Spotlight on: Risk and Crisis Management

Health Implications of Urban Heat and Air Pollution & Resilience Planning for African Cities

By |2022-10-11T11:40:42+02:00October 11th 2022|Urban Health, , , , |

Urban heat and air pollution in the built environment are interlinked and contribute to increased negative health impacts among urban dwellers. Sharon Onyango highlights the connection between these three factors within the transport sector developments in Africa, providing various urban planning strategies for mitigation to improve human health and wellbeing.

SPOTLIGHT ON: WORLD URBAN FORUM

Transforming Our Cities for a Better Urban Future: Can We?

By |2022-06-28T09:19:00+02:00June 28th 2022|Climate Change & Resilience, Global Urban Debates, , , , |

Climate change is the biggest challenge our cities are currently facing. Lance Jay Brown on the urgent need to transform them – and on the many ideas on how to do it.

Collaborative Climate Action: A Pre-Requisite for More Ambitious Climate Policy

By |2021-11-04T16:52:26+01:00May 18th 2021|Climate Change & Resilience, Global Urban Debates, , |

The GIZ publication "Collaborative Climate Action - A Pre-Requisite for more Ambitious Climate Policy" explains why fighting climate change and its negative impacts requires the systematic cooperation of all governmental levels in order to be successful.

Climate Change: What Happens to People Living in Informal Settlements?

By |2020-01-16T09:37:58+01:00January 16th 2020|Climate Change & Resilience, Global Urban Debates, Urban & Metropolitan Governance, , , , |

At COP25, the Desk Officer for Sustainable Urban Development at MISEREOR, Clara-Luisa Weichelt, talked to Emanuela Barbiroglio about the challenges of addressing climate change in informal settlements and human-rights based solutions.

Does Cultural Heritage Make More Resilient Cities?

By |2019-10-10T10:42:09+02:00October 10th 2019|Climate Change & Resilience, Urban & Metropolitan Governance, , , , , |

When disasters hit, cultural heritage is often perceived as something passive, something hit by destruction. Conservation architect and risk management expert Rohit Jigyasu argues for a different perception: one that acknowledges the decisive role urban cultural heritage can play both in the prevention and in the outcome of natural disaster, making it an active component of urban resilience.

Climate Resilient Infrastructure – the Way Forward

By |2019-09-05T12:03:58+02:00September 5th 2019|Climate Change & Resilience, , , , , |

Current design standards for building infrastructure are based on outdated, historic climate data. In the face of climate change, planning, operation, maintenance, and management of infrastructure need to be revised, says urban environmental planner Riya Rahiman.

Taking Cues from People’s Movements for Governing Climate Change Induced Migration

By |2019-01-08T10:18:48+01:00January 8th 2019|Climate Change & Resilience, , , , |

An increasing number of droughts, floods, and other hazards mean that more and more people are deciding to migrate. Ritwika Basu describes what is needed at the governance level to deal with climate change induced migration.

COP24: What Does it Mean for Cities and Regions?

By |2022-11-21T11:49:18+01:00December 17th 2018|Climate Change & Resilience, Global Urban Debates, Governance & Finance, , , , , , , |

COP24 in Katowice, Poland, has come to an end. Environmental journalist Lou del Bello sums up what its outcomes hold for cities and regions.

The Need for Radical Transformation: Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Cape Town, South Africa

By |2018-11-27T10:29:11+01:00November 27th 2018|Climate Change & Resilience, , , , , , , |

It can no longer be denied that climate change has severe effects on our daily lives. As a response, the City of Cape Town has developed a policy that acknowledges climate change impacts as a pressing social and economic issue.

Learning from a Frontrunner: German and U.S. Towns Partner on Climate Action

By |2021-02-22T13:27:17+01:00March 12th 2018|Climate Change & Resilience, Urban & Metropolitan Governance, , , , |

Saerbeck, Germany’s award-winning climate protection project serves as a model for many other towns. Ulrich Gunka shows how the municipality, working with its citizens, transformed a former army ammunition depot into a bioenergy park and how it shares their insights with other cities in the world.

Hurricane Irma and its impact on Haitian cities

By |2021-08-18T12:37:56+02:00November 16th 2017|Climate Change & Resilience, Green & Smart Development, , , , , |

With rising ocean water temperatures due to climate change, hurricanes are becoming stronger and last longer. This year, the Caribbean and parts of the US were hit by hurricane Irma, a particularly devastating storm. How can costal cities prepare for such disasters, and mitigate their effects? In an interview, Joseph Severe, Jean Frantz Jure and Nicolas Jean talk about the situation in Haiti.

Make or break: How the city of tomorrow will shape our future

By |2017-10-25T21:56:29+02:00August 15th 2017|Climate Change & Resilience, Global Urban Debates, , , , , , , |

"Building cities able to accommodate half a billion people over the next 30 years is one of the biggest transformations of our planet and we have to get it right", Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General stated at the Langenburg Forum for Sustainability. Read the full speech here on URBANET

Urban Mining – recovering materials in metropolitan regions

By |2021-02-23T15:29:58+01:00February 2nd 2017|Basic Infrastructure & Housing, , , , , |

To what extent can cities be used as ‘anthropogenic material stocks’? How can international cooperation contribute? In the following interview, Professor Liselotte Schebek from Darmstadt’s Technical University and Uwe Becker, who manages a GIZ-run project in India, share their views on these issues.

“Nowadays cities are more aware of the problem” – An interview with Jiao Tang and Luis Marinheiro from the ISWA

By |2017-10-14T15:32:49+02:00January 31st 2017|Basic Infrastructure & Housing, Energy & Waste, , , , , , |

In recent years there have been great advancements in solid waste management and people are becoming more and more aware of its importance. However especially in developing countries there is still a need for more sustainable solutions. We spoke to Jiao Tang and Luis Marinheiro about the current situation in waste management and what still needs to be done to make it more sustainable and innovative.

“Soon 20 percent of the land of Southern Bangladesh may be gone forever” – An interview with ANM Safiqul Alam, MD of Geomark

By |2021-02-23T15:15:45+01:00January 17th 2017|Climate Change & Resilience, Green & Smart Development, , , , , , , |

Bangladeshi cities do not only have to face difficult climate conditions, but also increasing waves of urban migration and the problems associated with that. URBANET spoke to ANM Safiqul Alam, managing director of the software and planning company Geomark, about how Bangladesh is facing these challenges and why he is hopeful for the future of the country.

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