262: Placemaking: what is a good street really worth? | Kristian Riis - CEO of Volcano

262: Placemaking: what is a good street really worth? | Kristian Riis - CEO of Volcano

June 24, 2026 · 41 min · Season 7 · Episode 262

About this episode

Kristian Riis discusses the value of placemaking and its impact on urban development.

Placemaking: What is a good street really worth? 🤔 I'm really excited to share this conversation with Kristian Riis – CEO of Volcano A/S and Co-Chair of the ULI European Placemaking Council. Kristian is also a Danish musician (co-founder of the band Nephew, 10 Danish Grammys, shows up to 50,000 people) who brought the logic of the stage into the way he builds cities. From festivals and venues to master plans in the UK, Portugal, Italy, Sweden, Mongolia and Bhutan, he brings a rare perspective: culture is not decoration — it's infrastructure for community. Link to The Value of Placemaking in Urban Transformation report: https://cdn.realdania.dk/media/nddb3grf/value-of-placemaking-in-urban-transformation-experience-based-findings-and-methods-1.pdf Topics include: ✅ From the music stage to urban development ✅ Why a diverse city is a better — and more valuable — city ✅ Getting culture into the master plan before anyone digs a hole ✅ Gentrification: who really creates value in a city? ✅ The new report on the value of placemaking (and the "site score" tool) More about the podcast: Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://urbcast.pl⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Social media: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/urbcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support…

People in this episode

Host: Marcin Wojciech Żebrowski

Guest: Kristian Riis

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Volcano A/S, ULI European Placemaking Council

Places: Denmark, UK, Portugal, Italy, Sweden, Mongolia, Bhutan

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