Contemporary characterisations of squatters and street vendors as a “nuisance” reproduces colonial urbanism ideas of hygiene and order.
Signs reflecting conspiracy theories around the 15-minute city are displayed outside Parliament Hill in May 2023. Alongside other comparable initiatives, 15-minute cities represent an effort to place collective health and well-being at the centre of urban planning.
(Shutterstock)
From lit-up orbs to bland office blocks, cities are full of buildings that people do or do not like. What really shapes how they live – for better or for worse – is urban planning.
We need deep-time African urban history and theories to make sense of contemporary urban life and anticipate its future possibilities in African terms.
The playground on Zaanhof.
Amsterdam City Archives/010009008690
Quite how to gauge the size of a city – or where one ends and the next begins – is getting harder to determine. The 21st century belongs to the limitless city.
A comparison of 42 urban areas in New Zealand with 500 towns and cities in the US shows how much better local urban design has to be if we’re serious about reducing reliance on cars.
We only feel free to use spaces that we can identify with.
Vagengeim | Shutterstock
The success of the metaverse – whether people use it or not – will rely heavily on the environments that are created.
A visualization of daily life around Angkor Wat in the late 12th century.
Tom Chandler, Mike Yeates, Chandara Ung and Brent McKee, Monash University, 2021
With the construction industry a major source of pollution and waste, rethinking how we use the built environment we have has never been more important. This French architect duo is showing the way
People wandering on a pedestrian portion of Ste-Catherine Street in Montréal. The pandemic has contributed to a recognition of the importance of public space.
The Canadian Press/Ryan Remiorz
Containment during the pandemic has contributed to a recognition of the importance of public space as a gathering place and an essential tool to meet the needs of the population.
Temporary and tactical urbanism offers simple, low-cost solutions to make streets and other public spaces both safe and sociable during this time of physical distancing.