It’s amazing what a little color can do to warm up a neighborhood, such as Buenos Aires’s La Boca neighborhood in Argentina, the multicultural Bo-Kaap neighborhood in Cape Town, South Africa, or San Francisco’s Haight Street in the US. Or painting a city’s centre as a canvas, such as in Valparaiso, Chile, Venice, Italy, or Guatapé, Colombia (image, left). Urban colors can… Read More Colorful cities: a little paint, a lot of pride
I rarely use my blog for personal stories, outside my interactions with cities. Still, I’m happy to report my PhD dissertation, entitled Urban Climate Governance: the Role of Local Authorities, was accepted for publication and public defense at Wageningen University! I’m excited and relieved, finding out on my birthday. As I look to the defense, I also reflect… Read More Moving forward in reflection: alumni speeches and MESPOM memories
Lund University’s International Institute of Industrial and Environmental Economics (or IIIEE, my alma mater in Sweden) was involved in the design and delivery of a new Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) entitled, “Greening the Economy: Lessons from Scandinavia.” (See also the United Nations Environment Programme’s work on the Green Economy concept.) This (free) online 5-week… Read More Green Lifestyles and Cities: Lessons from Scandinavia
UNFCCC COP20 in Lima, Peru This blog post (see original) was written and published on the Institute for Development’s Eldis website, as part of a series of blogs published during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP20) underway in Lima, Peru from 1- 12 December 2014. It discusses why cities serve an apt platform to tackle climate change, and the challenges and opportunities of urban climate… Read More Cities & the climate crisis – part of the problem, and the solution
Bicycle transport is touted for its many benefits for cities: improving air quality, providing exercise, saving money or reducing traffic. Equally, cycling can help save something that all cities desperately require more of: space. To visibly display how much space vehicles require for driving – in particular during the morning commute – cyclists in the Latvian… Read More Riga: visualizing wasted space of the car versus the bicycle
Having spent the last 10 years living (or regularly visiting) established or emerging European cycle cities (e.g. Budapest, Basel, Malmö, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Paris) it’s safe to say: bicycling is in my blood. This is not just a European thing. I’ve tested urban cycling infrastructure during visits to Abu Dhabi, Medellín, Seoul and Doha. While a city’s walkability and public transport… Read More The “how to” of becoming an urban cyclist…
I was recently in Copenhagen, Denmark for the Nordic Environmental Social Sciences Conference. Afterwards, I took a few days to return to one of my all-time favorite sustainability stars – Malmö, Sweden. Having studied and worked in Southern Sweden, I always enjoy returning ‘home’ and remain fascinated by how these two cities continue to drive… Read More Copenhagen & Malmö: Scandinavian sustainability superstars
At Gustav Adolfs Torg (c) Inga löjliga bilresor Malmö / Jens Lennartsson photography For several years in Malmö (Sweden) May was “No Ridiculous Car Journeys” campaign month, or in Swedish Inga löjliga bilresor. This campaign, launched in 2006 and repeated for several springs, includes animated displays, a dose of humour and a competition for the “most ridiculous car driver.” In one of… Read More Malmö: No Ridiculous Car Journeys
Cites like Amsterdam & Copenhagen have turned their cyclist reputations into a marketable concept: enter Amsterdamize and Copenhagenize, featuring dedicated bicycle experts and consultants that draft city cycling blogs and run research projects associated to the concept of urban cycling. Copenhagenize recently released their 2013 Bicycle-Friendly Cities Index, featuring many cities that I have either lived in or cycled… Read More City cyclist superstars
Swedish design students Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin decided to take on the challenge to develop an invisible bike helmet (think deployable air bags in a car) as part of a school project at Lund University (my alma mater!) What started as an exam project soon turned into a venture capital quest with 10 million in… Read More An invisible bike helmet for the urban cyclist
The Urban Observer 