Jordan Needs More Innovative Solutions for its Transport Woes
How do women get to work when there is no public transport they can safely use? Much too often, they simply do not. Sahar Aloul on what needs to change in Jordan's transport policies.
Smart & Digital Development
Sparking Transformation Towards Inclusive Cities in a Post-Pandemic World
The global pandemic presents us with many challenges. But the current digital transformation may also be a powerful tool for inclusive city planning. Ramola Naik Singru from the Asian Development Bank highlights key learnings.
Climate Information for Sustainable and Resilient Urban Planning
The impact of climate change is especially concentrated in urban areas and is projected to increase in the future. Using climate information in urban planning, however, can build resilient cities and enable sustainable development. By Saskia Buchholz from the German Meteorological Service.
COVID-19 Responses: The Urban Innovations that are Here to Stay
Cities, citizens, and institutions constantly evolve and are typically very resilient – according to Isidora Larraín and Pauline Claramunt. The authors present three urban innovations implemented in cities around the world that may just prove that COVID-19 responses hold the potential to become long-term solutions to long-standing problems, especially in South America.
#SolutionsForCities
Cities around the world are facing similar challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The need for physical distancing has once more emphasised the need for digital innovation in local governance processes. The ideas competition #SolutionsForCities provides a platform where cities and solution providers can further develop and adjust solutions for urban challenges in times of a pandemic.
Why Smart Cities Threaten Citizens’ Right to Privacy
The concept of Smart Cities heavily relies on collecting enormous amounts of citizens' data – and thus raises concerns as to what this data can be used for. Brad Smith on dangers, potentials, and everyday means to protect one's privacy.
Me, Them, and URBAN MENUS
Emphasising the importance of citizen participation in urban planning, architect Laura Spinadel presents URBAN MENUS: a tool for smart urban design that allows all stakeholders to include their vision of a city into the planning process.
Digital Solutions for Cities: An Assessment Framework
Technological transformation is rapidly changing our cities. To ensure that they are changing them for better, sustainability, digitalisation, and urban development must go hand in hand. Luciana Maia and François van Schalkwyk present an assessment tool for digital solutions which helps to find the necessary connections.
Gamification in Urban Planning: Participation Through Minecraft
Minecraft is one of the most popular computer games in the world. Like a virtual version of Lego, it invites players to create their own world of buildings, villages, and other spatial elements. Every month, more than 110 million people play Minecraft – but did you know that it can also be used for urban planning?
Mapping Makoko: A Community Stating its Right to Exist
Makoko, one of Lagos' largest slums, used to be a blank spot on the map for most of its history. This has been changing with a community-based digital mapping project that enables the residents to articulate their rights.
An Epidemic Might Cure Venice
Researchers from MIT Civic Data Design Lab investigate Venice's tourism dynamics by employing spatial data on urban form and tourist facilities. Their goal is to envision what Venice's post-pandemic urban life could look like.
Violence against Women and COVID-19: Can We Learn from the Pandemic?
Global lockdowns have exacerbated violence against women yet teach us an important lesson on how to protect women in times of crises. Natalie R. Gill dives into the world of tech and frontier technologies to highlight the importance of women’s right to safe mobility.
Connecting Systems of Secondary Cities: The Role of Infrastructure and Inter-City Collaborations
Secondary cities perform essential sub-national functions within national economies as centres of government administration, education, health, resources, and industry production. Both national policies and international programmes need to be adapted accordingly, write Rene Peter Hohmann and Brian Roberts.
“If it didn’t already exist, WUF would need to be invented” – Interview with Ullrich Sierau, Lord Mayor of the City of Dortmund, Germany
Last Thursday, the tenth World Urban Forum came to a close in Abu Dhabi. "Cities of Opportunities – Connecting Culture and Innovation" was the forum's theme, making for a week full of exchange and discussion on the various facets of sustainable urbanisation. URBANET spoke to the Lord Mayor of the German city of Dortmund on his key takeaways from the conference.
The Time is Right: Introducing Effective Food Waste Management in the City of Belgrade
With thousands of tons of food going to waste every year, Serbia is coming up with solutions to prevent the production of surplus food – and support vulnerable groups with the surplus that is generated anyway.