Cities. While 54% of the world’s population lives in them, the urban experience is incredibly varied. From city planning in China to creating art out of Rio’s favelas, this session looks at urban environments and the possibilities found within them.

The speakers who’ll appear in this session:

Robert Muggah creates tools to collect data that aim to answer a big question: why are cities so violent, and what can be done to disrupt cycles of violence?

Joanna Wheeler studies what makes grassroots movements work. She holds participatory workshops and uses creative storytelling to help marginalized communities harness their power for change.

Su Yunsheng firmly believes that, with the smart use of technology and data collection, urban planning in China can be both sustainable and rehabilitating, even as it is created quickly.

Grimanesa Amorós is an interdisciplinary artist whose work plays with the connection between science and culture, and between new technology and the past.

Batalha do Passinho, or “Battle of the little steps,” took a Brazilian dance craze that melds breakdancing, samba and funk and catapulted it to national attention.

Working in the favelas of Rio as well as in run-down neighborhoods in Philadelphia, art duo Haas&Hahn (Dre Urhahn and Jeroen Koolhaas) transform forgotten urban spaces into works of art with the help of the locals.

Curious what these speakers had to say? Read our recap of these talks.

And check out the introduction video for this session.

Video credits: