This Big City

The Economic and Educational Value of Retrofitting Schools

Forum for the Future — Fri, 17 May 2013 08:32:30 +0000

With the potential to reduce carbon consumption and energy costs, retrofitting older schools makes sense. And schools are increasingly discovering the education value of retrofitting too. retrofitting its school is an investment that Impington Village College, near Cambridge in England, can’t afford not to make. Especially given that its annual carbon emissions – currently at 101.33kgCO2/m2 – are double the national average.

Greening Cities with Better Bike Lanes

Dana Fatol — Wed, 15 May 2013 08:14:58 +0000

The Green Lane Project has brought together six U.S. cities to build more protected bike trails. Martha Roskowski, Director of the project, put some time aside to talk to This Big City.

Texas and Bangladesh: Tragedies of Placeless Economics

Drew Reed — Tue, 14 May 2013 08:43:35 +0000

We are living under a system of placeless economics, where a few digits on an accountant’s spreadsheet negate the common sense of properly building and locating industrial facilities.

Urban Ideology in Obama’s Brand of Regionalism

Scott Beyer — Mon, 13 May 2013 08:00:27 +0000

According to a new book, Obama aims to “abolish the suburbs, ideally by having cities annex suburban municipalities.” Is the author right that Obama's policies are “hostile to traditions of individual freedom”?

The DIY Disaster Plan

Next City — Thu, 09 May 2013 08:35:53 +0000

As cities around the world grapple with rising sea levels and strengthening storms, governments are responding with an array of infrastructural solutions. But there’s a growing awareness that combating disasters with hard infrastructure alone ignores half the equation.

Healthy Communities at the Placemaking Leadership Council

Cara Courage — Wed, 08 May 2013 08:08:15 +0000

One of the aims of the Placemaking Leadership Council’s April meeting was to form an agenda for a global campaign for placemaking as a movement. The 300 delegates from around the world tacked different aspects of placemaking, including healthy communities.

Producing Sustainable Solar Panels Without Rare Materials

Forum for the Future — Tue, 07 May 2013 08:33:22 +0000

The energy that comes out of solar panels is renewable, but what about the panels themselves? Not so much - today’s leading solar panels owe their high sunlight-to-electricity conversion rates to the use of rare elements. The pressure is on to find a way of making solar power even more sustainable.

Rethinking Cities: Demonstrating the Opportunity of Meanwhile Use

Joe Peach — Wed, 01 May 2013 18:21:33 +0000

This Big City is partnering with London-based charity 3Space on 'Re:THINK' - their new event kicking off May 1st in Blackfriars, London. We got the chance to put a few questions to the event's organisers.

Rethinking Cities: Creating New Platforms for the Arts in 2013

Meg Peterson — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 08:12:25 +0000

Oscar Wilde stated that, “all art is quite useless,” and “art never expresses anything but itself”. Flash-forward to present day and there still exists a strong elitist element associated with art. However, artists and arts organisations are increasingly looking to engage in a more open and meaningful way.

Detroit Calling at the Placemaking Leadership Council

Cara Courage — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:48:26 +0000

The inaugural Placemaking Leadership Council met in Detroit in April. Attended by 300 people from 10 countries, the conference aimed to be the first step in the galvanisation of placemaking as a global movement and a knowledge exchange between placemakers and their diverse practices.