Future Cities

In a previous piece, I attempted to re-think and re-imagine Cape Town from a principles (or values) perspective, which would then inform the physical vision. I then came across this excellent essay, by Peter Marcuse, in which he explains and elaborates, far more eloquently, on the potential process and exploration of the future city from a principles perspective and what this may include.[read more]

Ian Edwards

I was honoured this week to be invited to join the Academy of Urbanism, a society of professionals, academics and policy makers from a variety of backgrounds whose work is concerned in some way with cities. As a technology professional who has increasingly worked in an urban context over the past few years, I try to be as conscious...[read more]

After the post was vacant for more than a year, Jennifer Keesmaat started this month as the Chief Planner for the City of Toronto. One of the first things she did was write an excellent article in the local newspaper arguing ‘our cities will define our future’. She makes the case for Toronto – but the same argument can be made globally...[read more]

Ataaullah Jaunoo/flickr

The concept or idea of a New or Future City can be unsettling, perhaps even unappealing. One begins to imagine Koolhaas’s description of the Generic City, “a city of 15 million inhabitants, in or near the tropics, with high-rise apartments, low rise slums and post modern architecture by unknown 100-strong practices.”[read more]

The last week of the year is typically reserved for retrospective, and “best of” assessments. Yet, it can also be a time of hope, resolution, and prediction—an interlude of oracles and dreams. Picture this about 2012—an urbanist calendar with places in mind—framed by international snapshots in time. Each month of this urbanist calendar...[read more]

Although already at 11 million residents, Tianjin is expected to see a surge in population by 2030. Photo by Bill Benson A recent episode of the CNN series, Future Cities, highlights the challenges Tianjin, China faces as it follows a recognizable urbanization model.[read more]