15 March 2016 | by Philip Allin | The triangulation of global warming, desertification and shrinking forests precipitating climate change have led a group of scientists, thinkers and investors to develop a radical approach since 2009. If successful, the project will regenerate vast swathes of the Sahara desert, transforming it into an area both verdant […]
Continue reading "Qatar Sews Seeds for Regreening the Sahara"
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"
7 January 2016 | by Vineeta Shetty For a city that is on the world heritage map as an exquisite city of lakes, attracting the equivalent of twice its population in domestic and international tourists every year, Udaipur has an unbelievable total of eight working public buses plying on two dusty routes. Amazingly also, the city […]
Continue reading "City of Lakes Mirrors India’s Smart Aspirations"
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"
5 October 2015 | by Zeno Bastian In December, at the UN Climate Change Convention in Paris, politicians will struggle for an agreement intended to lead to the drastic reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources that progressive countries will push for, implies an increased efficiency of energy […]
October 1, 2015 | by Trond Johannessen As EU leaders meet to deliberate and negotiate a solution to the ever-growing refugee flows from Syria and many other nations, 23 million Europeans are out of work. The European economy is in its first year of return to growth, while the European Central Bank is pouring liquidity […]
Continue reading "Cities of Joy turn Europe’s refugee crisis into an economic opportunity"
15 September 2014 | by Vineeta Shetty US cities perform most strongly in digital security, while Europe struggles, according to the NEC-sponsored Safe Cities Index, released by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The index tracks 50 world cities across four categories: Digital Security, Health Security, Infrastructure Safety and Personal Safety; The concept of the “smart city” […]
Continue reading "Europe Lags in Digital Security, EIU’s Safe Cities Index 2015 shows"
27 August 2015 | by Philip Allin Any first time visitor who flies to the Netherlands notices it long before they land: this is a well-organised country. From your window seat, you can make out roads, canals, fields and entire conurbations all arranged neatly in geometric formations and parallel lines. Indeed, you can read the […]
Continue reading "Eindhoven’s Light Motif keeps citizens safe…and entertained"
9 July 2015 | by Vineeta Shetty While most cities are struggling to manage the triple helix of collaboration (government, vendor and academia) to improve their smart credentials, the city of Amsterdam has effortlessly strung the fourth strand in its helix: the say-so of community. The DNA of Amsterdam is in trade and its mayor […]
Continue reading "Amsterdam in the Avant-Garde of Anarchic Governance"
