Urban Exchange Episode 1: Mayor Sylvester Turner, City of Houston

Mayor Turner speaks on the numerous shocks and stresses that Houston has seen in his time as Mayor, specifically regarding extreme weather events, detailing the disproportionate effect these have on low-income areas and the importance of addressing inequity in relation to urban resilience – for those at all levels of government, as well as for citizens.

The Mayor also delivers his take on what resilience means for cities and their infrastructure, the risks of not acting urgently, and why changing behaviours and mindsets is as crucial as investment for the long-term sustainability of our urban environments.

Elsewhere, Paul quizzes Mayor Turner on how to build resilience into city infrastructure and ecosystems, all while keeping equity at the centre of the task, as the Mayor explains Houston’s plans to build the largest solar farm in the US, how that ties into equity and the local economy, and its impact on the environment.

Following on from this, there’s also conversation about innovation and the technologies being applied that are making a big difference to urban life and operations in and around Houston – from the pandemic, to mobility, to air quality monitoring.

Crucially, Mayor Turner speaks at length about how cities can learn from one another on new and varying initiatives, and can implement and apply new technologies and techniques in their own localities based on those lessons.

Finally, Paul discovers what Houston’s objectives are for the long-term around climate action, and specifically what that means to the city and its energy transition objectives as a world energy leader, as Mayor Turner lays out his desires for a sustainable Houston and gives his take on the role of cities at the COP26 summit in Glasgow.

The Urban Exchange podcast is produced by SmartCitiesWorld and the Resilience Cities Network, with support on this episode from The World Bank.