India’s Smart Cities Mission: looking at global peers

In one of the most ambitious urbanization initiatives ever, India has launched its Smart Cities Mission, looking to drive billions of dollars into infrastructure improvements in 100 different cities over the next five years. It aims to accelerate a variety of digital technology upgrades as well as leverage public dollars to attract private investment into …

The complex relationship between data and cities

There is a lot of enthusiasm around the relationship between cities and data, as it promises to solve various urban problems, from predictive policing to improving traffic flow and promoting energy efficiency. If it’s done right, data can help policy makers understand how cities and neighbourhoods grow and evolve. Researchers are using data from internet sources …

Changing attitudes towards waste

Whether the goal is to increase recycling or to reduce littering, authorities will never achieve truly clean cities without a fundamental shift in public mindsets and behaviours, according to waste management experts gathered at the CleanEnviro Summit in Singapore. They highlight three ways in which cities can increase public participation in waste management. Financial incentives …

The sustainable house shaped like the Eye of Horus

The Eye of Horus is a fully sustainable house designed by Spanish architect Luis de Garrido, built on the Playa de Cleopatra Island in Turkey. The island is known for the exceptional quality of its sand, said to be different from other nearby beaches. Local legends say that Roman emperor Marc Antony imported the sand especially for Cleopatra …

Copenhagenize – an index of bike-friendly cities

  What are the best cities for urban cycling? Copenhagenize Design Co., specializing in urban design consultancy and advocates of prioritizing biking solutions in cities, started this discussion in 2011 and managed to give cities around the world a score in order to determine the best methods to re-establish the bicycle on the urban landscape. …