraes/Portugal and the Zegnea Group. In meeting to discuss a symposium for 2025, dealing with cultural heritage and the need for new cities, he gave an interview on these topics. Please find this interview below; Please find an […]

Professor Wendy Brown, Universities of Princeton and Berkeley, on the concept of a neoliberal market agenda, its image of the human, and its consequences

George Monbiot (Columnist at The Guardian) podcast.- hosted by Allan Siegel and Ulrich Gehmann/Ideal Spaces Foundation  – ‘Dynamics And Consequences Of The Neoliberal Market Politique’

In the first interview of our series about the implications of the recent neoliberal agenda on democracy and community, together with Allan Siegel, filmmaker and artist who will co-host our Neoliberal Agenda Symposium in September this year, Ideal Spaces interviewed George Monbiot. George is an award winning and critically acclaimed investigative journalist and author who […]

Considerations about the self in recent times

J Michael Heynen

Transformations of living spaces in cities

Transformations of living spaces in cities Ideal Spaces did a podcast in Baden-Baden with David Vlachakos, a leading real estate business owner. We spoke about transformations of living spaces in cities, in regard to neoliberal socioeconomic conditions and their impact on housing, community and urban development in the present and in the future.

Interview with Sam Olshin FAIA: Placemaking for Communities

Interview with Sam Olshin FAIA: Placemaking for Communities In this new episode on the Ideal Spaces Podcast, co-hosts Flora and Ulrich unpack the topic ‘placemaking for communities’. They discuss with architect Sam Olshin FAIA, how architecture can be used to support and bridge the gap between different cultures, help people find joy in the everyday […]

Interview with Ian Boyd: Shaping Better Places

Interview with Ian Boyd: Shaping Better Places Have we become too attuned to accepting throwaway, meaningless places and spaces that don’t really meet our needs? And have we been programmed to believe that a neat place is a good place, a tidy place is a healthy place, and a pristine clean surface is a sign […]

Interview with Andreas Hofer: Building for the Future

Interview with Andreas Hofer: Building for the Future In this new episode – the first of our 2023 series – Flora interviews Andreas Hofer, the Artistic Director of the International Building Exhibition or IBA’27, a company based in Stuttgart, Germany that provides advice, project support and networking opportunities to those interested in transforming cities and […]

Interview with Tim Kaysers: Plants for the Future

Interview with Tim Kaysers: Plants for the Future In the fight against heat, drought, forest fires and heavy rain, every little green counts. In this brand-new podcast interview, Flora and Ulrich talk to German landscape architect and author Tim Kaysers about his vision of a world that is made up of green cities: human and climate-friendly […]

Interview with Romolo Del Deo: Making Art that Endures

Interview with Romolo Del Deo: Making Art that Endures Flora and Ulrich talk to the acclaimed artist and master sculptor Romolo Del Deo about making art that stands the test of time. Taking a stand against the fast, momentary and disposable ‘now’ culture of the present, Romolo instead focuses on creating enduring, sustainable, ‘long art’ […]

Interview with Tapan Chakravarty: Community, Culture and Climate

Interview with Tapan Chakravarty: Community, Culture and Climate Flora Loughridge speaks with Delhi-based architect, urban designer and educator Tapan Chakravarty about building with true community impact. Tapan describes how traditional, vernacular housing in rural India mirrors the characteristics of the local environment, climate and natural materials – and how the lifestyle of villagers and their […]

Interview with Ed Finn: Algorithms, Imagination and Reality

Interview with Ed Finn: Algorithms, Imagination and Reality In this brand-new episode, Flora and Ulrich speak to Ed Finn about the complex world of algorithms. Ed tells us about the ever-increasing role that computational systems play in the 21st century. We discuss the threat that our increasingly technology-focused lifestyle poses to imagination and creativity, and […]

Experiencing Space: The Gaming World

Experiencing Space: The Gaming World Flora Loughridge and Ulrich Gehmann welcome artist-game designer Chris Solarski onto the Ideal Spaces Podcast in this brand-new episode on Experiencing Space. We explore how Chris’s sensory design approach Interactive Empathy and Embodiment (IEE) to interactive media heightens the player-audience’s physical experience of gameplay, making them feel totally immersed in the […]

Architecture, Communities & Practice

Architecture, Communities & Practice In this episode, Flora Loughridge and Ulrich Gehmann welcome Manchester-based architect Jateen Lad onto the Ideal Spaces Podcast to explore how good, thoughtful design and ethical practice can be a force for social change. Jateen tells us how he set up his practice in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean […]

Placemaking: Putting Poetry back into Architecture

Placemaking: Putting Poetry back into Architecture In this episode, Flora Loughridge and Ulrich Gehmann welcome San Francisco architect John Marx onto the Ideal Spaces Podcast to explore the importance of emotional meaning in architecture. We discuss the role that architects play in bringing poetry and beauty to our daily interactions with buildings and urban spaces […]

Interview with Greg Delaune: The Blue Economy

Interview with Greg Delaune: The Blue Economy In this episode, co-founder of Deep Blue Institute and expert in green, clean and smart cities Greg Delaune joins us on the Ideal Spaces Podcast to speak to us about the multi-scale regenerative marine infrastructure projects that Deep Blue Institute is leading in the Bayou region, Louisiana. Greg […]

Interview with Filippo Romano: Documenting Cities, Architecture and Urban Dwellers

Interview with Filippo Romano: Documenting Cities, Architecture and Urban Dwellers In this episode, documentary and architecture photographer Filippo Romano joins podcast host Flora Loughridge to share his experiences capturing the devastating earthquake in Haiti for a photoreportage commissioned in 2010. He speaks of his ongoing interest in the relationship between architecture and communities, and the […]

Interview with Khalid Kadir: Engineering Social Justice

Interview with Khalid Kadir: Engineering Social Justice Podcast co-hosts Flora Loughridge and Ulrich Gehmann speak to Dr. Khalid Kadir, a Continuing Lecturer at UC Berkeley and recipient of the 2017 Distinguished Teaching Award, UC Berkeley’s most prestigious honor for teaching. In this episode, we discuss the intersection of poverty, engineering expertise and politics, as well […]

Functional Spaces

Functional Spaces In Episode 3, the Ideal Spaces team is joined by Stan Allen, an architect and Professor of Architecture at Princeton. Stan holds degrees from Brown University, The Cooper Union and Princeton.  In 1991 he established an independent practice, and since that time, has pursued parallel careers as architect, educator and writer. He has […]

Interview with Professor Andy Jones: Urban Parks

Interview with Professor Andy Jones: Urban Parks Flora Loughridge and Ulrich Gehmann are joined by Andy Jones, Professor in Public Health at UEA’s Norwich Medical School. Andy’s primary research focus is on the environmental influences on population health. His core work explores the manner by which characteristics of the social and physical environments act to […]

Managed Spaces

In Episode 2 of the Ideal Spaces podcast, we are joined by Professor Kean Birch, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change as well as Graduate Program Director of the Science & Technology Studies Program at York University, Canada.

Notions of Space

Welcome to Episode 1 of the Ideal Spaces podcast. Flora Loughridge is joined by the founder of Ideal Spaces Working Group, Ulrich Gehmann, and Michael Johannson.

Interview with Ulrich Gehmann and Matthias Bühler

Matthias Bühler and Ulrich Gehmann gave an interview on Ideal Spaces and the city at the Shaping the City conference in Venice, October 2018. It was recorded in-situ, which explains the background noise in this recording. The topics discussed are of prime interest, particularly today, as cities begin to move away from their traditional status as city and instead become amorphous, […]