Posts tagged with 'green space'
The Best Defense Against 'Natural' Disasters Is Nature Itself
The Best Defense Against ‘Natural’ Disasters Is Nature Itself
I’ve watched in horror as Europe burns. Ferocious wildfires have swept through Spain, France and now Greece, scorching towns and forests and spewing toxic smoke. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes. Many will have little left to return to. European ...
How Is the World Coping With Extreme Heat?
How Is the World Coping With Extreme Heat?
From hydration breaks during the FIFA World Cup to recent heat waves leaving Europe sweltering in an early summer, extreme heat is reshaping daily life. Around the world, communities are adapting in real time to increasingly high temperatures. During Europe’s ...
Environmental Justice Lives On in Local Communities Despite Federal Rollbacks
Environmental Justice Lives On in Local Communities Despite Federal Rollbacks
As the federal government advances rollbacks of more than 100 environmental and climate policies and resources, it is redefining the U.S. government’s role in protecting communities disproportionately impacted by pollution — and diminishing opportunities for communities to make decisions that impact their ...
Tackling Central Africa's Water and Power Challenges Starts With Restoring Nature
Tackling Central Africa’s Water and Power Challenges Starts With Restoring Nature
Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, sits where Lake Kivu drains into the Ruzizi River along the border with Rwanda. The city’s steep hillsides turn heavy rains into fast-moving runoff that overwhelms drains, damages roads and threatens downstream communities. It’s ...
African Cities Use Nature to Fight Floods and Climate Change
African Cities Use Nature to Fight Floods and Climate Change
When torrential rains hit Kinshasa in April 2025, the city of 20 million came to a standstill. Floodwaters submerged more than half the city as the Ndjili River and smaller streams overflowed, quickly overwhelming the city’s drainage capacity. Lives were ...
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 ...
Shenzhen, China Pioneers ‘Near-Zero Carbon Communities’
Shenzhen, China Pioneers ‘Near-Zero Carbon Communities’
In Shenzhen’s Houhai Central District, summer temperatures climb higher each year. Last summer, the city recorded a blistering 37.5 degrees C (99.5 degrees F), one of its hottest days in decades. For residents in dense, aging apartment blocks, staying cool ...
In This Indonesian City, Community-Led Design Is Improving Water and Sanitation
In This Indonesian City, Community-Led Design Is Improving Water and Sanitation
On rainy days, Meliana Mei walks along an elevated pathway from her home in Makassar, Indonesia, to the market. Water collects in trenches below the path and drains away, giving her a much safer way to reach her destination. “Our ...
Reviving Nairobi's Libraries Is Building Healthier Communities
Reviving Nairobi’s Libraries Is Building Healthier Communities
At Eastlands Library in Nairobi, Kenya, students compare notes and work through assignments as music from a tree-lined courtyard drifts through the windows. In another part of the library, a dance instructor is leading a group of children through breathing ...
Most Cities Are Getting Hotter. Not All Residents Feel It Equally
Most Cities Are Getting Hotter. Not All Residents Feel It Equally
On a hot day in February 2024, volunteers dispersed across Cape Town, South Africa, with sensors affixed to their cars. Their aim was to measure heat differences across the city. In Cape Town’s dense, highly developed center, they recorded air temperatures ...
Citizen Voices Are Reshaping Manila’s Transport System to Put People First
Citizen Voices Are Reshaping Manila’s Transport System to Put People First
On most days, Doc Mau, a disability advocate and Manila local, walks between 5,000 and 10,000 steps on crutches, choosing routes within the city with even sidewalks and clearly marked crossings. She pauses to catch her breath along tree-lined paths ...
City Governments, Experts and Communities Unite to Address Heat and Health Challenges in Belo Horizonte and Campinas
City Governments, Experts and Communities Unite to Address Heat and Health Challenges in Belo Horizonte and Campinas
When the weather heats up in Belo Horizonte, residents of Morro do Papagaio get creative. “A lot of people put their blankets in the refrigerator,” said Amanda Lima, a 24-year-old university student, activist and resident of the south-central region of ...
The Atlanta Beltline Paves a Path Toward a Healthier, More Connected City
The Atlanta Beltline Paves a Path Toward a Healthier, More Connected City
Early on a weekday morning in Atlanta, a familiar choreography unfolds along a landscaped path: High school students stream north to class; middle schoolers head south, backpacks bouncing as they bike; electric scooters zip past joggers and dog walkers, while ...
This Hillside City in South America Rebuilt Itself Around Nature — and Got Healthier
This Hillside City in South America Rebuilt Itself Around Nature — and Got Healthier
On most mornings, Cati Ochoa walks the green corridor along the Zamora River near her home in Loja, Ecuador, before starting work. The moment she steps beneath the trees, she feels her shoulders drop. “Green areas give us peace,” she said. ...
TheCityFix’s 10 Most-Read Blogs of 2025
TheCityFix’s 10 Most-Read Blogs of 2025
2025 tested cities in ways both familiar and new. Urban areas faced intensifying heat, more frequent and severe climate-driven disasters, widening inequality, and political shifts shaping local and national agendas. Yet cities also emerged as centers of leadership and innovation, ...
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