AUTHOR

Karl Dickinson

107 POSTS
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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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CityChanger Fabian Dattner: Lessons for Equitable Leadership

As in business, real success in sustainable city transformations largely hinges on sound and equitable leadership. This requires elevating more women to positions of influence. Social entrepreneur Fabian Dattner is a die-hard advocate and activist creating a seismic shift in the landscape of leadership. We jumped at the chance...

CityChanger Luca Ballarini: Empowering People Through City Imaging

When Luca Ballarini came up with the idea of ‘city imaging’, he didn’t yet know the impact it could have. Within less than a decade, the concept has become a powerful tool that anyone can use to drive change in their city. Read on to discover how the creative...

CityChanger Lan Marie Berg: How to Deal with Public Scrutiny

When Lan Marie Berg was thrust into the public eye as Oslo’s vice mayor, the constant scrutiny became an unexpected challenge. Her climate budget and car-free zones transformed the city, but the backlash ranged from media lies to threats. What she learnt from dealing with the aftermath is a...

Lyon Confluence: How a District is Retrofitting Heritage Buildings

SPL Lyon Confluence is carrying out a stand-out urban renewal project in a once-deprived district of central Lyon. Project Manager Etienne Vignali describes how this offers a significantly chance to undertake a large-scale decarbonisation masterplan in an area packed full of social, private, and public properties, and how they...

CityChanger Alice Haugh: A Just Transition Towards Decarbonisation

What does a city of the future look like? For Alice Haugh, it is a regenerative and inclusive built environment that supports wellbeing and equality. In her work with the global philanthropic institution, Laudes Foundation, she explores new economic models and how changing the way we live, work, and...

How to Engage Socially Deprived Neighbourhoods

Stakeholder engagement can be challenging at any time but initiating open, constructive dialogue with socially deprived neighbourhoods has its own set of obstacles. Urban Designer Mikaela Åberg has a decade of experience in creating such collaboration and has share with CityChangers.org some top tips for bringing both the residents...

CityChanger Frances Bean: Helping Public Bodies Decarbonise

Frances Bean joined the Carbon Trust, a mission-led sustainability consultancy in the UK, in 2018. As Manager in the Cities and Regions team, she supports municipalities and public bodies to understand and achieve their net zero commitments. The question cities often have is “where do we start?” By talking...

CityChanger Carlo Ratti: Designing Natural-Artificial Cities

Technology and greenery will be more synergetic in cities of the future. Leading the charge for melding nature and the artificial is Professor Carlo Ratti, who is pushing the frontiers of innovation in urban design at a fast pace. He tells us why data is the gateway to integrating...

Water/Cooler Moments in the Age of Extreme Heat

As heatwaves become more frequent, we grow reliant on cities taking measures to provide relief. From fountains to pools to games, there are plenty of ways water offers comfort from rising temperatures. There is even an app to help us find the options in our city: EXTREMA Global. We...

The Social Benefits of Retrofitting

While marketing it as a decent money saver, we rarely focus on the social benefits of retrofitting. Does that mean that they’re so minute as to be obsolete or do we just need a shift in perspective? One thing is for sure, we should be retrofitting at a greater speed....

CityChanger Gemma Jerome: Building with Nature in Mind

We claim a lot of land from the natural world to build ourselves places to live. What if we could construct in a way that works for humans and habitats? That’s the question which led Dr Gemma Jerome to develop the Building with Nature Standard. Intrigued to learn how...

What No One Tells You: How to Frame Messages Around Retrofits

Retrofitting provides the tools to make older buildings airtight, temperate, pleasant places. It also decreases emissions and helps halt the damaging impact on the climate. There’s no disguising the fact that we need to step up the pace. But is it really all about the environment? What are we...

CityChanger Jan Gehl: Creating Liveable Cities

Renowned Danish architect Jan Gehl changed our understanding of what urban space should be. Shunning the traditional school of planning in favour of liveable cities, he pioneered the movement of designing places for people. He tells us where this Eureka moment came from and shares the secret to discovering...

Walking: The Key to Multi-Modal Success

Twentieth-century urban sprawl caused a shift in how we move around and between cities. Where walking was once the norm, private motors now claim the crown. But with recent focus on alternative transport, walking is surging once again – and combining walking with other modes of transport should be...

Collaboration: How to Work Together to Change Your City

Plenty of professionals and residents in your city are hungry for change, just like you. It makes sense to combine forces. Together you can achieve more, faster. But it takes a specific skill set to coordinate a disparate team. In this article, we’ll walk you through exactly what you...

CityChanger Santiago Uribe Rocha: “City Changes Take Place on a Daily Basis”

Tragedy can break us, or it can spark a fire of determination, resilience, and growth. This statement is as true for the Colombian city of Medellín as it is for the person who made it happen. Chief Resilience Officer Santiago Uribe Rocha tells us how meeting Nelson Mandela influenced...

CityChanger Mikaela Åberg: Drottninghög’s Neighbourhood Revival

As an urban developer, Mikaela Åberg improves lives in one of Helsingborg’s most socially deprived districts: Drottninghög. Just a month before she is due to speak at the UF22 conference, this CityChanger tells us what led her here, why neighbourhoods like this matter, and how we can improve deprived...

Africa’s Unconventional Architect: Rajae Haissouss

Architects become famous for their inventive structures and controversial designs. But for Rajae Haissouss, satisfaction comes from adding value to the community. Aspiring to use her talents for good, this Young Leader is raising the profile of sustainability and stakeholder engagement in architecture through her work with the African...