The Italian City of Bologna has found a fun way to incentive more sustainable transportation in cities – offering free beer, ice cream or cinema tickets to citizens who opt out of their cars and into the bus, on the bike or walking. Urban planner Marco Amadori designed the Bella Mossa scheme in 2017, which makes… Read More Bicycling and free beer in Bologna – a winning combo?
Clean air and clean water are the main things citizens want for their health and well being as residents in a sustainable city, according to a recent global survey conducted by WWF-Sweden. Clean air, however, has become a scarce commodity in our world as recently reported by the World Health Organization (WHO). Reduce pollution in cities… Read More Cities must move to fossil-free and car-free for a healthy future
**This is a guest blog post, written by Cynthia Menéndez, manager of WWF’s Sustainable Cities programme in México, including México’s participation in WWF’s One Planet City Challenge (or in Spanish: Desafío de Ciudades de WWF). Color, culture and diversity in Mexico’s largest city As one of the biggest cities in the world, Mexico City is full of… Read More Mexico City: bicycle brigades to the rescue
I love Stockholm life on a bicycle: for the exercise; for interactions with my city and fellow citizens; for the opportunity to witness ongoing changes in transport infrastructure – and improvements to cycle lanes. Not least for the chance to reflect on the splendour of autumn evenings. Below are a few thoughts from a recent… Read More Stockholm: reflections & opportunities of living in an emerging cycle city
In October 2016, 40000 people gathered in Quito, Ecuador, for the United Nations Habitat III Conference. Unlike other UN processes that focus on national government engagement, “H3” also saw 5000 city leaders make their voices heard, meeting in Quito and Bogotá (Colombia) at related local government events. They did so to ensure the final document adopted, the… Read More Quito: mountains, history & a giant conference about cities
Paris, city of arts, culture, history, surprise… And one of the largest underground metro systems in mainland Europe. The Paris Metro contain 16 metro lines, with 300 stations, which cover 10×10 kilometres of central Paris. It is not only a public transport system though; it also features fantastic music and entertainment. However, in Paris (and many cities) these beautiful musical… Read More Music, Dance, Theatre: just another day taking the Paris Metro
It probably no surprise that I’m a huge proponent of city living. I love being able to hop on my bike, the bus, or walk down the street to one of my favorite neighborhood pubs or cafés. There’s a real sense of freedom that comes when not having a car-centric lifestyle. Each and every time… Read More Want to see more efficient spending of public money? Move to the city.
No one likes to sit in traffic, and city traffic is the worst. But equally, when we step out of the car (or hopefully off the bus or metro) in a city, our pedestrian activities remain dictated by cars. We can only cross at designated points; we wait for traffic lights to cross the street – hopefully still… Read More Cars versus people: depicting battles over urban public space
I’ve spent some time in the Emirati cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, in conjunction to work (re: international negotiations on renewable energy and combatting ozone depletion). They are quirky places: desert cities full of massive skyscrapers, fancy cars and more restaurant chains that I knew existed. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are some of the wealthiest cities… Read More Abu Dhabi & Dubai: far from people-centred planning
In London (population circa 8.5 million) its residents are always be on the go, taking off to the next destination on one of its double-decker buses, in its beeping taxis, in private cars or swerving through the city on its growing population of city bikes. While these bicycles are a happy site in this massive city,… Read More London Underground Repurposed: Hello Tube Cycle
The Urban Observer 