Wrap Up, Reflection and Reveal

This month, we (Beth and Tom) are podding alone, using the final episode of the year to reflect on some of the big themes we’ve discussed in 2025 as well as on the process of making Urban Radar.  We start with our monthly radar for December, dipping into three current stories each as usual. 

Following this we offer some quick-fire thoughts on a number of issues and themes that have resurfaced repeatedly throughout the year and remain prominent as it draws to a close. Finally, we consider some of the highlights of podcasting itself, before unveiling a surprise in store for Series 2…

On our monthly radar for December: 

• Care work and the city - from the UK’s current ‘carers scandal’ to Bogota’s care blocks
• Urban ‘brandalism’, ZAP games and ‘subtervising’ (confused? Head to 9:15 to find out…)
• The decline of trial by jury in the UK and what this might mean for urban justice and efforts to overcome spatial, class and linguistic bias
• America’s new National Security Strategy and how this connects to Trump’s war on urban diversity
• The Australian social media ban and its potentially different ramifications in urban vs rural areas
• Syrian cities one year after the fall of Assad

On our rapid fire ‘radar of radars’, we consider:

• Military coups and their urban implications
• Technology and public space
• Flag urbanism and the branding of the city
• The UK-Denmark anti-migration love-in
• Solidarity, belonging and ‘urban lawfare’
• The entanglements of local infrastructure and global finance
• Urban warfare, critical minerals and strongman diplomacy

Recommended Reading:

• The Independent Review of Carer's Allowance Overpayments: A Welcome Step Towards Wider Reform of Welfare Benefits for Carers | the Centre for Care
• Caring Cities: Towards a Public Urban Culture of Care?
• Dismantling the advertising city: Subvertising and the urban commons to come
• Activating the playful city: A review of ludic urbanism and introducing the ludic continuum framework