Posts in the 'Guest Contributor' category
Rethinking Inclusive Cities, from Power to the ‘Sensory Landscape,’ at Daring Cities Conference
Rethinking Inclusive Cities, from Power to the ‘Sensory Landscape,’ at Daring Cities Conference
We need to reframe the concept of inclusive cities.  That observation made by renowned urbanist Günter Meinert helped set the tone for a deep discussion on more equitable cities during the Daring Cities forum, a free virtual event geared for local ...
How Oslo Achieved Zero Pedestrian and Bicycle Fatalities, and How Others Can Apply What Worked
How Oslo Achieved Zero Pedestrian and Bicycle Fatalities, and How Others Can Apply What Worked
In 2015, the City of Oslo, Norway, made a commitment after years of rising transportation injuries to reduce car traffic and prioritize the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and the environment. Unlike in the United States and other countries where transportation ...
Latin America’s 17 Million Domestic Workers Need Better Transit. Direct Lines Can Help.
Latin America’s 17 Million Domestic Workers Need Better Transit. Direct Lines Can Help.
Like workers in many other sectors, hundreds of thousands of domestic workers have been fired from their jobs around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. But as economies have begun to reopen, many are returning to work, facing not only ...
More Equitable Access to Open Space? Vancouver Has A Plan for That
More Equitable Access to Open Space? Vancouver Has A Plan for That
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been told to stay at home, stay close to our neighborhoods and try to enjoy being outside. But what if there is no park nearby? What if your home is tiny with no outdoor ...
Public Transport After COVID-19 Lockdowns: It’s Time to Innovate and Change Benchmarks of Success
Public Transport After COVID-19 Lockdowns: It’s Time to Innovate and Change Benchmarks of Success
In less than two months, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our lives, causing sickness, death, economic loss and fear. While this global health and safety crisis has been challenging for all of us, it has been especially tough for essential ...
3 Ways California Is Taking a Pro-Equity Approach to Electric Vehicles
3 Ways California Is Taking a Pro-Equity Approach to Electric Vehicles
California is home to 7 of the 10 most polluted metropolitan areas in the United States, with transportation being the state’s leading source of greenhouse gases. While pollution from the transport sector is bad for everyone, it disproportionately impacts people ...
Young People May Be Changing the World, But Too Many Are Being Left Behind
Young People May Be Changing the World, But Too Many Are Being Left Behind
Teenage activist Greta Thunberg has attracted global renown with her message to the world’s leaders that they must act now to address climate change. Time Magazine recently recognized her as the 2019 Person of the Year. But Thunberg’s recognition is ...
Micromobility Needs a Shared Vocabulary
Micromobility Needs a Shared Vocabulary
Fueled by billions of dollars of venture capital funding, micromobility is making its mark on cities across the globe. In the United States, more than 45 million trips were made on shared electric bikes and electric scooters in 2018. Shared ...
Our Poor Understanding of Urban Innovation Is Holding Cities Back
Our Poor Understanding of Urban Innovation Is Holding Cities Back
Innovation in cities has alleviated poverty, reduced wasteful resource consumption and achieved incredible economic outcomes. It’s part of the secret sauce that has led to the primacy of cities in today’s world, with urban areas accounting for 67% of global ...
Reshaping Public Policy Can Solve the Housing Affordability Crisis in US Cities
Reshaping Public Policy Can Solve the Housing Affordability Crisis in US Cities
We’re living in the midst of a housing affordability crisis. Demand for apartments and condos continues to outpace supply in most urban cores. Upward pressure on asking rents is displacing low-income renters to nearby communities and middle-income renters are starting ...
How the SALURBAL Project Is Shining a Spotlight on Urban Health Inequality in Latin America
How the SALURBAL Project Is Shining a Spotlight on Urban Health Inequality in Latin America
The narrative about global inequality and poverty often focuses on rural areas in the global south, with a heavy emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. But the reality is that poverty is becoming more concentrated in cities across the ...
Traumatized and Trapped: After Sexual Assault, How Can Cities Welcome Women Back to Public Transport?
Traumatized and Trapped: After Sexual Assault, How Can Cities Welcome Women Back to Public Transport?
Sexual assault on public transit is all too common. In Bogotá, Colombia, an incredible 37% of female riders of the bus rapid transit system report experiencing unwanted sexual contact while using the system, according to new research, funded in part ...
Insights from Uganda on Why Solar Street Lights Make Sense
Insights from Uganda on Why Solar Street Lights Make Sense
Street lighting is important. It allows informal vendors and traders to operate for longer hours and improves road and public safety. It also makes streets feel safer and more secure, especially for women. But street lighting is sorely lacking in many of sub-Saharan Africa’s ...
Useful Knowledge and Building Blocks of Change: An Outside Perspective on the WRI Ross Prize
Useful Knowledge and Building Blocks of Change: An Outside Perspective on the WRI Ross Prize
Last week, I had the pleasure of participating in a day-long roundtable discussion with the five finalists for the WRI Ross Prize Cities, organized by WRI at the Ford Foundation in New York City. The roundtable followed the first-ever award ...
Urban Future 2019 Puts Success to the Test by Spotlighting Urban Leaders from Developing Cities
Urban Future 2019 Puts Success to the Test by Spotlighting Urban Leaders from Developing Cities
Contrary to popular belief, the developed world isn’t the best role model when it comes to urban development. In fact, says Gerald Babel-Sutter, the founder and CEO of the Urban Future Global Conference, the developing world can learn more about ...
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