Tag Archives: Resilience

The Global Initiative for Resource Efficient Cities

By , Tuesday, 5 February 2013, 1 Comment

Resource-efficient cities need to look after their city centres through design that keeps them attractive: Seventh Street, St.Paul, Minnesota

One of the positive outcomes to emerge from the Rio+20 summit last year was the UN Environment Programme’s Global Initiative for Resource Efficient Cities (GI- REC) In trying to plot a way towards sustainable urban development it aims to reduce pollution and infrastructure costs while improving efficiency in cities across the world. The GIREC will work with local and national governments, the private sector and civil society groups to promote energy efficient buildings, efficient water use, sustainable waste management and other activities. Read more on The Global Initiative for Resource Efficient Cities…

A new world order? Commonwealth planners report

By , Thursday, 1 November 2012, 2 Comments

"The town centre of Gaborone, Botswana: while growth is stalled in Europe, mineral extraction fuels economies like this in the Global South.

What are the issues that planners across the globe are grappling with? This week I attended a meeting in London of the Commonwealth Association of Planners (CAP). Representatives from Africa, the Caribbean and Americas, Asia, Australasia and the Pacific, and Europe gave fascinating presentations. In the space of an hour we were given a kaleidoscope of planners’ work and concerns – from post-earthquake Christchurch to crime and sprawl in Caribbean islands, from the “jobs and growth” agenda in Europe to the forced removal of people to make way for major infrastructure projects in dynamic African countries. Where does planning go from here? Read more on A new world order? Commonwealth planners report…

Read more on A new world order? Commonwealth planners report…

Building resilient cities

By , Friday, 24 August 2012, 8 Comments

Natural disasters like this earthquake in China are one reason for the growing interest in building resilient cities. (Photo by Dr.Zhang Bing).

I should have been in Abuja this week to speak at the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners conference on “Building Resilient Cities”. Due to lack of time to get a visa, I could not make it. However, I did write a paper and this blog is a summary of it. It reviews current thinking about the idea of resilient cities. This is a theme I have explored in previous blogs on this site.
Read more on Building resilient cities…

New possibilities for using scenario planning tools

By , Monday, 23 April 2012, 1 Comment

Data modeling, Image courtesy ULI

Scenario planning tools are increasingly being used in North America as means of community engagement. The state of the art is reviewed in a new publication that attracted attention at the recent American Planning Association conference in Los Angeles. The development of web-based GIS and mobile phone technologies opens the prospect of a rapid emergence of new techniques that could fundamentally change the way we do planning. Read more on New possibilities for using scenario planning tools…

Making cities and regions more resilient

By , Monday, 16 May 2011, 9 Comments

Flooding in Downtown Brisbane earlier this year. Photo courtesy of Phil Heywood.

This is an exciting time. There is a new confidence in economic geography and regional science. We are seeing the emergence of a set of concepts and propositions that have strong and direct implications for policy makers and practitioners. One of these is the notion of urban and regional resilience. It has been described as a “steering model” for urban and regional development. It offers some pointers for planners and regeneration and economic development professionals. Read more on Making cities and regions more resilient…

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