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In hermetically sealed buildings, less fresh air gets in. [...] Eventually, this polluted indoor air – which is making more than a third of the planet sick – is expelled into the surrounding environment. This raises the question of how buildings pollute the air around them, what pollutants they produce, and whether this expelled air is sufficiently diluted once outdoors. — The Conversation
As the article mentions, the World Health Organization had previously pointed to a "lack of monitoring of air pollution levels, sources and consequences on public health" as a present danger for cities. To fix it, authors César Martín-Gómez and Arturo H. Ariño of the Universidad de Navarra... View full entry
Researchers at the University College London have put forth a new argument in favor of a simple solution to combating the issue of extreme heat in cities without air conditioning. The so-called “cool roof” method they found had the best mitigation performance metrics over others surveyed... View full entry
A new planned community is built on the urban design philosophy known as ‘gender mainstreaming.’ [...]
Ms. Kail acknowledges that the parameters of gender mainstreaming are in flux. Where there used to be “a focus on the everyday life of white, middle-class women and their children,” she said, over the past decade or so, a new crop of urban planners has widened the lens, just as she’s stepping out of it.
— The New York Times
Vienna (the city previously declared by the Times to be a "renters utopia") owes a tremendous thanks to Eva Kail for its apparent equity strides. Though recently retired, the urban planner touts the new Aspern Seestadt development and its "female face" as the embodiment of the movement to infuse... View full entry
More cities will likely face these kinds of shortages as climate change, deforestation and ecosystems degradation increasingly threaten the natural systems that maintain water supplies. But nature offers solutions, too.
By protecting, restoring and sustainably managing forests within their watersheds, cities can improve water quality and quantity in a cost-effective way. And they can make water sources more resilient to a changing climate.
— The City Fix
The most recent ASLA survey of U.S.-based landscape architects confirmed the industry’s positive response to this critical demand, including that a total of 42% of respondents have said they are pursuing climate projects worth more than $1 million and another 29% saying the value of this... View full entry
The implications of this massive decline in population will bring unprecedented challenges, possibly leading to disruptions in basic services like transit, clean water, electricity and internet access. Simultaneously, increasing population trends in resource-intensive suburban and periurban cities will probably take away access to much needed resources in depopulating areas, further exacerbating their challenges. — Nature
Almost half (43%) of the 30,000 cities surveyed recently by the University of Illinois Chicago are expected to lose population while another 40% — among the country’s larger metros such as New York City and Phoenix — will experience growth through the end of this century. Lead... View full entry
Another round of funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies' Asphalt Art Initiative has been announced in an effort to improve the pedestrian safety of 25 different cities in North America. Grants of up to $25,000 were awarded also in Mexico and Canada for the first time in the program’s history... View full entry
Almost all of China's medium and large cities are now susceptible to floods. And [Kongjian] Yu says 60% of them experience flooding every year. Extreme weather from climate change is exacerbating the problem.
So Yu has been evangelizing a solution he calls "sponge cities." That is, urban landscapes that are softer and purposely designed to absorb more water.
Gareth Doherty, an associate professor of landscape architecture at Harvard University, says the concept is revolutionary.
— NPR
The contributions of Turenscape founder Kongjian Yu to the development of the so-called “Sponge City” concept date to the mid-90s, stemming from a near-death experience in his childhood home of Jinhua. He says that by the end of the decade, roughly 80% of Chinese cities will now be adequately... View full entry
A comprehensive new study linking the implementation of bird-friendly glass technology to the improvement of wildlife safety has been released by the American Bird Conservancy, offering architects what they say is a first-of-its-kind primer on an issue that still lags in the design of buildings... View full entry
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has released data chronicling the prevalence of buildings with total heights taller than 150 meters (492 feet) in major metropolitan areas across the world. The statistics speak to several yearslong industry-wide trends as well as a... View full entry
After two years, Vienna has overtaken Auckland as the world’s most livable city, according to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
The EIU said that Auckland’s position on the index dipped to the 34th spot this year because of higher Covid-19 infection rates and strict border controls in 2021. Although lockdowns ended in New Zealand in December, well-vaccinated cities in Europe and Canada had begun easing restrictions earlier.
— CNBC
The Austrian capital was joined by Copenhagen, Zurich, Geneva, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam as the other European cities on the list. Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, Osaka, and Melbourne rounded out the Top 10 of the 172-city sampling. The Russian invasion of Ukraine also impacted the makeup of the... View full entry
But where cities are succeeding, they’re finding that electrifying public transit can solve more than just climate problems. It can clean the air, reduce traffic jams and, ideally, make getting around town easier for ordinary people, which is why some politicians have staked their reputations on revamping transit. In many cases, city governments have been able to take climate action faster than their national governments. — The New York Times
The effort to reduce car traffic mirrors those taking shape in U.S. cities like New York and San Francisco. The cost of doing so has in a way become its own problem, as the infrastructure required to support expansive EV fleets in large metropolitan areas has proven to be a challenge for many of... View full entry
This post is brought to you by the University of Calgary School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape This international design ideas competition—the first in the CBDX series—asks, What does a city for all look like? How does it operate and function? How can it come into being? What... View full entry
Predicting the future of cities is risky, especially if one heeds the words of the American baseball legend, Yogi Berra, that “the future ain’t what it used to be”.
In the period since the start of the pandemic it might seem as if everything is different, but in the long term, I would suggest that rather than changing anything, it has merely hastened and magnified trends that were already apparent before the virus struck.
— The Guardian
In his opinion piece for The Guardian, architect Norman Foster ponders how current and past pandemics have influenced and will continue to shape the infrastructure, and subsequently culture, of our cities. Foster briefly touches on a number of trendy topics, including electric vehicles, ride... View full entry
2020 has brought an increase in activism as the public reached its final tipping point from the racial and social injustices happening across the nation. With the inexcusable deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, and others caused by police brutality, individuals... View full entry
What will be the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the built environment? Of course, anything can happen and we should be skeptical of anyone offering predictions for what even tomorrow might bring, but that has not stopped architectural thinkers from positing the world as it might come to... View full entry
