Posts tagged with 'public space'
5 Car-Free Day Myths Debunked: Unveiling the True Benefits of Open Streets
5 Car-Free Day Myths Debunked: Unveiling the True Benefits of Open Streets
As cities become more congested, traffic fatalities continue to rise and the impacts of climate change escalate, the need for sustainable and safe transportation solutions has reached a critical juncture. The World Health Organization reports an alarming statistic: 186,300 children ...
New Data Dashboard Helps Cities Build Urban Resilience in a Changing Climate
New Data Dashboard Helps Cities Build Urban Resilience in a Changing Climate
Climate change is impacting cities and their residents in many profound ways, from poor air quality to flooding to biodiversity loss and extreme heat. Now, with the help of a new tool, select cities can access localized, integrated data to ...
Enabling a 'Deep Dive' Approach to Creating Urban Transformation
Enabling a ‘Deep Dive’ Approach to Creating Urban Transformation
Today’s city leaders face a level of complexity and rapid pace of change that can be overwhelming. Particularly in developing countries, urbanization is unfolding quickly and often haphazardly. One in three urban residents worldwide lack adequate access to at least ...
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. ...
Paris' Vision for a ‘15-Minute City’ Sparks a Global Movement
Paris’ Vision for a ‘15-Minute City’ Sparks a Global Movement
Until just a few years ago, the right riverbank of the Seine in Paris was an urban highway used by over 40,000 vehicles every day. Despite being named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the road was either heavily gridlocked during rush ...
Interview: Transforming Pune, One Neighborhood at a Time
Interview: Transforming Pune, One Neighborhood at a Time
Located in the western India state of Maharashtra, the city of Pune has a rich history as a center of higher learning. In recent decades, Pune has transformed into a hub for the country’s software, automobile and electronics industries, leading to exponential ...
In Barranquilla, Colombia, Urban Parks Revitalize a Declining City
In Barranquilla, Colombia, Urban Parks Revitalize a Declining City
Samira Perez, a longtime resident of Barranquilla, Colombia used to spend her time and money on taxis to take her children to local shopping malls after school and on the weekends. There, they would pass the time marveling at upscale ...
Kids playing at a public park in Barranquilla, Colombia
5 Cities Show How to Thrive in Turbulent Times
History shows that when disasters and crises strike, cities often bounce back stronger and more resilient than before. The great Chicago fire famously gave rise to skyscrapers. Infectious disease outbreaks led to public health policies and modern sanitation. The devastation of World War II catalyzed unprecedented ...
Curitiba Is Evolving But Remains a Model for Urban Sustainability
Curitiba Is Evolving But Remains a Model for Urban Sustainability
I recently had the pleasure of re-visiting Curitiba, Brazil, thanks to an invitation from the Smart Cities Expo. I made my first pilgrimage in 2000, when Bogotá was implementing its bus rapid transit system, Transmilenio, and returned twice after that. ...
5 Ways China’s Cities Can Drive Equitable and Sustainable Urbanization
5 Ways China’s Cities Can Drive Equitable and Sustainable Urbanization
China is experiencing the largest city-ward movement of people in human history. 700 million people have moved to the nation’s cities since the beginning of economic reforms in 1978. In that same time, the urbanization rate rose from less than a fifth to close ...
The City Is the Solution: Celebrating Jaime Lerner
The City Is the Solution: Celebrating Jaime Lerner
Jaime Lerner passed away on May 27, 2021. A world-renowned Brazilian urbanist, he was three times mayor of Curitiba and two times governor of the southern state of Paraná. Besides his great ideas, he was a very kind person and ...
In Nairobi, Residents Redesign Public Spaces to Build Flood Resilience
In Nairobi, Residents Redesign Public Spaces to Build Flood Resilience
During Caroline Owala’s childhood, flooding during rainstorms was a normal occurrence. “When it rained, it would be very difficult for us to even sleep because the flooding would get into the houses,” she told WRI. Caroline grew up in Kibera, ...
Low-Speed Zones Save Lives. How Do You Design an Effective One?
Low-Speed Zones Save Lives. How Do You Design an Effective One?
As the COVID-19 pandemic has altered urban landscapes and pushed many people toward active mobility, there’s increased urgency to make roads safer for walking and cycling. Many cities are now tasked with protecting more vulnerable users in addition to creating ...
In Monterrey, Mexico, a University’s Tragedy Sparks a Citywide Turnaround
In Monterrey, Mexico, a University’s Tragedy Sparks a Citywide Turnaround
Monterrey, like other major Mexican cities, rapidly expanded outward during the end of the 20th century. New policies favored investment in new suburban neighborhoods, attracting residents and businesses to the periphery, and provoking several decades of insecurity and population decline. ...
What We Learned After Analyzing 5 Months of Active Mobility Responses to COVID-19
What We Learned After Analyzing 5 Months of Active Mobility Responses to COVID-19
In 2020 and into 2021, transportation agencies, companies and advocacy groups acted swiftly in the face of the unique public health crisis and disruption caused by COVID-19. They provided solutions that kept frontline workers, groceries, health services and other critical ...
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