Sustainable Urban Development
With cities expected to host about 70 percent of the world's population, sustainable urban development is key to making communities worldwide more resilient against the growing threat of climate change. Find out about the latest urban practices from across the world aiming to make our cities more sustainable and inclusive in these good-news stories from The Optimist Daily.
This is what happens when police respond to protesters with compassion
In many cities where the George Floyd protests are taking place, the police have responded to protestors using rubber bullets, riot gear, and tears gas, which seemed to demonstrate the very need for these protests in the first place. But not every interaction between police and protestors turned Read More...
Cities are finally removing Confederate monuments following protests
Shocking as it may seem, more than 700 Confederate monuments remain on display in public spaces in America. Now, thanks to protests in the name of George Floyd, calls for cities to remove monuments dedicated to the Confederacy and its racist ideology have grown louder. And in many places, the Read More...
The surprising reasons a bike boom is great for American cities
COVID-19 has drastically changed not only how much we travel but how we get around. With people looking to get out of the house while avoiding public transit, bicycles are suddenly an enticing choice. They promise speed, freedom, and fresh air on newly quiet streets. Sales of bikes in the US in Read More...
Architects design sustainable housing for changing lifestyles post COVID-19
Remote work may become a permanent way of life for many after the coronavirus crisis ends, with some companies already giving their employees the option to work from home forever. In response to how COVID-19 continues to reshape our lives, Paris-based architecture firm Studio BELEM has proposed Read More...
Here are America’s 10 best sustainable buildings of 2020
Buildings generate nearly 40% of the world’s CO2 emissions—and since two-thirds of the buildings that exist today will still be around by the middle of the century, architects need to rethink their design now to have a chance of meeting goals for a net-zero economy. The industry is shifting, Read More...
London is going all-in on car-free zones
Following in the footsteps of leaders in Milan and New York City who are heeding global calls to #BuildBackBetter from the coronavirus pandemic, London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Friday unveiled plans to create "one of the largest car-free zones in any capital city in the world" to improve local Read More...
Cities that implement bike-share programs see more people bike to work
In the past decade, bike-sharing systems have exploded in popularity across America. Whereas there were only four US cities with a bike-sharing system in 2010, over 50 cities had a bike-share system by 2016. The often brightly colored bikes with whimsical company names promise city dwellers an Read More...
Why green infrastructure could help the economy bounce back after COVID-19
Of the 33 million Americans who have filed for unemployment since the coronavirus crisis began, many expect to get their jobs back—in one recent poll, 77% of workers who have been laid off or furloughed say that they expect their employers to rehire them. But economists say that may be overly Read More...
Seattle to make some of its neighborhoods permanently “car-free”
In April, as the pandemic made parks and sidewalks more crowded in Seattle, the city shut down most traffic on a series of streets to help give people more room for exercise or walking to the grocery store. Now, the city plans to make the changes permanent on 20 miles of streets. Like in other Read More...
New building code paves the way for more sustainable cities
Residential and commercial buildings are responsible for about 40 percent of U.S. energy consumption and GHG emissions. States and cities which approve the new 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) will require new buildings to reduce their overall energy usage by 10 percent compared Read More...