Latest Articles

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...

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...

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,...

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...

Encouraging Cycling Tourism with Digital Storytelling

This article was written for CityChangers.com by Krešimir Herceg, an entrepreneur aiming to enhance the leisure cycling experience. In doing so, he wants to help destinations reduce CO2 emissions and overcrowding at spots of...

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...

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...

Making Sense of Systemic Change

Systemic change is like a birthday present: everyone wants it, but no one is quite sure what’s inside. Or so the saying goes. The concept feels just beyond comprehension. What does it look like to change everything,...

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...

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...

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...

Barcelona’s Superblocks: Putting People at the Centre – Literally

A few weeks back, during an ECIU Challenge in Barcelona, I talked with the Office for Urban Ecology of Barcelona's municipality. They showed me the city's plan to win its war on cars. The plan is...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...