444I_Markus Appenzeller, Founder and Director of MLA+ episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 8, 2026 · 36 MIN

444I_Markus Appenzeller, Founder and Director of MLA+

from What is The Future for Cities? · host Fanni Melles

"These are problems on the one hand. On the other hand, you can also turn it around and say: 'Okay, if that is a given, how would we have to organise it that it actually works better?'"Are you interested in finding the real problem of the urban fabric? What do you think about robustness vs antifragility? How can we improve our feedback loops in the building industry? Interview with Markus Appenzeller, Founder and Director of MLA+. We will talk about his vision for the future of cities, sequence for finding the real problems, urban evolution, rethinking cities, city regions, and many more. Markus Appenzeller advises governments and private clients on complex urban transformations, delivering integrated strategic advice that combines spatial planning, policy, law, economics, and governance. His unusual background in architecture, urbanism, law, and banking enables him to bridge the worlds of ministers and developers with ease. He serves as Chief Technical Adviser to the UNDP, where he leads the reform of Saudi Arabia’s entire national planning system. Markus was Professor & Dean at leading design schools in Shenzhen and Amsterdam, and he is the Founder & Director of MLA+, a Fellow of the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt, Board Member of ISOCARP, and author of The Daily Urban Dose.Find out more about Markus through these links:Markus Appenzeller on LinkedIn@markusappenzeller as Markus Appenzeller on InstagramThe Daily Urban Dose blogMLA+ websiteMLA+ on LinkedIn@mlaplus as MLA+ on InstagramISOCARP websiteConnected episodes you might interested in:No.420 - Interview with Josh Dorfman about solving a local problem having a global impactNo.430 - Interview with Alain Bertraud about the Greater Bay AreaNo.434 - Interview with Keith Cooke about housing affordability and capacityNo.443R - Enhancing resilient sustainable cities: public perspectives of urban resilient designWhat was the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@WTF4Cities⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wtf4cities.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ website where the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠shownotes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ are also available.I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.Episode generated with ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Descript⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ assistance (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠affiliate link⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lesfm ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay

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444I_Markus Appenzeller, Founder and Director of MLA+

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