Conversations on Place Branding and Identity – 3 They are separated by more than 11,000 miles of the South Pacific Ocean but emerge as cross-hemispherical twins in their commitment and actions to put Planet before Profit. New Zealand and Costa Rica are universally recognised as pieces of natural paradise sustained by an eco-literate population. But […]
Conversations on Place Branding and Identity – 1 New nation states Singapore and Dubai have managed their branding through competitive differentiation, yielding the ultimate prize: attracting capital and talent. Sheffield and Hull fought their way out of dereliction as post-industrial towns by deep-diving into their DNA and developing humanistic brands as curator, editor and storyteller […]
Soria: The Radical Rural by David Leal Garcia November 19, 2019 A new generation of ecological economists, of which Max Neef is a prominent exponent, have pointed out how imperative it is to rebalance massive urban centers with middle and small size cities and villages if we are to give priority to human scale model […]
Chandigarh: The Fight for the Radiant City | 22 May 2018 | by Vineeta Shetty Like Berlin surrounded by the Russians, Chandigarh often has to be defended like an island of sophistication from the marauders surrounding her. The city was master-planned in 96 hours, reflecting the urban philosophy laid down by the Congres Internationale d’Architecture […]
Bilbao: Making is Believing | 30 September 2017 | by Vineeta Shetty When architect Susana González was transferred by her firm from Buenos Aires to Bilbao in the early 80s, she looked around in tears at the soot-covered buildings and the sludge-choked river, thinking she had been given a hardship post. Urban and industrial overdevelopment […]
Smart Indore: Gentle Winds of Change 13 April 2017 | by Vineeta Shetty | Even as Madhya Pradesh’s sedate political capital, Bhopal, is settling in for the night, 190 kilometers away, its commercial capital, Indore is just rousing for the evening out. The characteristic breeze of the Malwan plateau in central India stirs the appetite, […]
27 June 2014 | by Vitor Pereira No one can pinpoint how, when or why it started. What was the spark? Could it have been the melding of vast cultures with African, northern Europe, Arab and Asian roots? Could it have been the big corporations and their white-collar executives, ready to enjoy the sunlight, great […]
Continue reading "A Moda Lisboa: The Atlantic Capital Ups its Game in the Smart Stakes"
February 2, 2016 | by Philip Allin | The Circular Economy is a concept that is gaining currency with urban planners in the past few years. Defined by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation as restorative and regenerative by design, it aims to keep products, components and materials at their highest utility and value at all times. […]
Continue reading "Peterborough: UK’s Cathedral City Completes the Circle"
5 November 2015 | by Philip Allin span style=”font-size: 18pt;”>The west Dutch countryside was a source of bitter inspiration for travellers in the late-middle ages. Blighted and apparently useless, it was the definition of a quagmire in one observer’s opinion: “The great Bog of Europe … the buttock of the World, full of veines and […]
23 October 2015 | by Vineeta Shetty Groningers develop their cycling limbs early in life, balancing on the baby carriages of their father’s bicycle as early as four on the way to school. Like their counterparts in Amsterdam and other Dutch cities, multi-dextrous Dutch can be spotted gracefully carrying large sacks, photographing, linking hands and […]
Continue reading "Gas fires Groningen’s smart transition to an energy-neutral future"
