What Characterises an Ideal City, and How Do We Get There?

By |2023-12-19T15:20:58+01:00June 22nd 2017|

What do we envision the ideal city of the future to be like? How can we approach such an ideal in urban planning? According to Marco Dall’Orso, the (re)creation of urban environments needs to balance and integrate multiple strategies. Taking into account the quality of the socio-economic and built-natural environment, he develops a framework that can be used to analyse a city’s strengths, weaknesses, and possible trajectories for future development.

10 years of the Leipzig Charta: a model for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the SDGs?

By |2023-12-19T15:21:22+01:00June 14th 2017|

This year’s Federal Congress on National Urban Development Policy in Germany focuses on the Leipzig Charta’s 10th anniversary and future perspectives for sustainable cities in Europe. Timo Munzinger of the German Association of Cities (Deutscher Städtetag) discusses the relevance of the Leipzig Charta for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, calling for the Leipzig Charta to be brought up to date to meet current urbanisation challenges.

How sustainable mobility can transform Africa’s cities

By |2023-12-19T14:59:37+01:00May 31st 2017|

Over the next 15 years, African cities will add 300 million new urban residents—fully two-thirds above today’s urban population. This unprecedented demographic shift presents a tremendous opportunity for economic uplift and poverty reduction, but these benefits hinge on the ability of African cities to dramatically improve the delivery of infrastructure and services to drive future growth.

“I think the Smart Cities are on the right track” – An interview with GP Hari, Kochi Metro Rail Ltd.

By |2023-12-19T15:01:32+01:00April 28th 2017|

The city of Kochi in India is a Smart City, meaning that it is well connected and accessible, and over time is being developed into a clean, green and healthy city that is governed in a smart way. In an interview with URBANET, GP Hari from Kochi Metro Rail Ltd talks about how the city is tackling the Smart City approach and what the future might bring.

Life in African Cities | Infographics

By |2023-12-19T15:09:28+01:00April 5th 2017|

Are African cities cheap or expensive for their inhabitants? And by how much do cities grow each year? The URBANET infographics on African cities provide key figures and numbers on some interesting trends concerning urban life and development.

Urban Sanity. Understanding Urban Mental Health Impacts and How to Create Saner, Happier Cities

By |2023-12-19T14:51:53+01:00February 16th 2017|

Does urban living threaten our mental health and happiness? Popular culture is rife with stories suggesting that city living causes emotional stress and unhappiness. Our author Todd Litman's review of the research indicates that city living has a variety of impacts on our mental health and happiness that reduce certain risks and increase others.

Urban Mining – recovering materials in metropolitan regions

By |2023-12-19T14:53:08+01:00February 2nd 2017|

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.

“Productivity increases with the size of a city” – An Interview with Rüdiger Ahrend, Head of Urban Policy Programme at OECD

By |2023-12-19T14:53:58+01:00January 27th 2017|

A lot of processes in cities depend on the financial resources of the municipal and national government. But how can these resources be generated? How can cities make money, how can they save money? And what role does urbanisation play? We talked to Rüdiger Ahrend, Head of the Urban Policy Program at the OECD, about how cities can approach these challenges.

From Blade Runner to Habitat IV, Part II: How livelihoods can make or break the City of Tomorrow

By |2023-12-19T14:55:53+01:00January 12th 2017|

Part I presented two subsequent paradigms related to the world of work, Fordism and Post-Fordism. Subsequently, it was argued that there are two contrasting trends in the world of (urban) labour: flexibility and stability. This is the second and concluding part of the article, which includes considerations about policies.

From Blade Runner to Habitat IV – How livelihoods can make or break the City of Tomorrow

By |2023-12-19T14:56:20+01:00January 10th 2017|

"Our Struggle for Global Sustainability will be won or lost in cities", said Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations. The present article argues that our struggle for good urbanisation will be won or lost depending on the opportunities and conditions of work.

Spotlight on livable cities, Part I: India’s Urban Transformation

By |2023-12-19T14:43:53+01:00November 22nd 2016|

What do cities in India need to be more livable? In the four part series "Spotlight on livable cities", ISOCARP Vice-President Shipra Narang Suri aims to answer this question by approaching it from various angles, giving examples from different areas of urban planning. In this first part, she outlines the shift in urban growth in India and measures that are being taken in response to it.

Collaborating for a geographical information system in Kairouan

By |2023-12-19T14:46:14+01:00November 8th 2016|

For sustainable urban planning, administrative bodies, service providers and citizens need to work together. In Kairouan, Tunisia, different actors are collaborating to put in place a comprehensive geographical information system for their city.

Live from Quito, Day 3: Partnerships, Smart Cities, and urban-rural linkages

By |2023-12-19T14:11:57+01:00October 20th 2016|

Yesterday at Habitat III, Sarah Nandudu from Slum Dwellers International and Mayor Manuel Fernando Velarde Dellepiane of San Isidro district in Lima, Peru, talked about networking and Smart Cities. To find out what else happened, read URBANET's report on the events of the third day of the conference!

Live from Quito, Day 2: Inter-municipal partnerships

By |2023-12-19T14:12:17+01:00October 19th 2016|

Strengthening cities as actors for sustainable development is one of the main targets of the New Urban Agenda. Inter-municipal partnerships, which enable cities to learn from each other, where at the heart of yesterday's discussions in Quito. Read URBANET's report to find out more!

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