Cities Beyond Buildings
Putting Citizens and People first
Cities are one of humanity’s most enduring innovations. For nearly 10,000 years, they have shaped how we live, learn, work, and connect. As a species, we have evolved alongside cities, growing in complexity and interdependence. Cities are where we gather, imagine, and build our collective futures. They live because we live in them.
Cities act as force multipliers. They concentrate creativity, innovation, learning, and social exchange, enabling the emergence of complex, interwoven systems that combine culture, economy, infrastructure, and environment. Critically, cities provide opportunities and are the platforms where lives can be reshaped, futures reimagined, and ideas brought to life.
Yet, as cities have evolved physically and functionally, has our understanding of what a city is kept pace with these changes?
Evolving beyond buildings
Often, when we think of cities, we visualise buildings, skylines, neighbourhoods, institutions, or political and economic influence. Rarely, however, do we centre our understanding of cities around the people who inhabit them. What gives a city its relevance is not infrastructure but instead citizens, their stories, ambitions, and interactions give richness and depth to the city.
People choose cities for opportunity. The promise of better lives and greater access draws more than half the world’s population to urban areas, a figure projected to reach nearly 70% by 2050 (UN-Habitat). But that promise can only be fulfilled if cities are designed to support the wellbeing and potential of all citizens.
Cities are not merely defined by physical structures, they are fundamentally shaped by the intangible interactions and emotional connections that occur within them. A street mural, a park, a community market, these spaces create meaning and belonging. They foster interaction and cultivate identity. Yet too often, these qualitative aspects are undervalued in favour of what can be easily measured.
To truly evolve cities, we must understand and value these less visible, yet deeply impactful, aspects of urban life.
This calls for a shift in mindset, away from top-down planning and design and toward a more human-centric perspective. If we view cities as platforms for people to pursue their ambitions and contribute to shared futures, we begin to uncover what truly matters and we can remember that there is a hidden subset of dreams, ambitions and hopes that coalesces in the minds of citizens that underpins the city. Taking this onboard means that we should interpret a city’s physical manifestation as essentially a ‘backdrop’ to everyday life, a means to provide the opportunity for connection and innovation to occur between citizens and between ecosystems. We can understand the city as the medium for people to live out their lives and create the futures that speak to them, their sense of purpose and to collective shared narratives.
If we value economic output, GDP, and political influence, then we must equally value what enables those things: the human networks, cultural expressions, and grassroots innovations that form the invisible scaffolding of city life.
A Shared Urban Future
To build cities that are inclusive, resilient, and sustainable, as envisioned in the United Nations’ 11th Sustainable Development Goal, then citizens must be part of the equation.
They hold deep knowledge of their communities. They know what works, and what does not. Their insights are essential to creating meaningful change. But to unlock this potential, citizens must have not only a voice but a stake and a real impact in how their communities and places grow.
Imagine cities where residents, policymakers, investors, and landowners work together, shaping shared value, building mutual trust, and growing urban environments that benefit everyone.
This formula reframes cities as collective, evolving systems, not fixed blueprints. It encourages us to think not only about building cities, but about growing them with care, intention, and collaboration
Growing Evolved Cites
From my experience in urban design and architecture over the last 20 years I think the following are some basic principles that can help us reach a more inclusive, sustainable and resilient process for growing our cites. A process that can help us achieve cities that go beyond buildings, are more human centric and that can include citizens and other wider actors and help to build positive, supportive ecosystems around our communities.
Inclusive
Cities must reflect lived experience. Including citizens in decision-making ensures equity, accessibility, and shared responsibility, creating places that serve everyone.
Collaborative
Cities are collective efforts. Policymakers, investors, creatives, communities, all bring unique perspectives. Working together creates richer, more relevant urban solutions.
Interdisciplinary
Cities connect fields and sectors, art and science, government and grassroots, education and enterprise. A thriving city supports and strengthens these interactions as a fundamental operation.
Experimental
Cities are dynamic, not static. Each intervention is a prototype, an opportunity to test, learn, adapt, and evolve in response to how we live.
Bold
Urban transformation requires courage. We must allow space for bold ideas, test new models, and reimagine how cities can better serve people.
Cities have been powerful engines of human advancement but their future depends on their ability to evolve. In an age of digital transformation, climate urgency, and social complexity, we must go beyond buildings and consider the full spectrum of what makes a city thrive.
Cities are not machines. Citizens are not cogs. A city is the manifestation of its people, their hopes, actions, and shared dreams.
By evolving how we think about cities, we move beyond rigid forms and into more inclusive, responsive, and generative urban futures. A city’s success will not only be measured in GDP or growth, but in how well it enables people to live, connect, and flourish and build better lives for themselves.
So, when we think of cities let’s not think about how we just build them but instead also think about how we GROW them, together.
