The way our cities are designed and planned significantly impacts our quality of life. Whether we are aware of it or not, factors such as commute time, access to parks and green areas, availability of schools, and pedestrian zones all contribute to our well-being. So, why not leverage all available means to enhance our cities? At the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), we … [Read more...] about URSA: A Tool to Guide Urban Planning with Satellite Data
Cities LAB
The Cities Laboratory of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is our platform for innovation, design, and experimentation for the sustainable urban development in Latin America and the Caribbean. We lead innovative prototypes that arise from co-design processes between officials of the IDB and local actors (community, academia, government); in which citizen participation is key. From these urban interventions, we evaluate the experiences, analyzing the success of the cases with the objective of sharing knowledge, expanding or replicating the implemented pilots. Learn more by reading our blog and visiting the Cities LAB's web.
Monitoring the city with drones: Artificial Intelligence in environmental management
When we talk about artificial intelligence, we often think of it as a revolutionary and novel concept that has just arrived in our lives. However, this term was first used almost seventy years ago, in 1955 to be more precise, by John McCarthy in a workshop at Dartmouth University in the United States. Nevertheless, it is in the last decade that we have witnessed a true … [Read more...] about Monitoring the city with drones: Artificial Intelligence in environmental management
Citizen-led Urbanism: Another way to create cities
In recent years, a new approach to urban planning has been gaining ground around the world: citizen-led urbanism. This concept is based on the idea that cities should be designed and developed taking into account the needs and aspirations of their inhabitants. Rather than being a process led exclusively by experts and planners, citizen-led urbanism empowers the community to … [Read more...] about Citizen-led Urbanism: Another way to create cities
Urban Intelligence: Urban laboratories as catalysts for innovation
What is an urban laboratory? How do cities experiment? Why do they exist? How are they initiated? These are some questions that the IDB Cities Lab will answer through the new podcast series: Urban Intelligence. With the purpose of inspiring cities to innovate in the search for solutions to complex problems and demonstrating the potential of urban laboratories as catalysts … [Read more...] about Urban Intelligence: Urban laboratories as catalysts for innovation
Healthy Cities: your zip code influences your health more than your genetic code
A person's zip code affects their life expectancy more than their own genetic code. We often relate chronic diseases to habits such as diet, lack of physical exercise, smoking or heredity. However, the factor that most influences health is the environment in which we live and circumstances such as poverty, lack of decent housing, overcrowding, environmental safety or exclusion … [Read more...] about Healthy Cities: your zip code influences your health more than your genetic code