Boston is officially ending its reliance on fossil fuels in government-owned buildings after Mayor Michelle Wu signed a new executive order banning their use in all new municipal construction and renovation projects across the city. In a press statement released on July 31st, Wu told reporters... View full entry
The city of Athens is preparing for a groundbreaking addition to its already historic city. Thanks to the efforts of Lamda Development, the city will welcome Ellinikon Metropolitan Park, set to not only be the largest park in Athens but also "Europe's largest coastal park." Urban Land's... View full entry
[Update, September 14th, 2023: Despite this recommendation, UNESCO ultimately voted not to place Venice on its World Heritage in Danger list]Experts from UNESCO, the cultural agency of the United Nations, have recommended adding Venice to its World Heritage in Danger list. As reported by... View full entry
Rising temperatures and increasingly frequent heat waves driven by climate change are turning many Mediterranean cities into dangerous places, especially for vulnerable groups.
“We are not focusing enough on how extreme temperatures affect urban environments,” says Eleni Myrivili, who has spent years studying this issue in her hometown of Athens, which is one of the cities hardest hit by rising temperatures.
— EL PAÍS USA Edition
Amid devastating wildfires and record-breaking numbers of heat-related casualties throughout the Mediterranean region, Spanish newspaper EL PAÍS sits down with Eleni Myrivili, chief heat officer of Athens (Europe's first such municipal appointment) and also global chief heat officer to U.N... View full entry
Zaha Hadid Architects has shared a new video detailing the construction progress of its pedestrian bridge project over the Grand Canal in Hangzhou, China. Concrete arches are now in place for the bridge, which is located not far from the site of the firm’s recently announced multivenue sports... View full entry
New Jersey took a significant step Friday as it seeks to block New York’s congestion pricing plan with a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
Gov. Phil Murphy, standing behind a podium that read “FIGHTING AN UNFAIR CONGESTION TAX,” said at a morning press conference that he hopes the lawsuit triggers an environmental impact statement delaying the program.
— SILive.com
New York City's new congestion pricing plan was finally approved on a federal level last month following years of debate that began under then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy told CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday that he wants to prevent pollution from the... View full entry
A team of researchers from The Ohio State University has developed a machine learning technique that converts old urban maps into three-dimensional digital models. According to the team, the models could potentially revolutionize research involving historic neighborhoods and the economic... View full entry
“Underground climate change is a silent hazard,” he said. “The ground is deforming as a result of temperature variations, and no existing civil structure or infrastructure is designed to withstand these variations.” — NBC Chicago
NBC Chicago reports on research from Northwestern University Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Alessandro Rotta Loria and his findings on the effect of density and subterranean heat in the city’s downtown Loop, where temperatures have been shown to be... View full entry
Saudi Arabia's megaproject Neom is seeking to raise 10 billion riyals ($2.7bn) in loans, according to a report in Bloomberg published on Monday.
The early stages of the $500bn planned city will be financed by money raised from local lenders, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg. Banks are currently in negotiations with Neom, and the loan could be completed in the next few months.
— Middle East Eye
A separate $3 billion loan will be required for Shushah Island, the luxury resort component of the $500 billion megadevelopment whose record-setting centerpiece is promised for 2025. Another $800 million was secured recently towards the development of Sindalah, which is set to be the project’s... View full entry
A groundbreaking ceremony held in late June marks the official start of work on the LAX Midfield Satellite Concourse South project, an expansion of the recently-opened West Gates at Tom Bradley International Terminal. — Urbanize Los Angeles
The Woods Bagot-designed $400 million MSC South project will add 150,000 square feet, spread across eight gates and two stories, to LAX. It forms part of Los Angeles World Airport’s (LAWA), the airport authority that owns and operates the airport, $14.5 billion capital investment improvement... View full entry
In addition to overall wetter conditions, the study predicts increasingly intense bursts of heavy rain during storms — up to two-thirds wetter by the end of the century — the type of brief torrents that can easily overwhelm sewer systems, swamp cars and cause significant property damage and even loss of life, said Michael Mak, a Pathways water resources engineer. — KQED
Mayor London Breed announced a $369 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan a month before the report was made public courtesy of KQED’s public records request. The report indicates a 37% increase in stormwater by the end of the century. Meanwhile, the city’s... View full entry
Mayor Karen Bass on Thursday signed into law an ordinance updating the city's zoning code to exempt all affordable units from the time-consuming Site Plan Review process that often delays final approval of much-needed housing projects.
The city's existing building code required all housing developments of more than 49 units to undergo Site Plan Review, which can add months to the completion of a project and increase expenses.
— ABC 7
Bass had promised to alleviate the burden on developers as part of her mayoral campaign and has since cut down the city’s end of the approval process and added a new Deputy Mayor of Housing to the administration, though structural problems within the political apparatus still remain. The... View full entry
Polish firm SLAS architekci has injected an eye-catching multifunctional public space into a university campus in the southern Polish city of Chorzów. Called “Activity Zone,” the project was a nominee in the 2022 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe... View full entry
A new plan Mayor Mike Duggan is pitching would fill vacant land in the city, provide clean energy for the city, and give money back to community groups. After some consultation with solar companies, the plans should start to take shape this fall.
Starting July 1, neighborhood groups will be able to submit a community interest form. If they need assistance with the proposal, they can request help from a solar energy expert.
— Urbanize Detroit
The plan puts the Motor City squarely in line with Chicago, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and New York, whose attempt to power 250,000 homes by 2030 is still lagging. France also just commenced its own plan targeted at parking lots in the country at the beginning of the month, despite... View full entry
AECOM and Bechtel have both announced their involvement in the international effort to rebuild Ukraine following 15 months of a devastating war which had, by mid-spring, enacted more than $147.5 billion worth of damage to infrastructure across the country, according to estimates from the Kyiv... View full entry
