Urban resource consumption and waste disposal is widely seen as the root cause of many of the world’s environmental problems. Because so much damage has already been done to the world’s ecosystems, and solutions need to be found to reverse it, we need to start thinking of regenerative rather than just sustainable urban development.
There is no better time to witness the shortsightedness of governments than around elections. With municipal elections just around the corner in Mumbai, a whole raft of new promises are being made to certain slum dwellers...
There are many celebrated ideas and personalities in urban development, but how many survive the test of time? Two writers reflect on the legacy of John Turner, a quiet hero of global urbanism.
How can we reimagine a public space divided by civil war, sectarianism and redevelopment? Rather than sophisticated urban design, Tanya Gallo argues that allowing public space to retain its indeterminacy will keep it accessible for all citizens.
Seminar series funded by the Urban Studies Foundation and the Urban Studies Journal Seminar Series Competition
Seminar series funded by the Urban Studies Foundation and the Urban Studies Journal Seminar Series Competition
Yusaf Samiullah OBE argues for the complexity of urban environments, stating that this is what international development organisations must apprehend and address if they are to improve the quality of urban livelihoods.
Slum neighbourhoods are teeming with industry and commerce, yet the policy sphere still tends to treat them as residential spaces alone. What are the consequences of this misconception, and is it time to invoke a right to space, not just of housing?
There is much happiness and much misery amongst the urban poor, as these portraits of three households in Manila testify. The point is not to draw lines between them, but to accept that poverty has several gradations, all of which require assistance.
Despite its hilly topography and a legal injunction that prevented it from developing its bicycle network for four years, cycle use in San Francisco has grown to set the standard for US cities.
Alan Gilbert doesn't believe there is one, but if one must speak of a global urban agenda, he would point to local private sector lobbies as the common force driving similar agendas in cities around the world.
Martyrs' Square was the focal point for the 2005 demonstrations that saw Syria relinquish control of Lebanon. How do its citizens now regard this polarising space, and how should placemakers respond? Tanya Gallo investigates.
Eminent housing and urban development consultant Geoffrey Payne offers a personal view on the international framework governing the global urban agenda.
A freelance writer, researcher and consultant on contemporary urbanism, with specific research interests including public space and the public realm…
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The Global Urbanist is an online magazine reviewing urban affairs and urban development issues in cities throughout the developed and developing world.
Its readers are drawn from the urban policy and international development sectors, and include urban planners, officers in local, national or international government agencies, civil society leaders, and researchers.
