Karl Dickinson

Sustainability needs a warning label. The somewhat tongue in cheek Godwin’s law suggests that in any online discussion going on long enough, someone will make a comparison with the Nazis. In a similar way, it seems that any talk about urban sustainability eventually leads to one topic. Well, sorry folks, here’s...

A funny thing happened on the way to the forum. During a recent trip, my enquiry into departure times for the shuttle bus connecting sites of Pompeii was met with a bark of, “Check the internet!” The response – “I can’t” – prompted a raucous guffaw. It’s an in-your-face reminder of how...

Humans and wildlife have much in common. Urban sprawl deprives both of the resources, protection, and environmental stability that the natural world offers. Rewilding cities can reverse these fortunes. We explore what’s to gain from welcoming wildlife into urban spaces and how easily it can be achieved, with landscape...

Micromobility has an image problem. In Paris, a mix of poor planning and bad user habits came to a head as the public voted for e-scooters to be banned. Mobility expert Dagmara Wrzesińska’s outspoken criticism of how the referendum was handled caught our attention – her explanation is a...

The challenges for migrants arriving in a new country seem endless. The more vulnerable their situation, and precarious their legal status, the deeper these problems run. Social and structural barriers and discrimination prevent newcomers from integrating with any ease. Just as well there are actors in the urban realm...

In 2019, JPI Urban Europe established a call for research into urban migration in Europe, with the aim of understanding how it affects and is affected by the life and functioning of cities. As such a recent study, the results provide an incomparable resource for urban actors wishing to...

Proving humans’ unparalleled capability for confounding logic, the daylight hours of 31 December in Graz were punctuated with the whizz-pop of fireworks. The magical glittery hues may have been lost to an unseasonal sunny backdrop, but their voices were far from hushed. Come midnight, and the neighbourhood was alive with...

JPI Urban Europe put out a call for projects researching urban migration in Europe. The outcome is a current knowledge base that gives insights into how migration impacts the lives and workings of a city, and how these affect the experiences of new arrivals. What has been made clear...

It’s a fact! Cities are designed by men for men. This skews power relations in the built environment and the systems that govern them, curtailing women’s social and economic mobility. Added to this, intersectional factors – and for migrants the specifics of a legal status – can exacerbate the...

Oh joy! It’s that time of year again. For what feels like months already we’ve been wading through the drawn-out build-up to Christmas. Shops are once again subjecting their staff to the saccharin mental torture of looping the same few jingly-jangly tunes as consumers are force-fed the pretence that it’s the...

In a hostile environment where migrants are denied access to the services and basic rights others enjoy, finding secure, quality, safe, and affordable long-term housing remains one of the biggest challenges. As where and how we live carves out our sense of belonging, sorting out this key dynamic must...

Migration is a complex and divisive topic. Multiple political, economic, social, even environmental factors contribute to the discourse – not to mention a minefield of misinformation. For better or worse, these influences affect migrants’ experiences and impact integration, as well as influence cities’ approaches to newcomers. To find out...

The recent research conducted in response to JPI Urban Europe’s Urban Migration call offers a greater understanding of what the arrival of new populations means for the functioning of European cities, and what forces shape their experiences. It also provides new insights into what is being done to support...

For two years from January 2021, eight research projects supported by JPI Urban Europe’s Urban Migration call looked into the state of migration in the context of Europe’s cities: who it involves, what their experiences are, and what impact it has on the function of cities. The studies contribute...

There’s a lot to be said for going vegan. That must be why they drone on about it all the time! Like other drones, don’t you wish they would just fly off? But let’s give our nutrient-deficient cousins a break. Whether it’s for dietary or ethical reasons, there’s a lot...

How to communicate about climate in a way that drives real and sustainable change The problem: The doom and gloom language we constantly hear around human-caused climate change makes people feel helpless. Without hope there is no motivation to act.Why it matters: By adopting better ways to communicate about climate,...

Keeping the water flowing is a complex business. Water companies can take a lot of flak if they appear to fail in their responsibilities. But, as we learn from the experiences of Northumbrian Water Group, the lengths they really go to may be underestimated, while we as customers could...

In the world of sustainability, there’s an assumption that we all want the same change. Even for those of us who share this mindset, behaviours often don’t match, which can stall positive transitions. Katharina Schätz reminds us that creating and maintaining motivation is as important as the solutions that...