Posts in the 'Guest Contributor' category
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been told to stay at home, stay close to our neighborhoods and try to enjoy being outside. But what if there is no park nearby? What if your home is tiny with no outdoor ...
In less than two months, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our lives, causing sickness, death, economic loss and fear. While this global health and safety crisis has been challenging for all of us, it has been especially tough for essential ...
California is home to 7 of the 10 most polluted metropolitan areas in the United States, with transportation being the state’s leading source of greenhouse gases. While pollution from the transport sector is bad for everyone, it disproportionately impacts people ...
Teenage activist Greta Thunberg has attracted global renown with her message to the world’s leaders that they must act now to address climate change. Time Magazine recently recognized her as the 2019 Person of the Year. But Thunberg’s recognition is ...
Fueled by billions of dollars of venture capital funding, micromobility is making its mark on cities across the globe. In the United States, more than 45 million trips were made on shared electric bikes and electric scooters in 2018. Shared ...
Innovation in cities has alleviated poverty, reduced wasteful resource consumption and achieved incredible economic outcomes. It’s part of the secret sauce that has led to the primacy of cities in today’s world, with urban areas accounting for 67% of global ...
We’re living in the midst of a housing affordability crisis. Demand for apartments and condos continues to outpace supply in most urban cores. Upward pressure on asking rents is displacing low-income renters to nearby communities and middle-income renters are starting ...
The narrative about global inequality and poverty often focuses on rural areas in the global south, with a heavy emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. But the reality is that poverty is becoming more concentrated in cities across the ...
Sexual assault on public transit is all too common. In Bogotá, Colombia, an incredible 37% of female riders of the bus rapid transit system report experiencing unwanted sexual contact while using the system, according to new research, funded in part ...
Street lighting is important. It allows informal vendors and traders to operate for longer hours and improves road and public safety. It also makes streets feel safer and more secure, especially for women. But street lighting is sorely lacking in many of sub-Saharan Africa’s ...
Last week, I had the pleasure of participating in a day-long roundtable discussion with the five finalists for the WRI Ross Prize Cities, organized by WRI at the Ford Foundation in New York City. The roundtable followed the first-ever award ...
Contrary to popular belief, the developed world isn’t the best role model when it comes to urban development. In fact, says Gerald Babel-Sutter, the founder and CEO of the Urban Future Global Conference, the developing world can learn more about ...
When we think of design in cities, it’s typically physical environments and infrastructure that come to mind: glass, steel and stone, skylines and main streets, museums, traffic jams, playgrounds and construction sites. But the designs that determine the health and ...
If you visit the Temple of Heaven in the heart of Beijing, you’ll discover a vast network of palaces, pavilions, altars, stages and walking paths scattered over 600 acres of parkland. Recognized as a World Heritage Site for its exceptional ...
Today’s streets are contested spaces. There seems to be an ongoing, intensifying competition between cars, bikes and pedestrians, trying to get from point A to B as quickly as possible. How do they all share the limited space available in ...
