USAID Green Cities Podcast Series

By 2100, 85% of the human population will live in cities, making urban solutions the most critical frontier for global development and opportunity. I had the privilege of co-producing and hosting the Green Cities Podcast series for USAID, which introduces the new USAID Green Cities Division and explores how urban transformation is integral to the sustainable development agenda.

In this premier episode, you will meet three leading voices in urban resilience and ecology:

• Ann Guerry, Chief Strategy Officer at the Natural Capital Project, who discusses the vital connection between taking care of nature through people and taking care of people through nature.
• Rogier van den Berg, Acting Global Director for the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, who shares how strategic urban planning can leverage economies of scale to drive climate solutions.
• Johanna Lovecchio, Associate Director at the Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes, who reflects on her lived experience in New York City to explain how cities can represent both human ingenuity and extreme fragility in the face of climate change.

Why you should listen: Historically, cities have been viewed as environmental “villains”—sources of smog, sprawl, and inequality. This episode flips the script, arguing that cities are actually the “hero” in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss. You will learn why you cannot resolve the climate crisis without resolving cities, which currently account for two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions.

With 60% of the urban areas expected by 2050 yet to be built, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to design the sustainable, inclusive cities of the future. Whether you are interested in economic growth, gender equality, or urban resilience, this episode will get you hooked on urbanization as the primary driver for international development.

Click play to discover how we can stop fighting against nature and start building with it.

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What if the solutions to our most pressing urban crises, from flooding and extreme heat to mental health, already exist in nature? In the second episode of USAID’s Green Cities podcast series, I speak with three world-leading experts who challenge the “artificial juxtaposition” of the city versus nature. This episode moves beyond theory to showcase concrete, nature-based solutions being implemented in cities across the globe.

In this episode, you will learn:

• The Power of Nature-Based Solutions: Discover how natural systems like wetlands and coral reefs can outperform “gray infrastructure” (concrete and steel) in mitigating floods and improving air quality.
• Healing the City: Explore the “Parks RX” movement, where doctors are prescribing time outdoors to treat chronic diseases, and learn about the measurable health benefits of urban green spaces.
• Cooling the “Heat Islands”: Understand how urban design choices create dangerous heat and how cities like Shenzhen and Tel Aviv are using nature to lower temperatures and protect vulnerable populations.
• Global Innovations in Motion: From Barcelona’s car-free “Superblocks” and Bogotá’s world-class bus rapid transit to Utrecht’s pollinator-friendly bus stops, see how cities are redesigning mobility and biodiversity for a more resilient future.

Featured Guests:

• Ann Guerry, Chief Strategy Officer at the Natural Capital Project at Stanford University.
• Rogier van den Berg, Acting Global Director for WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.
• Johanna Lovecchio, Associate Director at the Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes at Columbia University.

“Nature provides for what we need. Period.” This episode is a masterclass in how we can stop fighting against our environment and start building with it.

Click play to see how the cities of today are being transformed into the resilient, green ecosystems of tomorrow.

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The final installment of USAID’s Green Cities podcast series that I hosted and co-produced with USAID and Shane Hofeldt, looks 25 to 50 years into the future to explore the “earthshot” ideas that will transform urban development. With 60% of the urban areas expected to exist by 2050 yet to be built, this episode highlights a once-in-a-generation opportunity to design cities that are sustainable, resilient, and equitable.

In this episode, you will hear from world-renowned experts on:

• The “Earthshot” Strategy: Why we need to move beyond “moonshots” to focus on nature-based solutions and green infrastructure that can be modeled by engineers and integrated into standard investment portfolios.
• New Metrics for Success: Learn why we must move past GDP to measure what truly matters, such as Gross Ecological Product (GEP)—a metric currently being piloted in China that accounts for the value of natural capital.
• Breaking the Cycle of Disaster: How cities can shift from a “bad cycle” of paying for damages after a disaster to proactively financing planning and mitigation.
• Inclusive Urbanization: A deep dive into the needs of the one billion people currently living in informal settlements, and why access to nature should be considered a basic human right for everyone, regardless of wealth.
• The City as an “Emancipatory Machine”: A vision of the future where cities are not “gray monsters” to escape, but healthy, beautiful hubs of innovation and biodiversity that work for both humans and the environment.

Featured Guests:

• Ann Guerry, Chief Strategy Officer and Lead Scientist at the Natural Capital Project at Stanford University.
• Rogier van den Berg, Acting Global Director for the World Resources Institute (WRI) Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.
• Joanna Lovecchio, Associate Director of the Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes at Columbia University.

Click play to hear these leading voices as they paint a picture of the world-class cities of the future, and explain why they must be built by working with, not against, nature.