Sustainable Cities Collective - The world's best thinkers on the urban future

Catching Growth: Melbourne’s Public Transit and Its Outer Suburbs

Global Site Plans - The Grid — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:30:00 +0000

Melbourne is a city that is experiencing the greatest increase in population in Australia, as well as some of the highest levels of traffic congestion.

Crowdsourcing Infrastructure to Rebuild Cities in Conflict

Mitchell Sipus — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:30:00 +0000

What if I create a channel for anyone in the world to invest in real estate in Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, Iraq or South Sudan? Most investors would not be deterred by possibly losing 100 USD when the potential return could be 1000%.

Breaking Social Barriers One Cup of Coffee at a Time

futurecapetown — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000

Cafe de las Sonrisas in Granada, Nicaragua was established to break down the barriers that deaf and mute people typically face in integrating into the labour market.

Placemaking: People and the Urban Fabric [VIDEO]

EMBARQ — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Initiatives like these are fine examples of how friendly interactions in urban spaces, however simple they may be, can be very beneficial in making the experience of living in a city more inviting and welcoming.

After Market Fire: Opportunity for Participatory Planning

Victoria Okoye — Thu, 23 May 2013 08:00:00 +0000

Now would be a perfect opportunity to develop a design solution that formally integrates market vendors’ and their activities into the overall economy; to work with those trading at markets like Kantamanto, rather than working against them.

How to Buy an Energy Efficient Water Heater [Infographic]

JeffMcIntireStrasbu — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:00:00 +0000

There are a lot of different types of water heaters on the market, though, so how do you know which one will work most efficiently for your living environment?

Eight Guidelines for Urban Design: Keeping Creativity at the Heart of Cities

This Big City — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:00:00 +0000

Planners and creatives need the willingness to learn from policy mismatch. For cultural production this would mean sustaining the local urban identity and providing possibilities for creativity to remain at the heart of the city.

Sustainable Cities: How Clean is Our Urban Air?

EMBARQ — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000

Air pollution needs to be dealt with in a more holistic manner, wherein major contributors, like industries, power plants, and vehicles are addressed together. No one policy is sufficient to deal with this multi-faceted problem.

Oakland's New Transit-Oriented Development Redefines Space

Global Site Plans - The Grid — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:30:00 +0000

Oakland continues to bring new development and innovation to its neighborhoods. Next up is an impressive urban planning initiative to be built in Temescal beside the MacArthur BART station.

Stuck in Canada: Talent Migration or Lack Thereof

Jim Russell — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Canadian geographic immobility should serve as a cautionary tale for places trying to attract people. Catalyzing migration is hard to do. The reasons behind declining mobility in the United States remain a mystery.

Lessons from the Africa Urban Infrastructure Summit

futurecapetown — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:00:00 +0000

Imagine a future for urban Africa in which free thinking reigns supreme, roof tops are adorned with urban parks, and the streets are littered with electric powered scooters.

Crafting Truly Responsive Cities to Climate Change

Mitchell Sipus — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:00:00 +0000

Upon identifying the specifics of climate change, we can create relevant methods within our communities to internalize these specifics and to develop strategic, pro-active responses to contend with the harsh reality of climate change.

Revitalizing City Neighborhoods: Urban Renewal and Arts Grants

KaidBenfield — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000

The 21st century promises to be much kinder to cities and older neighborhoods than the second half of the 20th and, as neighborhoods recover, one of the more engaging trends is the role of community-based arts in revitalization.

Resilient Cities Roundup: Talking Global Green Building Trends

Travis Sheehan — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:20:00 +0000

Maggie Comstock, a global policy wonk on green buildings and cities, spoke with SCC about global sustainable development trends and the emergence of resiliency planning for cities around the world.

Urbanism Speakeasy | Urban Farming and Local Groceries

Boenau — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Urbanism Speakeasy is a podcast with a particular focus on human-scale design. We love streets and places designed for people, regardless of how they happen to travel. No advanced technical degrees or silver spoons required on this show. Our primary goal is to share technical information and trends in ordinary language.

The show is hosted exclusively by Sustainable Cities Collective. For more information about the show and its companion blog, please visit UrbanismSpeakeasy.com.

Restoring Infrastructure With Interaction

TCaine — Tue, 21 May 2013 08:00:00 +0000

Taking a site near to the Gowanus Canal, one of the most polluted water bodies in the country, a group of architects explored a new potential relationship between people and their infrastructure.

Urban Design and Biking Campaigns

i b i k e l o n d o n — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:00:00 +0000

It is time for our cycling campaigns to go back to the drawing board together and start again with our cycling design guidelines, before every other road in our city is narrowed.

To Modernize, or Not to Modernize, That is the Urban Design Question

Global Site Plans - The Grid — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:30:00 +0000

When it comes to city planning, there’s no tougher decision to make than the modernization or preservation of historic culture. Continuity and consistency is lacking in Nottingham’s city planning.

Cities Embracing the Green Revolution [INFOGRAPHIC]

This Big City — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:30:00 +0000

With global carbon dioxide levels at a historic high, something major needs to happen if we are to get anything close to a sustainable use of the planet’s resources. Could a ‘green revolution’ in cities be the solution?

Placemaking and Getting Children Out to Play

futurecapetown — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:30:00 +0000

If children are the future, we seem to be very short-sighted when it comes to urban design. Very little, if any at all, of the current discourse on the type of cities we should be building truly considers whether these cities will be child friendly.