CATEGORY

Greenery & Biodiversity

What are Buzz Stops? An Explainer

Buzz stops are an example of how underutilised everyday spaces can be retrofitted simply, improving urban environments and creating habitats for biodiversity in the city. Commuters pass a lot of time at bus stops. Waiting...

Paw-sitive Cities: Humane Free Roaming Cat & Dog Population Management

ICAM provides an ethical choice for population management of free roaming animals, an issue largely ignored by leaders but a priority for citizens. National responses to the COVID-19 pandemic were a reminder of how a...

The Case for Greener Cities

So beneficial is it to add more than a smattering of vegetation to urban spaces that we've had to separate the main cases in favour. Think of it like this: we have a lot...

What is Urban Biodiversity? An Explainer

Against the odds, cities host an incredible array of flora (vegetation) and fauna (animals). How can we ensure that they thrive and why should we bother? Biological diversity – more commonly shortened to biodiversity –...

Boosting Urban Biodiversity with Leicester’s Grassland Strategy

Leicester’s grassland strategy shows how diverse approaches to natural land management support biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and make cities more pleasant places to be. Since launching its Grassland Strategy 2023-2033, about 13.5% of all grassland in...

Via Verde: How Mexico City’s Biggest Highway Became Its Green Lungs

In response to the collective demands of 100,000 people, Via Verde has transformed Mexico City’s two-story highway from symbol of bad decision-making to a green space that supports citizens’ wellbeing. The greater metro area of...

The CityChangers Podcast #12: The Gendered City

After centuries in charge, men have made a mess of our cities! Gender bias is present in almost every element of urban planning and design, from mobility networks right down to the way we build...

Creating Safer Cities: Considerations for Gendered & Nighttime Design

If the design of urban spaces does not make us feel safe, it limits how we move around, engage with, and enjoy the city. This impacts women disproportionately, and even spaces that seem welcoming...

Are Public Festivals Damaging Urban Parks?

Because of the population density, cities are a concentration of the best and worst of everyday human behaviour. Nowhere is this more evident than at celebrations that infringe on urban parks. With the warmer weather of...

CityChanger Balin Koyunoglu: Creating Resilient Cities Through Rewilding

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...

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...

How to Avoid Heat Islands with Greenery

Have you noticed the extremely high temperatures this summer? Especially when walking around a larger city? That is because city concrete and rooftop tar contribute to temperature increase and creating what is today known...

A Natural Walker and Nature Enthusiast: Tamar Guberman

Tamar Guberman is a young Urban and Environmental Planner from Israel. Having grown up in Tel Aviv, Tamar quickly realised “there is no other city like her in my country”. It is a safe...

Green Gentrification: Why, How & Who?

Lately, it seems ‘climate justice’, ‘eco-gentrification’, and ‘green gentrification’ are the most used terms in the realm of sustainability. Whatever the phrase, gentrification is not an easy matter for discussion. Why that is the...

Safety in Green Areas: It’s About People

Green areas are great; they have the potential to attract a city’s residents to enjoy nature, relax, and get some much-needed fresh air. Safety, though, is a large element of that enjoyment; so how...

Terras de Cascais: Connecting People and Nature Through Community Gardening

“Giving new life to natural spaces and promoting organic urban culture” is the motto of Terras de Cascais. It’s a project working towards bringing people together, reviving the connection with nature, and growing fresh,...

Bohemian Learning for Students: Sussex Roots

This group of students has decided to take matters – or shovels, to be precise – into their own hands. Students at the University of Sussex have established their own community garden, determined to...

Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay: Sustainable Building Meets Greenery

Gardens by the Bay: an award-winning green haven in the middle of Singapore. With its iconic architecture, innovative use of technologies, environmental sustainability, and horticultural displays, Singapore has established itself as one of our...