Posts in the 'Urban Development' category
History in the Making: Habitat III Negotiators Release Final Draft of the New Urban Agenda
History in the Making: Habitat III Negotiators Release Final Draft of the New Urban Agenda
Last week, the final draft of the New Urban Agenda (NUA)—the document at the center of Habitat III in Quito next month—was released. After an unexpected stalemate at the Preparatory Committee in Surabaya in July, Habitat III negotiators convened this ...
Historic Reform to Transform the Urban Model in Mexico
Historic Reform to Transform the Urban Model in Mexico
Mexico is an eminently urban country. 78 percent of the Mexican population lives in an urban locality of more than 2,500 inhabitants, and 63 percent live in urban centers with more than 15,000 inhabitants. Urban development should be a priority ...
The Big Gap in Habitat III: Making the New Urban Agenda Actionable
The Big Gap in Habitat III: Making the New Urban Agenda Actionable
On July 25, over 4,000 participants and negotiators from 142 countries came together for Habitat III’s Preparatory Committee Meeting in Surabaya, Indonesia. The purpose of the meeting was to finalize the New Urban Agenda (NUA)—a vision for the cities of ...
Nossa Cidade: Redesigning One of São Paulo’s Peripheral Streets for Safety
Nossa Cidade: Redesigning One of São Paulo’s Peripheral Streets for Safety
  Nossa Cidade (“Our City”), from TheCityFix Brasil, explores critical questions for building more sustainable cities. Leaning on the expertise of specialists at WRI Brasil Sustainable Cities, the series features in depth articles on urban planning, sustainable mobility, resilience, road ...
Friday Fun: How Pokémon Go Is Creating a New Generation of Urban Explorers
Friday Fun: How Pokémon Go Is Creating a New Generation of Urban Explorers
In the past few weeks, if you’ve seen people roaming around, staring at their phones and spontaneously shouting with glee, or crowds of people inexplicably congregating in parks, there’s a good chance you’ve witnessed someone playing Pokémon Go. Since its ...
Live from Surabaya: Setting the Stage for the New Urban Agenda
Live from Surabaya: Setting the Stage for the New Urban Agenda
This week in Surabaya, Indonesia marks the last preparatory session (PrepCom3) before the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) in Quito, Ecuador in October 2016. The conference will bring together national governments, sub-national actors, decision-makers and ...
Thinking “Incrementally”: Addressing the Global Housing Deficit by Engaging the Poor
Thinking “Incrementally”: Addressing the Global Housing Deficit by Engaging the Poor
Surprising many in the architectural community, this year’s prestigious Pritzker Prize went to Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena. Though the award—often regarded as the Nobel Prize of architecture—prompts images of iconic skyscrapers or cultural centers, Aravena initially achieved fame for his firm’s ...
In Cities’ War Against Climate Change, Heating and Cooling, Transport Are Key Battlegrounds
In Cities’ War Against Climate Change, Heating and Cooling, Transport Are Key Battlegrounds
“If you want to win the climate change battle, it will be fought in the cities of the world,” WRI President and CEO Andrew Steer told participants at a forum on the role of urban areas in the global shift to clean ...
Creating “Super-Blocks” in Barcelona
Creating “Super-Blocks” in Barcelona
Barcelona is re-designing its streets; city planners released a new plan that takes city spaces back from cars, for the people. Re-orienting the city to the human scale, Barcelona’s leaders have decided to create more space for walking and cycling, ...
Urban Planning “Games”: A Novel Approach to an Old Problem
Urban Planning “Games”: A Novel Approach to an Old Problem
How do you liven up discussions around urban planning, get participants thinking outside of the box and get people to take a holistic and inclusive approach to community planning? Why not try a game? Games are emerging as a useful ...
What Can We Learn from Thailand’s Inclusive Approach to Upgrading Informal Settlements?
What Can We Learn from Thailand’s Inclusive Approach to Upgrading Informal Settlements?
Currently, an estimated one billion people worldwide live in informal settlements where they lack access to basic services and infrastructure and are often threatened with forced eviction. While the overall proportion of the world’s urban population living in informal settlements ...
Financing Sustainable Solutions: What Cities Need to Deliver on COP21 Commitments and Beyond
Financing Sustainable Solutions: What Cities Need to Deliver on COP21 Commitments and Beyond
Cities are at the forefront of combatting climate change. Many cities and municipal governments and agencies were party to the Paris Agreement reached at COP21 in December, and many have committed to ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals and meaningful climate ...
A New Coalition Will Prove Sustainable Cities Are Better for Growth, Better for Climate
A New Coalition Will Prove Sustainable Cities Are Better for Growth, Better for Climate
Cities are all about efficiency. It’s why they exist: to allow easy access to jobs, goods, services and ideas. However, in many countries, new and expanding cities are sprawling, car-dependent and uncoordinated – a set-up that’s not only inefficient, but ...
Unlock Bangalore: Making the Right Decisions for Sustainable Growth
Unlock Bangalore: Making the Right Decisions for Sustainable Growth
Bangalore is India’s third most populous city and is among the top 100 cities that contribute to the global economy. 75 percent of Bengaluru’s income is from the service sector, with over ₹ 500 billion (approximately US $7.6 billion) from ...
Friday Fun: Three Museums That Engage Visitors to Think about the Future of Cities
Friday Fun: Three Museums That Engage Visitors to Think about the Future of Cities
It’s not often that you encounter museums dedicated to urban planning and development. But they do exist, and they are presenting panoramas of urban areas, both historically and spatially. While many museums have traditionally focused on presenting valuable objects and ...
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