How Can Nature-Based Solutions Help Build Resilience of the Urban Poor?
Working with nature within and around cities can protect vulnerable urban residents from climate change impacts and disasters, improve their quality of life, and reduce the impacts of cities on other valuable systems, argues Dr Hannah Reid.
What Are Effects of Integrating Heritage Conservation Into Urban Planning? A Case Study From Battambang, Cambodia
A country influenced by a history of colonial rule, totalitarian regimes, and civil war, urban planning in Cambodia has to be considered within its specific context. Looking at the city of Battambang, Milena Wald analyses the role of heritage conservation in urban planning processes.
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.
Creating Culturally Vivid Urban Spaces and Places – Lessons from the 10th World Urban Forum
In February 2020, one of the most important events for urban planners took place: The 10th World Urban Forum. This year, it was Abu Dhabi’s turn to host the conference with an attendance of about 13,000 international guests and the theme “Cities of Opportunity: Connecting Culture and Innovation”. While one might argue that cities have more pressing issues to tackle these days, such as climate change, inequality, or immigration, there were some interesting lessons to be learned, Laura von Puttkamer reports from Abu Dhabi.
Khartoum: Urban Chaos and the Reclaiming of City Character
An integral part of urban culture, the form of cities' built environment has considerable impact on the quality of urban life. Elaborating on the case of Khartoum, Sudan, Khalafalla Omer makes a case for a new approach in urban planning policies.
How Can Social and Economic Development Spring from Art? A Case Study from Halle (Saale), Germany
In Halle, a collective of urban planners, teachers, artists, students, and volunteers painted a whole district with street art and graffiti, demonstrating that these techniques can lead to positive social, cultural, and economic impact in shrinking and neglected areas.
Integrated Approaches to Reconstruction: Safeguarding Heritage And Rebuilding Lives
Rebuilding cultural sites that were destroyed in armed conflict needs to be an essential part of urban reconstruction policies. However, as Shadia Touqan argues, rebuilding these sites cannot be addressed in isolation from what should be any policy's priority: protecting the lives of the people who live there.
Why Culture Matters in the Reconstruction and Recovery of Cities
With an ever bigger urban population being affected by both natural hazards and armed conflict, policy makers and practitioners need to develop effective strategies for the reconstruction and recovery of cities. Ahmed Eiweida, Christianna Brotsis, and Yuna Chun argue that it is imperative for such strategies to take culture into account.