Welcome to the waterworld! First ever floating city to rise in French Polynesia

A floating city with its own governance, currency, and semi-autonomous infrastructures and institutions at a first glance sounds eccentric and even crazy for some people. But as Isaac Asimov puts it “yesterday’s science fiction is tomorrow’s science of fact.” Building cities in waters is a mere figment of imagination many years ago. Today, what appeared …

INTERVIEW | Prof. Albert-László Barabási on networks, global inequality and artificial intelligence

UrbanizeHub had the opportunity to meet Prof. Albert-László Barabási, a distinguished professor from the Northeastern University, Central European University and Harvard University. He introduced in 1999 the concept of scale-free networks and proposed the Barabási–Albert model to explain their widespread emergence in natural, technological and social systems, from the cellular telephone to the World Wide Web or online communities.  Author of …

The Urban Sustainability Framework: a comprehensive guide for more livable cities

Making cities smart is one thing. But making them green and sustainable in the future takes them to a higher level. Making cities sustainable makes them even smarter. This is what the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility could have had in mind when they first conceived and launched the Urban Sustainability Framework (USF) …

Google to build North America’s largest smart city

It’s official! Google’s Sidewalk Lab and Waterfront Toronto have agreed to carve down the Quayside area in Canada’s largest city as the “test bed” for what many has called the “city of the future.” Some call it a bold experiment. Others are skeptical of allowing algorithm creators to take control of lives of city dwellers. Still …

Why do walkable cities matter?

New York, Paris, Melbourne and Vancouver—what do they have in common? These cities are widely regarded as among the most pedestrian-friendly and most walkable cities in the world. What is a walkable city? Emily Talen and Julia Koschinsky of Arizona State University have this to say: “…a neighborhood type defined by services within walking distance of …

URBIS – The new European advisory service for cities

The “Urban Investment Support” was recently launched by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank with the aim of helping cities plan investments. Consequently, their urban development strategies would be supported and there would be easier access to financing. Precisely this access to financing remains one of the biggest issues that cities have to …