What creates good city infrastructure? What makes it fail?
Professor Shauna Brail from the University of Toronto joins The Fleet to unpack why cities remain the beating heart of innovation, what makes infrastructure succeed or fail, and how human-centric design is quietly redefining mobility. From post-industrial skylines to the rise of third spaces and multimodal fleets, this episode explores what future-ready cities can teach every leader about building resilient systems that move people and ideas forward.
Key Moments:
0:00 Shauna Brail Explains How Cities Never Die
1:30 Why Urban Areas Still Matter
3:48 How Modern Cities Are Formed From Industrial Roots
8:24 The Cost of Old Urban Planning
10:55 Path Dependence - You Can’t Just Create a Tech City
16:29 How to Redefine Your City - Urban Comeback Stories
20:25 Remote Work and the Future of Cities
27:30 Third Spaces and Workplaces Beyond the Office
32:24 Human-Centric Streets and Urban Mobility Fleets
39:26 Wins and Mistakes of Long-Term City Planning