Trees-as-Infrastructure: Ensuring Cool, Green and Resilient Cities
Recently, I had the privilege of interviewing Päivi Raivio, a Helsinki-based urban designer and placemaker recognized for her innovative work on people-centered public spaces. With a background in creative urban interventions and community engagement, Raivio’s projects demonstrate how thoughtful design can make cities more vibrant, inclusive, and welcoming for every season.
Milton Keynes is testing driverless buses as part of its efforts to enhance urban mobility
Author | Raquel C. Pico One of the main challenges cities worldwide must address is the optimization of urban mobility. Modern transportation must respond to the growing demands of citizen mobility, the increasing urban population, and sustainability goals that call for green and clean transport solutions. The real challenge lies in how to achieve this. […]
Walking the walk: Central and Eastern European cities leading the way in active mobility
Recently, I had the privilege of interviewing Päivi Raivio, a Helsinki-based urban designer and placemaker recognized for her innovative work on people-centered public spaces. With a background in creative urban interventions and community engagement, Raivio’s projects demonstrate how thoughtful design can make cities more vibrant, inclusive, and welcoming for every season.
Paris has already cut its air pollution by half, but this is only the beginning
Author | Raquel C. Pico Air pollution remains one of the main challenges cities must address. Pollution has become an urban nightmare, directly affecting people’s health. It is linked to a rise in various illnesses and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, posing a threat to the planet and demanding urgent action. Major cities and State […]
The Sounds –or Noises– of Cities: Can Electric Mobility Make a City More Inclusive?
This is a guest post by Lucía Bellocchio, founder and executive director of Trend Smart Cities. Lucía has extensive experience working on urban innovation, and has written in leading media outlets in South America like La Nación, El Observador, Clarín or TN. A few weeks ago, while browsing a bookstore, I came across a children’s […]
Habitat 67: a brutalist icon where suburban home meets urban apartment
Author | Lucía Burbano Now that the polarizing brutalism has returned to the spotlight with the movie The Brutalist, we revisit an icon that epitomizes this functional, geometric architecture rooted in reinforced concrete: Habitat 67, located in Canada, stands proudly among the classics of brutalist architecture, rivaling icons like the Barbican in London, Las Torres […]
How Cities Are Placing People at the Center of Urban Mobility Transformations
Recently, I had the privilege of interviewing Päivi Raivio, a Helsinki-based urban designer and placemaker recognized for her innovative work on people-centered public spaces. With a background in creative urban interventions and community engagement, Raivio’s projects demonstrate how thoughtful design can make cities more vibrant, inclusive, and welcoming for every season.
Cleaner, quieter, more affordable: How pneumatic waste collection works
Author | Elvira Esparza Can you imagine not waking up to the disruptive noise of a waste collection truck emptying bins in the middle of the night? In some cities, this is now possible thanks to the installation of underground pneumatic waste collection systems. This system not only minimizes noise but also helps keep streets […]
From Streets to Society: How Urban Planning is Shaping a Human-Centered Future
Recently, I had the privilege of interviewing Päivi Raivio, a Helsinki-based urban designer and placemaker recognized for her innovative work on people-centered public spaces. With a background in creative urban interventions and community engagement, Raivio’s projects demonstrate how thoughtful design can make cities more vibrant, inclusive, and welcoming for every season.
The water scarcity problem (and how cities are preparing to tackle it)
Author | Lucía Burbano According to the latest State of Global Water Resources report, published in 2023 by the World Meteorological Organization, the water cycle is becoming increasingly disrupted due to climate change and human activities. This imbalance is leading to extreme droughts and violent showers, both of which are causing devastating consequences for millions […]