AUTHOR

Karl Dickinson

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Enthusiastic about real change that impacts real lives. Believer in the power of the individual; it can make all the difference. I enjoy connecting with people who have the wildest ideas and the enthusiasm to bring them to life.

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Young Leader Kelly Delaney: Regulation’s Role in Effective Energy Efficiency Financing

For all the benefits it offers, retrofitting is still the poor cousin of actions that cut emissions. There seems to be just too little of the interest and energy efficiency financing needed to meet our goals for a more sustainable built environment. But not in California. Former Young Leader...

Young Leaders Academy: Applying Transformational Knowledge as a Catalyst for Change

Sharing knowledge is integral to scaling and speeding up the sustainability transformation. But are we doing it effectively? There’s a new generation of change-makers on the scene intent on improving the way knowhow is exchanged, fully aware that it’s their futures this affects. We speak to two of the...

CityChanger Safaa Charafi: Creating Fair & Sustainable Cities with Intersectionality

Cities aren’t inclusive. It’s evident in how they’re laid out, the policies that govern us, and the mindsets of inhabitants. There’s a way to change this. Mainstreaming gender and intersectionality results in more inclusive, fairer, safer, and more prosperous cities. We ask a consultant in the field, Safaa Charafi,...

Climate What? Choose Your Words Carefully

In the realm of climate change and sustainability, how much do the words we use matter? A lot. As any linguist will tell you, language shapes our relationship with the world around us. Recently, a colleague made me aware of research into the phrases and tone of voice that holds people’s...

CityChanger Chris Kaiser: Putting the Elephant into Entrepreneurship

What links an elephant habitat and sustainable cities? Today we’re challenging the way we look at urban sustainability by standing at the vantage point of outwards looking in – from the forest to the city. Chris Kaiser, founder of Click A Tree and reforestation entrepreneur, walks us through the...

Revitalising Inner City Districts: Brussels’ Many Faces of Circularity

Economic hardship drives many struggling city centres to relent and force manufacturing and commerce to give way to residential developments. But some cities are resisting. The historic Abattoir site in Brussels is proof of how we can revive historic districts with modern concepts like circularity, diversification, and public participation. Found...

Sharing is Caring – So Why Do Pedestrians Lose the Fight for Space?

As a pedestrian, have you ever crossed the road and waved in appreciation to the driver who stopped to let you go, despite it being you right of way? And how many times have you approached a similar crossing only for the traffic to speed by with scant regard for...

Young Leader Jamie Wylie: How to Build Prosperous Cities Through Creative Mobility Solutions

Sustainable urban mobility is about so much more than halting climate change. Cities are rife with societal and economic challenges; finding better ways to move offers chances to level the playing field. We spoke to a former Young Leader and expert in the field, Jamie Wylie, about the practical...

How to Innovate Retrofitting

With so many properties failing to meet contemporary energy efficiency standards, much needs to be done to save occupants from needless discomfort and expense. There are plenty of mainstream retrofit concepts, but what about something different? CityChangers.org takes a sideways look at how you can innovate retrofitting to heat,...

CityChanger Melina Scholefield: The Secrets of Vancouver’s Rain City Strategy

Vancouver has undergone a blue-green infrastructure revolution. Its Rain City Strategy integrated nature making the city more resilient to fluctuations in rainfall. Behind it all is Melina Scholefield, a CityChanger with an impressive portfolio and knack for getting things done! She tells us all about Van City’s multidisciplinary approach...

Why Controversy Matters: An Intro to Our Editorials

CityChangers.org has introduced this series of editorials as a chance for our writing team and guests to air personal opinions on the problems, solutions, and lived experiences in our urban spaces. In this first piece, we suggest that it’s important to hear and respond to contradictory voices and invite...

CityChanger Ronni Kahn: Don’t Waste Food – Use It Up!

While people go hungry, there’s no justification for food waste – itself a massive contributor to destructive climate change emissions. What began as a one-woman mission to redistribute unwanted food has become a global phenomenon. We speak to Ronni Kahn AO, CEO of OzHarvest, about how sometimes we can...

CityChanger Vincent Lee: Managing Water with Green Infrastructure

Few firms have the level of recognition that Arup enjoys. This has given Vincent Lee the chance to work on an impressive array of projects since joining the New York office in 2006. He shares what he has learnt from using green infrastructure in urban water management projects around...

Maptionnaire: A Smart Lesson in Democratising Engagement the Fun Way

Public participation matters. It brings democracy and diverse perspectives to city design. But it can be difficult to get right. Smart technology hands us new opportunities for engagement. Today we learn about one of the pioneering tools in this field – Maptionnaire – and get pointers from the experts...

Preventing Day Zero: Lessons from Cape Town

Day Zero: the moment a city’s water dries up completely. For Cape Town, this deadly scenario came too close, but it was averted thanks to collective action and decisive leadership. This story serves as a get-started guide to conservation for any city wishing to turn the tides on water...

Water Facts & Figures

Water impacts on everything we do, so the problems that mount from handling it poorly are many and varied. To help contextualise the importance of H20 to populous places, we bring you some of the choicest water facts and stats about its many uses and the challenges that accrue...

CityChanger Panchali Saikia: Guardian of Urban Water Governance

Water democracy has implications for health, safety, and life opportunities. Nowhere is this more apparent than among the large informal settlements in Indian cities. This is where the work of Panchali Saikia makes a massive impact. She tells us about the barriers to resilient urban water systems, how cities...

The Challenges Facing Urban Water Management

What water is available to cities is unevenly distributed and increasingly stressed due to population growth. Human activity backed by poor policy safeguards increases volumes of wastewater, reduces that of potable quality, and triggers erratic drought-and-flood conditions by way of climate change. Effective urban water management is only possible...