Cities and Communities
How can policymakers help make growing global urbanization sustainable? How are technology and data reshaping urban policy? Can we build better cities?
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An Effective Public Private Partnership Solution for Addressing Sanitation in Slums: The Suvidha Centers in India
One model to provide sanitation in India's slums is Suvidha (‘convenience’ in Hindi) centers: modern and large community water and sanitation complexes. The centers provide an important service to the community, provide employment, build capacity among workers and are financially sustainable.Explore all Articles
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Think Global, Act Local: European Cities on the Front Lines of Climate Action
08.13.19
BY NIKHIL KUMAR Upon her election as chair of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group in 2016, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo declared, “C40 member cities are determining the course of our planet’s future.”[1] (C40 is a group of more than 90 cities organized to combat climate change at the municipal level.[2]) Indeed, as societies become […]
Of Kings, Pawns and Horse-Trading: Barriers to Transportation Solutions in the Philippines
08.8.19
BY REGGIE B. RAMOS World War II leveled Manila. The war destroyed infrastructure and seriously damaged critical parts of Southeast Asia’s first railway system. In response to the devastation and operators’ failure to address transportation demands, army-surplus trucks were repurposed into “Jeepneys” intended to accommodate 16–24 passengers. Temporary certificates to operate were extended to underfinanced […]
Movement Matters: Why We Should Commit to Universal Basic Mobility
07.30.19
BY DANIEL COMEAUX Whether by car, train, foot, wheelchair, bike, or any of the other ways humanity has invented to move through the places we call home, just about everybody relies on transportation systems as part of their daily lives. This is not new and is not likely to change. But if the headlines […]
3D Titling: Comments on the Introduction of the Transfer of Development Rights to Peru
07.15.19
Abstract The transfer of development rights is an instrument of urban policy originally used in the United States. It allows the owners of landmarks in a city to sell their air rights to developers for them to build over the standard height limits of their properties. The article explains the recent introduction of the mechanism […]
Why a 13th Year of School for Boston’s Brightest isn’t Enough
06.18.19
BY ANISHA VACHANI In January, the Boston Globe released its stunning Valedictorians Project. This landmark report found that a quarter of Boston high school valedictorians from 2005 to 2007 did not finish college within six years of graduating at the top of their class. More than a decade later, four in 10 make less than […]
Building Local Government Capacity to Resist White Nationalism in Eugene, Oregon
06.12.19
BY STEFAN NORGAARD AND BRADY ROBERTS Despite its reputation as a liberal college town, more political-extremist individuals and entities call Eugene, Oregon home than any other United States city as measured by a compilation of official data on crime in the United States published by the FBI. Eugene is victimized by 42 hate crimes per […]
A Million-Ton Disaster: America’s Recycling is Trash
06.6.19
BY LISA SETRAKIAN What happens to your recycling when the noisy, traffic-inducing truck picks it up each week? If you are like me, you picture it arriving at a nearby plant and then magically getting reincarnated. The reality is more complicated. First, our recycling is cleaned, sorted, and packaged into bales at local Materials Recovery […]
Invisible Walls: The Hyper-Density of Colombian Cities and What It Means to You
04.22.19
Bogota is 13 times denser than New York City.[1] Colombian cities are 100 percent denser than the global average and 126 percent denser than cities in Latin America.[2] Until now, the consensus has been that the largest determinants of density are population and income. An increase in population increases demand around an economic hub, increasing […]
Partisanship is Nothing New for Mayors: An Interview with former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu
03.21.19
INTERVIEW BY KEVIN FRAZIER Former Mayor of New Orleans Mitch Landrieu (2010-2018) knows what it means to govern amid scarce resources and divisive politics. So it comes as no surprise that many think he would make a competitive candidate for president in 2020. Whether or not he enters the race, what’s clear is that America […]
What to Expect From US-Latin America Relations in the Era of Bolsonaro? by Nicolás Albertoni and Luis Schenoni
03.14.19
A new political juncture brews in Latin American countries, amidst the rise of populist leaders and a general discontent with the ruling parties and elites of the past few decades. This article explores how, despite the notable challenges ahead, the current situation could also open opportunities by shaking up the status quo of regional integration, […]
Rethinking the Push Towards a Cash-Free Society
03.3.19
As part of the Smart Nation initiative, the government has been pushing for Singapore to go fully cashless within the next few years. Soh Kian Peng lays out the benefits and drawbacks of this move and explains why a complete switch away from cash might not be desirable.
Lobbying Pays, But for Whom? The Case of the US-China Trade War
02.28.19
BY LUIS CARLOS RAMIREZ MARTINEZ In the last two decades, the United States has fought at least two trade wars. Both times, the key battleground has been steel, and lobbyists have been in the thick of it. However, one would have to go back almost four decades, to 1981 in fact, to find another example […]