Cogito Talks… Shaping tomorrow’s cities with Urban Partners

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In this podcast, Shayne MacLachlan from the OECD Centre of Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities is joined by Jesse Shapins from Urban Partners. Together they discuss how Urban Partners’ involvement in projects on local, municipal and national levels can help to achieve climate action and social sustainability.


In their conversation, they cover the concept of green and thriving neighbourhoods and cities, emphasising the fact that “a great city is not just green buildings”. They also investigate examples of the repurposing of state land and efforts to improve the social landscape in less-advantaged areas. Finally, they explore how to bridge the investment gap in climate action to ensure that local development is inclusive, green and accessible to all local communities.

Guest: Jesse Shapins – Co-Head of Neighborhood Investments at Urban Partners.

Director - Co-Head Neighborhood Investments at  | Website |  + posts
Jesse is the director of Co-Head Neighborhood Investments at Urban Partners, Europe’s largest sustainable urban investor, where he leads impact-focused urban regeneration initiatives, including Copenhagen’s Jernbanebyen project. A Harvard-educated urbanist and entrepreneur, he has over 20 years of experience advancing innovative models of urbanism that align societal transformation with capital investment.