Policy posts, articles, and infographics | Sustainable Cities Collective

Taming the sound of the city: dealing with noise pollution

May 16, 2012 by Kaid Benfield
with 46 views

About two decades ago, my friend Bob – a mover and shaker of sorts in the art world – took me to an artist’s studio in a (then, at least) scruffy area of lower Manhattan. The artist we were meeting, whose name I have long since forgotten, worked in the medium of environmental sound. His studio was full of wires,... [read more]

Do we still believe in decent housing?

May 15, 2012 by julian dobson
with 115 views

Peabody flats, Westminster: what chance of housing low-paid workers there now?The other day I was talking to the head of a successful housing association. He’d been a chief executive for many years, starting out as one of the wave of young innovators who were going to change the world back in the late 1960s and early seventies. ‘... [read more]

Live from CNU 20: The Economic Benefits of Good Urbanism

May 11, 2012 by Henry Spethmann
with 232 views

PixAchi/Shutterstock

One of the best panels here at CNU today discussed quantifying the benefits of new urbanism and smart growth in a comprehensive manner. It featured Joseph Minicozzi, New Projects Director at Public Interest Projects, Galiena Tachieva, partner at DPZ, Michael Pagano, Dean of Urban Planning at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and... [read more]

Green Roofs Will Cover Toronto

May 9, 2012 by Leda Marritz
with 388 views

Man, those Torontonians! They continue to impress us with their aggressive green infrastructure policies. Back in January of 2010, Toronto became the first North American city to make installing green roofs on new commercial, institutional, and multifamily residential developments compulsory – now that requirements will apply to... [read more]

Looking Forward: New Urbanism and the New World

May 9, 2012 by Ben Schulman
with 109 views

From 9am to 12am, we'll be livestreaming the CNU session on the future of the new urbanist movement, featuring visionary thought leaders like Andres Duany and Jennifer Hurley. Don't miss it! [read more]

Private bus company tests service, plans June 1 launch

May 9, 2012 by Jessica Soulliere
with 81 views

Has Detroit's public infrastructure and government failed so massively that a private bus company has to step in? Will it be successful? [read more]

Bogotá’s Opportunity for Integrating its Informal Pedicab Network

May 3, 2012 by This Big City
with 116 views

Rickshaws are fast becoming a genuine transport alternative in many cities. A recent study by the World Resources Institute concluded that rickshaws, or pedicabs as they are also known, promote public transportation systems while reducing private motorization. Some of the direct benefits associated with rickshaw services include... [read more]

How will the local elections change the political landscape of urban Britain?

May 3, 2012 by Centre for Cities
with 27 views

The local elections are nearly upon us. Not only will 10 cities be voting on whether to have a directly elected mayor, with Liverpool and Salford voting on who their mayor will be, but all 36 metropolitan boroughs and 16 unitaries have a third of their seats up for election, with many cities likely to see changes of control. But to... [read more]

Taking Action at Rio+20

May 2, 2012 by Maggie Comstock
with 41 views

The Rio+20 Earth Summit represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a roadmap for the “Future We Want” —the fitting motto of the June Summit. Heads of State, government leaders, non-governmental organisations and the business community in attendance are charged with the task of accelerating the green economy and addressing... [read more]

The changing context of comfort in an unpredictable world

April 30, 2012 by Green Buildings Alive
with 43 views

I recently had the pleasure of attending the Network for Comfort and Energy Use in Buildings’ Windsor 2012 conference at Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park, England. Every two years the conference pulls together the literati of the thermal comfort in buildings world for three days and nights of lively discussion and debate. Eighty... [read more]

City as Laboratory for Alternative Urban Research and Practice

April 30, 2012 by This Big City
with 74 views

The current landscape of cities is that of contested processes, interdependencies and relations which are dominated to various degrees by diverse actors with contrasting voices and agendas. These complex relations emerge from historical and material dialectics of the territory, linking diverse activities with the environment in a time-... [read more]

How big a job might elected mayors have?

April 25, 2012 by Centre for Cities
with 34 views

In May, for the first time, 10 major English cities vote whether to have a directly elected mayor, and one major English city – Liverpool – actually elects one. How much power will these newly elected officials actually have? [read more]