Cities are conversations. Between the environment and people. Between the past and the present. Between form and function. Between creativity and corporation. Cities are a form of inquiry, and a way of coming together as we ask, seek and respond.

Founded by acclaimed urbanist Zahira Asmal, The City has been an engaged participant in these conversations since 2010. The agency began with a simple question:
What makes a city?

Answers are sought in the acts of city-making, in social engagement, and in participation in the public life of cities. The City balances the practical and the poetic as it researches, advises, advocates, consults, connects and collaborates. Projects have included visionary transnational designs, start-ups, built works, exhibitions, scholarly publications, lectures and performances, social critiques, and curated experiences.

Our work spans continents and connects thinkers and makers.