About the Good City Project

The Good City Project is Newcastle University-funded project focused on ‘what is a good city’. The project revisits the question not to find a definitive answer but to provoke a dialogue among those interested in and concerned about urban conditions. The research was undertaken from March to July 2022, and involved a survey, literature review, interviews, workshops and roundtable debates with a diverse range of actors in the northeast of England as well as a documentary film. We are grateful to everyone who participated in the project and shared their views about what makes a good city.

About the Good City Team

Prof Simin Davoudi

Project Lead & Coordination

“I am interested in the ‘What is a Good City?’ question not because I am looking for a definitive answer, which would be hard to find. Rather, I am interested in the question because it provokes dialogues and invites discussions about what makes cities ‘good’, for whom, and under what conditions. It encourages us to imagine alternative futures for cities.”

Simin is Professor of Town Planning at the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, and Co-Director of the Centre for Researching Cities NUCoRE.

Alex Robson

Institutes Officer, Institute for Social Science, HaSS Research Institutes

“In terms of research, ‘Cities’ can encompass pretty much every discipline. This is quite remarkable. It is fascinating being part of this project. Understanding the diversity of work happening at Newcastle University and the range of cities people are researching is really exciting. The ‘What is a good city?’ question means so many different things to different people.”

Alex provides Professional Services support to the Centre for Researching Cities NUCoRE.

Dr Elizabeth Brooks

External Engagement & Literature Research

“The national reputation of Newcastle has been of a city with heart. That and the truly magnificent cityscape were part of the attraction which led me to relocate to the North East! I’m curious to understand what a Good City means and if that widespread sense that Newcastle is one can weather our various contemporary crises.”

Liz is Research Associate and Associate Lecturer at the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape.

Anna Christy

Internal Engagement

“With a background in Civil Engineering and currently doing a PhD on minimising whole-life carbon emissions in collaboration with Northumbrian Water Limited, cities are a detrimental aspect to focus on. Urban history, development, integration, accessibility, digitalisation, and many other features play a significant role in reaching net-zero carbon and the way we lead our everyday lives. I want to investigate the views and opinions of what makes a ‘good’ city further, and this project skillfully makes this possible.”

Anna is Post Graduate Researcher at the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences.

Lotte Dijkstra, MSc

Project Communication

“What a good city is, exactly, cannot be answered by any one individual. And what a ‘good city’ means for us will probably even change throughout our lifetimes. That is what makes the question and the interview-based project approach so interesting. With my background in Landscape Architecture and Communication, I explore facets of the good city question in my PhD research by creative practice on intersectional belonging and equitable access to urban forest qualities across communities.”

Lotte is Post Graduate Researcher at the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape.

Tom Draper

Project Videography

"I am interested in how our ideas about the nature of the 'good city' have impacted the urban fabric historically and will continue to influence the creation of imaginative urban futures and new ways of living together. This interest also underlies my documentary PhD 'Brasília of the North' which focuses on the diverse attempts by urban planners, business and government to reinvent North East England in the post-war period."

Tom is Post Graduate Researcher at the School of Arts and Cultures and works in the interdisciplinary area of Media, Culture and Heritage. His work is based in the Culture Lab at Newcastle University.