Posts tagged with 'urbanization'
EMBARQ Turkey's Livable Cities Symposium will highlight the importance of bikeability and walkability in creating livable cities for all. Join the discussion online using #LivableCities. Photo by Marko Anastasov/Flickr.
Enhancing livability in Turkey and in cities worldwide
Over the past half-century, the world has urbanized at an unprecedented pace. In 1970, about 37% of the world’s population lived in urban areas. This number rose to 45% in 1990, 54% in 2014, and is expected to reach 66% by 2050. Much of this urban ...
Rapid urbanization creates a number challenges for city leaders, but the growing use of sustainable urban mobility solutions provides reasons for optimism in cities worldwide. Photo by Benoit Colin/Flickr.
Five reasons to be optimistic about sustainable urban mobility
According to the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects, cities will add over 2.5 billion people in the next 40 years, with 90% of this growth coming from cities in emerging economies. China and India alone are expected to add 276 million and 218 million urban ...
What if there were no need for cars in the world’s biggest cities?
What if there were no need for cars in the world’s biggest cities?
This question is at once lofty and ordinary, addressing one of the most pressing sustainability challenges of our times and one of the most routine. How to get to and from home to work, school or market is simple enough, ...
Despite daunting challenges, rapidly urbanizing Asian cities have a range of options to improve road safety and save lives. Photo by Ashok/Flickr.
Safer cities for the Asian Century
With the next few decades expected to witness to Asia’s swift rise in economic and political influence, the eyes of the world have focused on Asian cities as the engines of this growth. Last month’s Asian Development Bank Transport Forum ...
Live from Mexico City at X Congreso
Reinventing cities for better quality of life: Live from Mexico City
How can we make cities better places to live? This central question is at the heart of countless efforts from governments, civil society, and individual citizens to transform and reinvent their cities. Given the rapid scale and pace of global ...
Laws governing planning processes in Indian cities need to recognize the varying needs and complexities of differently sized urban centers. Photo by Ryan/Flickr.
Must a city of 8 thousand follow the same planning processes as one of 8 million? A case for rightsize planning in India
India’s urban population currently stands at 377 million, representing 31% of the country’s total population. This urban population is distributed across a diverse range of small, medium and large urban centers. Smaller urban centers – or ‘census towns’ that have recently crossed ...
Improving building efficiency presents a major opportunity to curb greenhouse gas emissions while saving money and improving quality of life. Photo by deano7000/Flickr.
As cities grow, so should their energy efficiency
If you want to find major emitters of greenhouse gases, look no further than your city’s skyline. Buildings account for more than one-third of all final energy consumption and half of global electricity use. They’re responsible for approximately one-third of ...
Rapid urbanization has led to sprawl in cities worldwide, reshaping urban geographies and challenging city governments to plan for growing populations. Photo by Omar Bárcena/Flickr.
Friday Fun: Watch urban growth unfold in these amazing visualizations from cities worldwide
The NYU Stern Urbanization Project has created a number of fascinating time-lapse videos showing urban land use in different cities from the 1800s through to 2000. These videos strikingly depict the well-evidenced trend of urban growth, both in population and ...
As cities rapidly urbanize, governments worldwide face the challenge of improving living conditions for the most vulnerable urban populations. Photo by Akshay Mahajan/Flickr.
Upgrading informal settlements in an urbanizing world
How can we ensure that all urban inhabitants have the necessary rights and conditions for a dignified and secure existence in the city? As the world rapidly urbanizes, the livelihoods, health, and safety of residents living in informal settlements remain ...
Taxi bus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Photo by Overseas Development Institute/Flickr.
Friday Fun: Community building through skateboarding in Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, is one of the fastest growing cities in Africa. In fact, it’s population has almost tripled since 1970. In its rapid race towards development, little space was left for parks, little consideration was ...
EMBARQ Brazil released today a new manual to help cities like Rio de Janeiro build safe cycling infrastructure and foster cycling culture for sustainable urban mobility. Photo by Mariana Gil/EMBARQ Brazil.
New manual to catalyze cycling in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas
Cycling is already an important part of daily life many of Brazil’s urban residents. To grow the country’s cycling culture as well as provide better conditions for users, the new “Manual of Projects and Programs for Encouraging Cycling in Communities” ...
China's new urban plan seeks to build competitive, livable cities while combatting the rising phenomena of congestion, air pollution, and sprawl. Photo by Rob Chan/Flickr.
Preparing for the urban billion: “New-type” urbanization in China
While cities are drivers of economic growth, this prosperity does not always come naturally. The fate of a city lies in its ability to balance the positives of dense, connected communities – mobility, accessibility, and innovation chief among them – ...
Participants at the seventh World Urban Forum crafted the The Medellin Declaration, which advocates for placing equity at the center of sustainable urban development. Photo by Mariana Gil/Flickr.
Why we need sustainable urbanization: A response to the Medellín Declaration
Over 22,000 attendees gathered in Medellín, Colombia for the Seventh World Urban Forum (WUF7) from April 5 – 11, 2014, sharing ideas, experiences, and challenges for creating more sustainable and equitable cities. The conclusion of the WUF7 saw the release ...
As the two-wheeler sector continues to expand in India, researchers study the demographics of two-wheeler users and their possible role in promoting sustainable mobility. Photo by Meghana Kularni/Flickr."
Challenges in managing the motorized two-wheeler sector in India
With increasing income levels and rapid urbanization, India’s motorized two-wheeler fleet – which includes mopeds, scooters, and motorcycles – continues to expand. As a private transport mode, two-wheelers are particularly popular because of their low costs, fuel economy, maneuverability, and ...
Walking in Bangalore. Photo by Benoit Colin/EMBARQ.
In photos: Walking in Bangalore reveals the plight of pedestrians
Bangalore has rapidly become a megacity. At nearly 10 million people, the city has already doubled the size of its population in just 20 years. This explosive urban growth has been coupled with increased motorization, with now more than 50% ...
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