Africa

Famous Mexico City traffic

Report: Congestion Defeats the Economic Purpose of Cities

Rapid urbanization and over-reliance on the inefficiencies of automobiles has set back the economies of urbanizing locations in the Global South, according to a new report.

May 29, 2019 - Thomson Reuters Foundation

Thailand

New on Netflix: How Street Vendors Create Vibrant Cities

Street vending has been a contentious issue in many places, but this part of the informal economy is important to the social and economic well-being of cities.

May 28, 2019 - CityLab

Burundi

African Country Moving its Capital City

The nation of Burundi is moving Gitega.

December 29, 2018 - Quartz

TGV Train

High-Speed Rail Arrives in Africa

Trains will travel at 320 kilometers per hour between the cities of Tangier and Casablanca.

November 16, 2018 - The North African Post

Houston Flood

Houston Flooding: Climate Change or Development Patterns to Blame?

The Guardian's former environmental editor asks if urban sprawl is as much to blame as climate change for the flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in Houston.

September 9, 2017 - Guardian

Rosa Parks, Jane Jacobs, Frederick Law Olmsted

Poll: Who Are the Most Influential Urbanists?

The world has changed since Planetizen crowdsourced its "Top Urban Thinkers" in 2009. Which urban planners, designers, doers, and dreamers do you think have had the most influence on the world?

August 21, 2017 - Planetizen

City of Kigali, Rwanda

Property Tax in Africa

The rapidly growing and urbanizing continent of Africa offers lessons in property tax.

July 21, 2017 - At Lincoln House

Nigeria

Land Grabs and Inequity in the New African Mega Cities

Callus city builders in Africa must account for the poor as well as the rich argues Mathias Agbo Jr. in a piece for Common Edge.

June 2, 2017 - Common Edge

Johannesburg, South Africa

Bike Lanes For Who? Johannesburg's Bike Lanes Prove Divisive

The placement of new bike lanes in the city of Johannesburg has become yet another symbol of inequality between rich-white and poor-black residents.

December 3, 2016 - The Independent (UK)

Global Agreement Reached to Limit 'Super Greenhouse Gas Emissions'

An historic agreement reached by 170 global leaders in Kigali, Rwanda on October 15 to limit hydrofluorocarbons could have more of an impact on reducing climate change than the carbon emission agreement reached in Paris ten days earlier.

October 17, 2016 - The New York Times

Building Permanent Paths out of Poverty

One Tanzanian nonprofit is putting the focus on skill-building to fight poverty. David Lambert, an engineer with Arup, discusses the nonprofit's latest endeavor, a new vocational school near the town of Same.

August 17, 2016 - Doggerel

Kayoola: Uganda's Solar Powered Bus

The Kiira Motor Corporation of Uganda has developed a 35-seat bus that includes solar panels on the roof. The bus travels up to 50 miles on two rechargeable batteries. Due to its limited range, the Kayoola is intended for inner-city travel.

February 6, 2016 - Grist

How the Internet of Things Helps to Bridge the Digital Divide

Internet access and digital skills unlock the Internet of Things (IoT). Applications such as telecommuting, virtual meetings, app-enabled public transport, smart cars, and smart logistics can curb emissions and create sustainable growth.

January 13, 2016 - Cities of the Future

Should Egypt Build a New Capital to Replace Cairo?

Reviewing the plausibility of replacing the thousand-year-old capital of Cairo with a new, master planner, $45 billion capital city.

June 18, 2015 - Global Site Plans

Egypt Proposes a New $45 Billion Capital City

It's notable that one of the world's oldest countries and the birthplace of one its most ancient cultures, would want to build an entirely new capital. Questions, like, "Will it work?" and "Will it actually happen?" remain to be answered.

March 16, 2015 - The Guardian

Seizing the Moment: Nations Slash Energy Subsidies as Oil Prices Fall

Just as plummeting oil prices have caused state and federal political leaders to consider raising gas taxes, leaders in developing nations, both oil producers and consumers, are considering reductions in national energy subsidies.

February 5, 2015 - The New York Times

Glasgow

The Undeniable Urbanism of the 'Plot'

According to researchers and practitioners in the United Kingdom, there's still room for another urbanism. Chuck Wolfe digests the recent Summit on Plot-Based Urbanism from Glasgow.

November 14, 2014 - myurbanist

The Look and Feel of 'Inherently Urban'

Greek orators, current solution-based efforts, and 25 photographs remind us of the central role of human opportunity in the urban environment.

October 1, 2014 - The Huffington Post

World population

New Grim Population Projection: 11 Billion People

So much for the conventional wisdom that world population would peak at 9 billion by 2050 and then decline. A new analysis shatters it, concluding population will rise to 11 or 12 billion by 2100, and possibly continue growing.

September 29, 2014 - The Guardian

On the Political Effects of Transportation Infrastructure

A comparison of road conditions in Rwanda and Mali—the former an autocracy with sterling roads, the latter a democracy where poor road conditions reveal a deep divide in the country.

September 1, 2014 - Foreign Policy

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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.