Posts tagged with 'global south'
Cool Roofs: An Underused Tool for Reducing Heat
Cool Roofs: An Underused Tool for Reducing Heat
Cities and towns in the Mediterranean and the Middle East have long used white or light-colored roofs and walls to help keep people cool. Today, cities from Ahmedabad to Singapore are also turning to cool roofs to reduce urban heat ...
Planning With, Not Around, Informal Transport: Lessons From Bogotá
Planning With, Not Around, Informal Transport: Lessons From Bogotá
Before sunrise in Bogotá’s southern hills, the day’s first passengers are already on the move. By 4 a.m., a fleet of aging SUVs, locally known as carritos, begin climbing the steep, unpaved streets of Ciudad Bolívar. They weave through neighborhoods ...
Bogotá’s Vision for a Climate-Resilient Urban Future
Bogotá’s Vision for a Climate-Resilient Urban Future
Well-located housing — integrated with mass transit, public services and climate-resilient design — is an instrument of urban productivity, not an add-on to urban planning. In Bogotá, this integration is becoming central to how the city responds to accelerating climate ...
In Mumbai’s Urban Peripheries, a Shared Autorickshaw System Is Redefining First- and Last-Mile Connectivity
In Mumbai’s Urban Peripheries, a Shared Autorickshaw System Is Redefining First- and Last-Mile Connectivity
In the peripheral areas of Mumbai, the humble autorickshaw provides a vital link between homes, transit stations and essential urban services. For nearly 13 million residents, shared autorickshaws function as essential first- and last-mile connections, helping commuters navigate areas where ...
4 Levers for Addressing Africa’s Housing Crisis
4 Levers for Addressing Africa’s Housing Crisis
The thirteenth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) convenes this month in Baku amid converging geopolitical and economic shocks: conflict-driven energy spikes, rising debt burdens and persistent inflation. Around the world, these shocks are squeezing public budgets and household incomes alike.  ...
Solving World's Housing Crisis Requires More Than New Construction
Solving World’s Housing Crisis Requires More Than New Construction
There’s a growing housing crisis that’s impossible to ignore. Consider the stats: Nearly 3 billion people lack access to housing that is both safe and connected to basic services like energy, water and sanitation. Around 40% of the world’s population lives in ...
Meet CityMetrics: An Open-Source, Interactive Tool for Analyzing Urban Risks and Opportunities
Meet CityMetrics: An Open-Source, Interactive Tool for Analyzing Urban Risks and Opportunities
Which neighborhoods are suffering the most from rising urban heat? Where is flooding the biggest challenge? What other cities around the world are struggling with air pollution, and what can we learn from those that have improved the quality of ...
How Gender Equity Can Boost Urban Climate Resilience
How Gender Equity Can Boost Urban Climate Resilience
The evidence is clear: the climate crisis is not gender neutral. Climate change is a threat multiplier. As instability intensifies, women are increasingly subject to conflict and its externalities, including gender-based violence and persecution. And because women are disproportionately represented ...
How African Cities Can Be More Green, Resilient and Inclusive
How African Cities Can Be More Green, Resilient and Inclusive
Looking at more than 350 urban leaders and experts gathered in Nairobi, Kenya, for the Green & Resilient UrbanShift Africa Forum, Dr. Cromwel Lukorito, Vice Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II, issued a simple ...
Ciclovía at 50: What We Can Learn From Bogotá's Open Streets Initiative
Ciclovía at 50: What We Can Learn From Bogotá’s Open Streets Initiative
Livability is key to the quality of city life as we look to the future. We don’t have to look far into that future to see how this plays out on the streets. On Sunday, December 15, 1974, a group ...
Does Political Decentralization Improve Urban Governance? Balancing Efficacy and Representation in Rajasthan’s Small Towns
Does Political Decentralization Improve Urban Governance? Balancing Efficacy and Representation in Rajasthan’s Small Towns
“Hum faltu hai [in English, “We are useless”] …I don’t even know what the budget of the council is. Nobody tells me about the procurement process [or] the number of tenders that have gone public…I don’t have enough knowledge about ...
4 Examples of Supporting Children's Play in Low-Income Urban Neighborhoods
4 Examples of Supporting Children’s Play in Low-Income Urban Neighborhoods
The International Day of Play (IDOP), held annually on June 11th, is a unifying global moment to celebrate the power of play for all children everywhere. IDOP draws attention to Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of ...
Lessons From the Global South's Public-Private Climate Collaborations
Lessons From the Global South’s Public-Private Climate Collaborations
As dense hubs of diverse talent, skills and innovation, cities are perfect places for public-private collaboration. In light of urgent calls from the international community for solutions, the wealth of creativity and expertise on urban sustainability in Global South cities can ...
How Africa’s First Chief Heat Officer Is Helping to Create a More Resilient Freetown
How Africa’s First Chief Heat Officer Is Helping to Create a More Resilient Freetown
“Climate change is affecting cities all around the world, and Freetown is no exception.” That’s what Eugenia Kargbo, Freetown’s Chief Heat Officer, told UrbanShift during the City Academy hosted in Kigali last year. Through her role—the first of its kind in ...
Cities Need a Systems-Change Approach to Build Climate-Resilient Communities
Cities Need a Systems-Change Approach to Build Climate-Resilient Communities
Cities occupy just 3 percent of the Earth’s land, but account for most of the global energy consumption and carbon emissions. Many cities are also more vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters due to their population densities and interconnected infrastructure. ...
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