The daily practice of urban planning in any city entails innovative approaches that generate a vast amount of experiences and lessons learned worth to be shared. Platforms of global knowledge exchange between urban practitioners are essential to evolve the discourse of sustainable urban development. Public urban planning departments around the world create new solutions day by … [Read more...] about How do you plan in Vienna? 7 urban planning lessons from the Vienna Exchange Program
Emerging cities
Latin America and the Caribbean is the second most urbanized region on the planet, with 8 out of 10 people living in cities. Between 1950 and 2014, the region was urbanized at an unprecedented rate, its urban population increased from 50 to 80 percent (as a percentage of the total); a figure that is expected to reach 86 percent in 2050. Moreover, regional economic growth was mainly developed in medium-sized cities, which are expanding exponentially. How to accompany the growth of these cities? Learn more by reading our blog and downloading this publication.
Monitoring informal settlement growth in Manaus, Brazil with drones
Many cities in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) face the challenge of rapid informal urban growth, which prevents them from providing basic services to their citizens and have a sustainable urban development. Today, drones, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) provide key information for cities to better understand informal growth patterns and improve … [Read more...] about Monitoring informal settlement growth in Manaus, Brazil with drones
Building adequate streets and public spaces in the central area of Campo Grande, Brazil
In the 1960s, Jane Jacobs conducted an investigation into the reasons why several neighborhoods, especially in the center of cities in the United States, were in decline. Which led her to write one of the most influential books on the human approach to urban planning. In this publication, the author emphasized the importance of promoting adequate and dynamic (or interesting) … [Read more...] about Building adequate streets and public spaces in the central area of Campo Grande, Brazil
DATUM: Successful open transit mapping in the Dominican Republic
A resource center for participatory urban transit mapping Growing urban populations in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) cities put an enormous pressure on transport systems, especially in sprawling cities with increasingly far-flung residents. In this context it is essential to facilitate the design of public infrastructure in an efficient and participatory … [Read more...] about DATUM: Successful open transit mapping in the Dominican Republic
Smarter and More Sustainable Cities in Latin America? We Must Learn to Buy Better
In a roundtable on the most pressing challenges for our cities, a colleague challenged us with the following question: “Do you believe that cities can buy their sustainability?” Between stunned looks and expressions of disbelief, we could not reach a conclusion. The truth is that, as Latin America is one of the most urbanized regions of the world, every decision taken by a … [Read more...] about Smarter and More Sustainable Cities in Latin America? We Must Learn to Buy Better