Migration and Climate

The Right to Livability: Tackling Suburban Spaces and Peripheral Settlements

By |2024-01-05T13:01:26+01:00November 14th 2023|

Embark on a journey through Queretaro’s urban transformation with Jorge Javier, where migration and climate challenges inspire pivotal changes. Uncover the compelling reasons driving transformative urban shifts for a sustainable and climate-resilient cityscape.

Country Series Rwanda

The Construction Industry in Rwanda: Opportunities or Challenges for Urban Growth?

By |2024-01-05T12:57:41+01:00May 16th 2023|

Rwanda’s urban population is rapidly increasing, posing chances and challenges. Enrico Morriello illustrates how the country’s construction industry could pave the way to sustainable urbanisation.

cop27

Policy and Financing for Net Zero Carbon Buildings: Insights from COP27

By |2024-01-04T16:30:43+01:00November 18th 2022|

November 17 was Solutions Day at the recent climate conference COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. To discuss how to combine financial modalities with city-level policies to facilitate public and private investment in low- and zero-carbon buildings, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development co-hosted an event with the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance. By Laura Puttkamer

Cities built4climate

Applying Ancestral Lessons to Contemporary Realities – A Return to Ghana’s Architectural Heritage

By |2024-01-04T16:30:59+01:00November 15th 2022|

Breathing new life into city architecture through native materials and construction techniques will catalyse lasting change and adaptability amidst unpredictable climate change-related incidences. Kweku Addo-Atuah on a return to Ghana's architectural heritage.

Cities built4climate

Sustainable Cities With a Soul

By |2024-01-04T16:31:19+01:00November 10th 2022|

Concrete is the second most consumed material in the world after water, making it an essential component of urban development. However, cheap housing comes at a price. Can we still afford to pay for it? Jorge Javier and Cecilia Tortajada provide clear responses.

Risk and Crisis Management

The Global Housing Crisis: A Crisis Unlike Any Other

By |2024-01-04T16:33:24+01:00October 25th 2022|

Echoes of the same story can be heard in cities across the globe – homelessness is on the rise and the cost of housing is increasing at an alarming rate while the availability of decent housing dwindles. Kirsten McRae with recent statistics on the global housing crisis and why we should no longer financialise our most basic human good.

WORLD URBAN FORUM

Quality Urban Fabric Will Determine the Fate of Tomorrow’s Cities

By |2024-01-04T15:51:11+01:00June 21st 2022|

While we assume cities will continue to face rapid growth, the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced a trend which counters linear population projections: qualified professionals no longer move where work is, but work from where they want to live. If, before the pandemic, cities competed to attract head offices or multinational corporations, today they have to compete for each qualified individual.

It’s Just Architecture! The Venice Biennale Architettura 2021

By |2024-01-04T15:39:19+01:00December 22nd 2021|

“We need a new spatial contract”, says Hashim Sarkis, curator of the 17th International Architecture Exhibition, inviting participants from all around the globe to ponder sustainability and the question ‘How will we live together’. But how just and sustainable can architecture truly be? A critical review by Aseman G. Bahadori

From Timber Cities to Integrated Urban Planning – How to Make Our Cities More Climate-Friendly

By |2024-01-04T15:11:48+01:00November 18th 2021|

The 11th of November was Cities Day at the recent climate conference COP26 in Glasgow. Together with BMZ and Cities Alliance, GIZ organised an event entitled “Cities built4climate – Shaping the global transformation in construction”. Considering that the construction sector is responsible for about 40 per cent of global CO2 emissions, it is particularly relevant to find ways to cut down emissions in construction.

Energy Efficiency Policies and Net-Zero Ambitions: Collaborative Public-Private Partnerships Across Latin America

By |2024-01-04T14:27:30+01:00February 24th 2021|

Juanita Alvarez outlines how the Green Building Councils of Latin America employed Public Private Partnerships to join forces for sustainable development.

Planning for Growth: How to Manage Rapid Urbanisation

By |2024-01-04T14:07:10+01:00February 18th 2021|

Rapid urbanisation is leading to quick spatial expansion in cities across Africa – but cities are largely failing to manage this growth. Urban expansion planning is a tested and pragmatic strategy that cities can use to organise their urban peripheries. By Patrick Lamson-Hall

Maximising the Impact of Urban Development in Cairo’s Informal Settlements

By |2024-01-04T14:07:28+01:00February 16th 2021|

International development efforts must be designed with long-term impacts in mind. Dr Hassan Elmouelhi provides insights into the Egyptian context and asks an all-important question: Is international development overlooking critical opportunities? 

Regenerative Cities: Co-Evolving with Our Planet

By |2024-01-04T14:07:55+01:00February 9th 2021|

Sustainability should be more than just finding ways that allow us to continue our current lifestyle, argues Chrisna du Plessis. Regenerative design strives for a future where human civilisation evolves as one part of nature that is following its own laws of circularity.

What We Build Today Will Form the Africa and Africans of Tomorrow

By |2024-01-04T14:08:11+01:00February 4th 2021|

Green buildings are a crucial part of fighting climate change. Elizabeth Wangeci Chege from the Kenya Green Building Society explores which measures help to achieve sustainable building and construction in Kenya.

Go to Top