“As a photographer, urbanist and keen storyteller Gabrielle brings to our attention important considerations that truly make you think hard about what makes a neighborhood. … You know a book and a conversation is good when it leaves you asking more questions than providing answers. And our conversation with Gabrielle was just such an experience.”

We are honoured to have Dr Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani as our second Keynote. Gabrielle is the founder of interdisciplinary design studio Buscada and she is the author of The Cities We Need (MIT Press, 2024).  

Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani’s work explores the profound relationship between the places we inhabit and our sense of self and community. In this interview, we discuss the importance of preserving these spaces amidst urban development, the challenges posed by gentrification, and how cities can be redesigned to combat isolation and promote social cohesion.

The black-and-white photograph on the cover of The Cities We Need is of the interior of a restaurant, with a woman standing at a counter on a landline phone with her back to the camera. A man sits at the counter, one hand poised over his plate of food and the other holding a newspaper open on his lap as he reads…

Join us as we discuss The Surprising Power of Everyday Spaces for Our Health and Wellbeing, with Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani, a photographer, urbanist, author, and the co-founder of Buscada, an interdisciplinary studio to promote more just cities.

Q: What inspired you to write The Cities We Need?

A: Twenty-three years ago, I started asking my neighbors in Brooklyn for tours of whatever they considered to be their neighborhood, and instantly I began to see an incredibly layered, complex, painful, funny, beautiful tapestry of the place.

Gabrielle was interviewed on the New Books Network – listen to the whole interview and get to a preview of the book in the podcast trailer, too!

In ‘The Cities We Need,’ Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani Celebrates Unassuming Places That Foster Community

Listen to the full hour interview!