A green car-free oasis in the centre of Antwerp
‘Het Groen Kwartier’ or The Green Quarter offers 8 hectares of car-free living in the centre of Antwerp. It is a neighbourhood that has all the assets of the city while located in a green...Read more
Smart cities aim to make urban life more efficient – but they need to slow down
All over the world, governments, institutions and businesses are combining technologies for gathering data, enhancing communications and sharing information, with urban infrastructure, to create smart cities. One of the main goals of these efforts is...Read more
Making schools and daycares green with the city of Antwerp
Children in the city don’t always live within walking distance from parks or green playspaces. To give every child the opportunity to enjoy a green playspace, the city of Antwerp encourages schools and daycares to transform...Read more
The urban environment reimagined as sustainable floating cities
Last week UN-Habitat hosted the very first round table discussion on sustainable floating cities at the UN Headquarters in New York. Architects, designers, academics and entrepreneurs discussed how floating cities could be a viable solution to...Read more
Challenging the vertical sprawl
To understand the major barrier to making our cities more sustainable and environmentally friendly places, just stand in the centre of almost any Australian city and look up. The chances are you will be in...Read more
5 field trips showcasing ‘Children in the sustainable city’
During the upcoming Child in the City International Seminar in Antwerp, Belgium five field trips have been planned. The field trips provide delegates with an opportunity to see first hand how the city of Antwerp...Read more
Bringing child friendly design to Belfast’s city centre
In August 2018 a fire in Belfast’s city centre destroyed the historic Bank Building property. Since the fire, there have been discussions on how to rebuild and redesign the city centre in a child friendly...Read more
One million urban trees
Now that the one millionth tree has been planted by Greening the West in Melbourne’s western suburbs, there are one million more ways for urbanites to connect with nature. Greening the West, an alliance of local...Read more
4 Creative ways cities are transitioning to a clean energy future
Mayors from cities across the U.S. are stepping up and committing to broad and inspirational action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonize local energy systems. This leadership is especially critical given lack of federal...Read more
Reclaiming the public space for children in Barcelona
In Barcelona, a local non-profit association, Tata Inti, is working to recover the public space as a place for children to play. As well as providing a meeting point for children’s caregivers to meet and...Read more
What Johannesburg could look like for parents and children
We live in Orange Grove in Johannesburg, where the sound of charismatic Ethiopian churches on Louis Botha Avenue mixes with the incessant hooting of mini-bus taxis and the acoustic guitar emanating from Johannesburg’s oldest pub...Read more
Why US cities are becoming more dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians
As cities strive to improve the quality of life for their residents, many are working to promote walking and biking. Such policies make sense, since they can, in the long run, lead to less traffic,...Read more
Cities invited to apply for “Streets for Kids” training and funds
Applications are open for cities to join the Streets for Kids programme, part of NACTO’s Global Designing Cities Initiative. Twelve global cities will be selected to receive either technical assistance or one-off workshops on street...Read more
Why Does Universal Street Design Matter?
Accessibility remains a challenge for Belo Horizonte’s bus rapid transit corridor. Improving public transit requires a hard look not just at vehicles and routes but at how people get on and off them. Too often, design...Read more