Noise is one of the top environmental hazards. Facing ever-growing cities, one wonders: is there anything we can do? Yes, there is. Jimena de Gortari Ludlow, expert in urban acoustics, examines the unique soundscape of the world’s fifth largest city and offers practical solutions.
Forests provide tremendous benefits to urban areas such as clean air and water, climate resilience and biodiversity, human health and well-being. They also provide jobs, recreation, and a suite of nature-based solutions for city infrastructure, argues the international alliance Cities4Forests.
Curridabat, Costa Rica, is dealing with several issues that are common to municipalities around the world. The answer they found, however, is a truly unique one that considers everyone living in Curridabat a city dweller – human or not.
Narrated from a community leader's viewpoint, we take a look at the neighbourhood of San Pablo, Ecuador, where the project "Guardians of the Hill" conserves urban ecosystems while at the same time empowering female community members.
Brazil's strategies towards its favelas have varied enormously over time. If they are to be successful in improving people's lives, it is essential that informal settlements are perceived as an integral part of a city, argue Mariana Dias Simpson and Itamar Silva.
A commitment to applying a ‘gender perspective’ to climate-smart planning in Coyuca, Mexico, brought to light some uncomfortable truths about bias against women. As a result, local government, researchers, and community members are more aware of how women’s and girls’ wellbeing must be addressed through climate resilience programmes.
Quito, Ecuador is facing a variety of natural hazards, making it imperative to develop proper resilience strategies. David Jácome Polit, the city's Chief Resilience Officer, explains why any such strategy has to be based on a neighbourhood's social structure.
Contracting is an unacknowledged superpower that cities have at their disposal to ensure high-quality service delivery to their citizens. Kathrin Frauscher explains how to go about it.
In Brazil, Latin America’s largest country in terms of population, the City of Sao Paulo is committed to recycle organics. In 2015, the City embarked on a journey towards separate collection of organics, thus enabling the production of high-quality compost.
Comuna 13, also known as San Javier, used to be the most dangerous part of Medellín, cut off from the rest of the city and a place to avoid by all means. An ambitious infrastructure project has changed that, turning the district in a tourist destination.
Across Latin America, software developers are urgently needed. Laboratoria, an organisation launched in Lima, Peru, focusses on meeting this demand – and, at the same time, opens urban labour markets for women.
On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, URBANET features an article by Cathy McIlwaine that discusses the question of gender-based violence in cities.
Citizens of Mexico City face serious health issues – due to failures in urban planning, says Auribel Villa. Green infrastructure development significantly supports cities' ways towards becoming healthier and thus more liveable.
Municipal efforts to improve access to health care can reduce existing inequalities in Central America and the Caribbean, says Agustín Muñoz del Guayo.
Brazil's social housing programme Minha Casa, Minha Vida prides itself on having delivered an enormous amount of affordable housing. But putting a roof over people's heads is not sufficient if the settlements are located on the far outskirts of a city, depriving residents of access to urban resources, claims Clarisse Cunha Linke.
