Posts in the 'Urban Development' category
China's new urban plan seeks to build competitive, livable cities while combatting the rising phenomena of congestion, air pollution, and sprawl. Photo by Rob Chan/Flickr.
Preparing for the urban billion: “New-type” urbanization in China
While cities are drivers of economic growth, this prosperity does not always come naturally. The fate of a city lies in its ability to balance the positives of dense, connected communities – mobility, accessibility, and innovation chief among them – ...
Trees bring a multitude of benefits to cities, helping the environment as well as residents' quality of life. Photo by Tristan Higbee/Flickr.
Urban trees boost quality of life for city dwellers around the world
Trees often fade into the background of what people understand as the city, yet they bring immense value – including environmental benefits like filtering water run-off and cleaning the air as well as increasing health and quality of life – ...
Participants at the seventh World Urban Forum crafted the The Medellin Declaration, which advocates for placing equity at the center of sustainable urban development. Photo by Mariana Gil/Flickr.
Why we need sustainable urbanization: A response to the Medellín Declaration
Over 22,000 attendees gathered in Medellín, Colombia for the Seventh World Urban Forum (WUF7) from April 5 – 11, 2014, sharing ideas, experiences, and challenges for creating more sustainable and equitable cities. The conclusion of the WUF7 saw the release ...
Researchers find strong correlations between access to green space and increased levels of physical health and happiness. Photo by Mark Carter/Flickr.
Urban green space makes people happier than money
As much as cities can be drivers of economic and social progress, sometimes it’s downright stressful to live amid the hustle and bustle of today’s urban centers. To escape this stress, many urban residents take refuge in green public spaces, ...
Glow-in-the-dark roads show a glimpse of the innovative ways designers are imagining the future of urban transport. Photo by Reggie Wan/Flickr.
Friday Fun: Light the way to safer streets with these glow-in-the-dark road markings
Imagine what roads might look like in the future. Possibly roads will be able to tell drivers when they might be slippery via markings that appear when it is cold out, or, roads might automatically turn off street lights when ...
Urban design has a large impact on lifestyle, with bike lanes and pedestrian pathways promoting healthy behaviors for city residents across Brazil. Photo by Raul/Flickr.
Creating active cities and healthy citizens through innovative urban design
Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, killing as many as 17 million people each year. Sedentary, inactive lifestyles are a major contributor to this rise in cardiovascular disease – stress, pollution, poor diet, and lack ...
Walking in Bangalore. Photo by Benoit Colin/EMBARQ.
In photos: Walking in Bangalore reveals the plight of pedestrians
Bangalore has rapidly become a megacity. At nearly 10 million people, the city has already doubled the size of its population in just 20 years. This explosive urban growth has been coupled with increased motorization, with now more than 50% ...
A crowd gathers overlooking Singapore's Marina Bay. Photo by Nicolas Lannuzel/Flickr.
Urbanism Hall of Fame: Lee Kwan Yew shaped Singapore as the “Garden City”
This is the second entry in the Urbanism Hall of Fame series, exclusive to TheCityFix. This series is intended to inform people about the leading paradigms surrounding sustainable transport and urban planning and the thinkers behind them. By presenting their ...
Despite increased investment in mass transport, last-mile connectivity and access to transport hubs remain obstacles for cities across India. Photo by Jack Zalium/Flickr.
Going the last mile: Does connectivity influence sustainable transport usage?
Growing numbers of privately owned automobiles, pollution, and congestion have helped governments in cities across India realize the need for better mass transport systems. Cities like Delhi are now making substantial investments to improve existing systems and implement new measures. ...
Green spaces in cities, such as New York's High Line, promote an active, sustainable lifestyle for city residents. Photo by David Berkowitz/Flickr.
World Urban Forum highlights opportunities for sustainable cities
In recent months, popular protests have broken out in cities around the globe. The causes were different: soaring pollution in Beijing; violent gender-based crime in New Delhi; and access to public services in São Paulo. But, for each, inequality was ...
Medellín, Colombia has undergone a drastic urban transformation, and will now host the Seventh World Urban Forum. Photo by PehMed2020/Flickr.
A safe city is a just city
As cities in the developing world continue to grow, so do their traffic safety concerns. Latin America, for instance, now sees three times as many deaths from traffic crashes as Europe, the vast majority of which occur in cities. Vulnerable ...
The construction of the Shanghai Tower is a testament to architectural skill and China's growing economic power, but does this come at the expense of vibrant street life? Photo by Jerry Yang/Flickr.
Friday Fun: Shanghai Tower raises questions on the future of walkability
Shanghai Tower, designed by transnational architecture design tycoon Gensler, will soon become the third tallest building in the world this year. Once complete, it will proudly join Shanghai’s already crowded skyline, which currently consists of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, ...
Cities have a lot to learn from one another. New "Wikipedia for urban planners" GreaterPlaces helps them do just that. Photo by Shreyans Bhansali/Flickr.
GreaterPlaces: The emerging Wikipedia for urban planners
Washington, DC recently hosted a Techcrunch meet-up, a Silicon-valley style pitch-off battle for emerging application developers. Amidst contestants like Broomie, which allows people to remind roommates and errant husbands to pick up groceries, and SpeakerBlast, which lets users turn their ...
Parque Madureira in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, provides a place for residents to engage in physical activity and connect with the local community. Photo by Higor de Padua/Flickr.
Two case studies show cities return to physical activity
Worldwide, people are moving less – taking their car, abandoning walking and bicycling, or perhaps unable to visit a neighborhood park or play space because it may not exist. In real numbers, as outlined by the Designed to Move campaign, physical activity ...
Residents of Hyderabad, India, can use mobile devices to be a part of the planning dialogue---whether it's creating clearer maps of the city or crowdsourcing infrastructure projects. Photo by Nietnagel/Flickr.
Public participation platforms change the dynamic between city and citizen
Instead of arguing about how their city did not have enough money to fund the creation of bike paths, a community in Mexico City, Mexico, went ahead and made them. When residents in Beijing, China, saw that cars were encroaching ...
Right Menu Icon