"My granddaughter thinks that all I do is widen footpaths." Rob Adams gave Ben and Cate a number of different descriptions of exactly what he does in his role as City Architect of Melbourne, Australia, but we think that may be our favorite.

To call Rob a legend in the urban design world may be an understatement. Alongside Jan Gehl and others, his groundbreaking work to transform the city center (ahem, centre) of Melbourne in the 1980s and 90s created a veritable blueprint for struggling urban areas to follow. For years, Melborune has been routinely written up as one of the planet's most "livable" cities - but what does that actually mean to people who live there?

Rob reflects with us on the tricky politics of urban revitalization, why walkability matters during a global pandemic, and what comes next for Melbourne and cities everywhere.

Referenced in this episode:

Auckland Council, Ministry for the Environment, July 1, 2005: "The Value of Urban Design."

The Daily Maverick, July 1, 2022: “The rise and (slight) fall of a liveable city”

The Fifth Estate, July 3, 2023: “Adelaide: solvable problems, but are our leaders up for it?”

The Kathmandu Post, July 29, 2023: “How Melbourne rescheduled its future”