In this Open House special episode hosts Merlin Fulcher and Arman Nouri talk about how imagination - such as myths which celebrate our real or fictional past - can transform how we see the city around us, and in turn create better places for everyone.

In this Open House special episode we will be talking about green spaces -- London’s greatest public treasures loved by everyone -- and their future during a time of climate crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic. Specifically this episode will be focussing on Grosvenor Square in Mayfair which is poised to undergo an ambitious renewal to unlock its full potential as an urban oasis meeting the needs and expectations of our twenty-first century capital.

For this episode of the Open City podcast, we speak to the guest-editor of the book, critic and author, Owen Hatherly, who talks about why this guide and its focus on the extraordinariness of the more ordinary parts of London, is a rare find when talking about the capital’s architecture. We discuss pertinent topics such as London before, during and after lockdown; the disparity between how London is imagined and viewed, compared to how it is lived and experienced across the boroughs; and the unique spatial configurations of this city that shapes the lives of Londoners.

In this Open House special episode podcast hosts Merlin Fulcher and Lara Kinneir are joined by experts in transport planning, public realm projects and cultural programming from the City of London Corporation.

In the second episode of the Open City Podcast hosts Lara Kinneir and Arman Nouri speak to Maria Smith, a multi-award winning architect, engineer, writer, and curator and Clara Bagenal George, an engineer and founder of the London Energy Transformation Initiative, about architecture and climate change.

In conjunction with the launch of the first Open City podcast episode, Zoë Cave speaks to Cable Street Mural artist Paul Butler about his views on public art, collective work and education.