CATEGORY

Sustainable Buildings

How to Excite People About Retrofitting

Big cities can learn a lot from smaller communities. Dunleer, a town in the northeast of the Republic of Ireland, has managed what many larger places have struggled to do: excite people about retrofitting....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Ending Youth Homelessness Through Mindset & System Shifts

Youth homelessness is often an overlooked topic. There are public institutions helping young adults and minors in need, right? Well, sadly, that’s not always the case. We spoke with the Co-Founder of Point Source...

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...

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...

Malmö: City of Construction Circularity

Sweden’s premier southwestern city Malmö is not only a crowning glory in Scandinavian architecture, nature, and quality of life, but also in sustainability. The city is gaining notoriety as a bastion in new construction...

Community Sociologist Jeni Cross: Building Better Retrofitting Behaviours

A toxic mix of bad habits and infrastructure that prevents change is holding sustainability back. This is as true for retrofitting as anything. Community sociologist Doctor Jeni Cross has dedicated 20 years to researching...

CityChanger Dominik Campanella: Accelerating Circularity with Data

Digitisation of the construction sector is an important step. It will simplify and streamline material reuse and carbon emission reduction. But this takes brains, cooperation between computing and construction, and a personal determination to...

Improving Cities Through Technology: Aude Vuilliomenet

When it comes to transforming cities, most think of implementing green spaces, retrofitting buildings, pedestrianising streets. It makes sense, when the bigger, tangible improvements are easily perceived by the eye. But what about microcontrollers?...

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 Functional Future – Ensuring Sustainable Public Buildings Are Fit for Purpose

Public Buildings are essential to every city. They can be the heart of the community, places where neighbours gather, children play and learn, and real life takes place. That’s why it’s even more important...

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...