For years cities have been planned and built for only half the population: Women’s needs are represented sparsely at most. The BMWSB project “Dialogues for Urban Change” implements the approach of international peer learning to create safe public spaces for everyone.
From accessing public services to just being able to survive, the city can be a vastly different place for different genders. Join Paula Meth as she explores gender inequalities in informal urban environments.
Implementing the concept of Leave No One Behind (LNOB) often correlates with facing multiple challenges on a municipal level. Hannah Schabert discusses lessons learnt.
Have we destroyed the balance of our planet? Professor of Urban Health and Policy Evelyne de Leeuw shares her thoughts and approach on Healthy Cities and their connection to spiritual and ecological concepts.
Davephine Tholley on how planting trees in Sierra Leone's capital Freetown contributes to the country’s environmental sustainability and socio-economic development.
To successfully battle climate change, urban governance needs to empower vulnerable communities – and make sure to include their ideas and knowledge into urban planning mechanisms.
Concluding our insight series on the event "Inclusive Cities – The Next Generation", Celine D'Cruz (Urban Development Practitioner), Franziska Schreiber (University of Stuttgart), and Nancy Naser Al Deen (TU Berlin) discuss ways of transformative change in cities based on the needs of its communities and protest culture structures.
Round 2 of our special focus week on ICLEI’s Daring Cities Conference includes highly critical and promising insights from Max Lohmann (C40 / GIZ), Hilmar von Lojewski (Association of German Cities), and Sarah Colenbrander (Overseas Development Institute).
We are delighted to kick off our special focus week on Inclusive Cities with inputs by Billy Cobbett (Cities Alliance), Tobias Kettner (World Food Programme), and Tina Silbernagl (GIZ) on the question if and how global agendas, supra-national conventions, national urban policies and multilateral organisations and partnerships are critical instruments to promote value-based urban development.
Ethiopia is experiencing unprecedented population growth. Despite large government housing programs, there are more and more informal settlements in the country, and cases of forceful displacement and evictions are on the rise. In the virtual event “Ways forward for informal settlements”, Tania Berger from Danube University Krems discusses options for inclusive urbanisation with an international panel.
Coastal regions have always had significant historical and socio-political value, making them the target of ambitious urban development plans. Amit Devale zooms in on the situation of Mumbai’s indigenous coastal tribes and their relationship with the city – and how local government plans affect their lives.
Participatory budgeting in Indonesia is not new, but policy makers still rarely consult with citizens on large-scale urban projects – even though it leads to better and more sustainable results. John Taylor and Ahmad Rifai make a strong case for embracing people-based budgets.
Projects aimed at the upgrading of settlements often face the question of how to increase living standards for all residents – while keeping housing costs at a level affordable for the original population. The initiative "Casa Minha Nosso Bairro" takes an innovative approach towards this issue, aiming at living conditions that nurture a peaceful living environment for all urban residents
Shivani Chaudhry from the Housing and Land Rights Network argues that India’ Smart Cities Mission lacks a human rights dimension – with highly problematic consequences.
The city of Mannheim has always been an intercultural city with an urban community characterised by diversity. But like many other cities in Germany, Mannheim is feeling the impacts of the sudden influx of refugees in 2015. Through various projects and initiatives, the city strives to maintain an urban society which is characterised by a spirit of openness and understanding. URBANET talked to Mannheim’s mayor Dr. Peter Kurz about the city’s approach to diversity and the chances that can arise from being a diverse city.
