Climate & nature
Heat, water, flooding and green. The city facing a climate that no longer resembles the one it was designed for.
The city was designed for a climate that no longer exists. Heatwaves, floods and drought arrive at streets built for a different temperature and a different rain, and the difference between a neighbourhood that copes and one that does not lies in very concrete decisions: how much asphalt, how many trees, where the water goes.
This section gathers what we have published on climate change and urban ecology: the heat island, green infrastructure, trees as a public service, water and sanitation, biodiversity in the city, resilience to flooding. And the infrastructure that holds everything else up — energy, waste, networks — which is only noticed when it fails.
- Infrastructure
Cities Link and Rank Within an Invisible System
A city receives goods, people and information throughout the day. At the same time, it sends services and…
3 min read - Infrastructure
Megaprojects fail due to power dynamics and biased planning
This article explores why megaprojects fail despite rational planning, focusing on power and bias. It highlights…
3 min read - Urban ecology
Urban nature and power dynamics
We open a tap and water appears. We put out a bag and waste disappears from our street. A park looks like nature,…
3 min read - Urban ecology
Technology and Urban Inequality
A train crosses a city without stopping in every neighborhood. Beneath the ground, energy, communications and data…
Stephen Graham 3 min read - Urban ecology
Where does your trash go after you throw it away?
At eight in the evening you leave a black bag beside the doorway. By seven in the morning it is gone.
4 min read - Urban ecology
Water, a resource not everyone can enjoy equally
A city of nearly four million people receives an order: fifty litres per person per day. One household figure…
4 min read - Climate change
The shadow, a divisive privilege in extreme heat
A July afternoon at a bus stop with no shelter. Half a dozen people standing, squeezed into the narrow strip of…
4 min read - Climate change
Resilience is just a mask for resignation
A street covered in mud. Residents with buckets and brooms have been bailing water since dawn.
4 min read - Urban ecology
The green that pushes out original residents
A working-class neighbourhood finally gets what it asked for over years. A new park, trees, a green corridor where…
3 min read - Urban ecology
Smart for whom? The other side of smart city rankings
There's a promise that gets repeated at every conference, in every municipal brochure, in every press release: this…
Shoshana Zuboff 3 min read - Infrastructure
15 minutes City: Urban Planning Concept Became the New World Order's Master Plan
You have to give the contemporary conspiracy machine some credit: it has an extraordinary talent for finding…
Carlos Moreno 3 min read - Climate change
David Simon: Climate Resilience in Global South Cities
David Simon explores how cities in the Global South can adapt to climate change through sustainable urban planning.
David Simon 2 min read - Climate change
Urban Resilience Explained: How Cities Rebuild After Disasters
The book **“The Resilient City: How Modern Cities Recover from Disaster”** (2005), by Lawrence Vale and Thomas…
2 min read - Climate change
Lawrence Vale and Thomas Campanella: Urban Resilience
This article explores how cities recover from disasters, focusing on urban resilience. It highlights the role of…
2 min read - Urban ecology
Ian McHarg Urban Design in Harmony with Nature
Ian McHarg's 'Design with Nature' introduced ecological principles to urban planning, promoting sustainable…
2 min read - Climate change
Catherine McGuirk: Urban Resilience and Climate Adaptation
Catherine McGuirk explores how cities can adapt to climate change through resilience and sustainability. Cities…
2 min read - Urban ecology
Karen Bakker: Water, Environmental Justice, Urban Sustainability
Karen Bakker explores water access, environmental justice, and urban sustainability. Water is a key element in…
Karen Bakker 2 min read - Infrastructure
Stephen Graham and Simon Marvin: Splintering Urbanism and Inequality
“Splintering Urbanism” (2001) by Stephen Graham and Simon Marvin examines how fragmented urban infrastructures…
Stephen Graham 2 min read - Climate change
Harriet Bulkeley Climate Governance
Harriet Bulkeley explores urban climate governance and its role in sustainable cities. Learn how cities lead in…
Harriet Bulkeley 2 min read - Infrastructure
Critical Infrastructure Vulnerability
Critical infrastructure vulnerability affects urban security and quality of life. Learn how cities can improve…
Stephen Graham 2 min read - Infrastructure
Ash Amin: Everyday Life and Infrastructure in Social Cohesion
Ash Amin explores how urban infrastructure and everyday interactions shape social cohesion and community well-being.
Ash Amin 2 min read - Infrastructure
Urban Infrastructure and Power Dynamics
Urban infrastructure shapes city life through political and economic decisions. Discover how power influences…
3 min read - Urban ecology
María Kaika Ecological Flows in Urban Infrastructure
María Kaika, a Greek architect and geographer, has made fundamental contributions to the study of urban…
María Kaika 2 min read - Urban ecology
Circular Urbanism: Transforming Cities Toward Sustainability
Circular urbanism is an innovative approach to urban planning that applies the principles of the circular economy…
2 min read - Urban ecology
Jennifer Wolch: Environmental Justice and Green Planning in Cities
Jennifer Wolch, a distinguished American geographer and urban planner, has been a pioneer in the fields of…
Jennifer Wolch 2 min read - Urban ecology
Regenerative urbanism: polluting less is not enough
Sustainability asks cities to reduce harm. Regenerative urbanism asks them to repair it: to give back more to their…
3 min read - Urban ecology
Green infrastructure: the city that manages its climate
Parks, green roofs and wetlands are not ornament: they lower temperature, absorb rainfall and replace grey…
3 min read - Climate change
Urban Resilience: Adaptation and Social Justice in Crisis
Urban resilience and adaptive capacity have become critical issues in a world increasingly affected by crises such…
2 min read - Urban ecology
Right to Water and Environmental Justice: Urban Struggles for Equity
The right to water and environmental justice are fundamental issues in the urban context
Mike Davis 2 min read - Urban ecology
Urban Biodiversity: Integrating Nature and Cities
The protection of natural heritage and urban biodiversity has become an increasingly important challenge as cities…
2 min read - Urban ecology
Urban Reforestation: Key to a Sustainable Future
Urban reforestation has gained increasing importance as a key strategy to address climate change and improve…
David Nowak 3 min read - Urban ecology
Urban Agriculture: Solution for Food Sustainability
Urban agriculture has emerged as an innovative solution for addressing the challenges of food sustainability in…
2 min read - Urban ecology
Erik Swyngedouw and the Power of Water: 'Liquid Power' and Modernization
Erik Swyngedouw, in his work Liquid Power: Contested Hydro-Modernities in Twentieth-Century Spain
2 min read - Urban ecology
Sustainable Cities: Transforming the Urban Future
Urban sustainability and the green economy have become increasingly important in the 21st century as cities attempt…
2 min read - Urban ecology
Energy Transition: Toward Sustainable and Future Cities
The energy transition in cities is essential for reducing carbon emissions and mitigating climate change.
Richard Florida 2 min read - Urban ecology
Urban Political Ecology: Power and Natural Resources
Urban political ecology is an interdisciplinary field that examines the interaction between ecological systems and…
3 min read - Urban ecology
Sustainable Cities: Waste Management and Circular Economy
Urban waste management has become an increasing challenge due to rapid urban population growth and rising…
2 min read - Infrastructure
Urban Infrastructure: Key to Economic Competitiveness
Urban infrastructure quality plays a fundamental role in the economic competitiveness of cities.
Richard Florida 2 min read - Climate change
Cities in the Age of Climate Change: How Will Metropolises Survive?
The book *Extreme Cities: The Peril and Promise of Urban Life in the Age of Climate Change* (2017) by Ashley Dawson…
2 min read - Urban ecology
Circular Economy: Transforming Sustainable Cities
The circular economy has become a key approach for promoting sustainability in contemporary cities.
3 min read - Urban ecology
Toward Sustainable Cities: The Key to Territorial Planning
Land-use planning and territorial planning are central issues in the organization and development of modern cities.
Edward Glaeser 2 min read - Urban ecology
Urban River Re-naturalization: Toward Sustainable Cities
The re-naturalization of urban rivers has gained increasing attention in recent decades as a strategy to restore…
3 min read - Urban ecology
Water and Power: Unpacking Water Management in Sustainable Cities
El agua es un recurso estratégico en la ciudad contemporánea, cuya gestión articula dimensiones técnicas, políticas…
Karen Bakker 1 min read - Infrastructure
Urban Energy: Key to Sustainable and Resilient Cities
Urban energy policy has become critically important in the current context, as cities face major challenges related…
2 min read - Climate change
Urbanization and Sustainability: How Cities Tackle Climate Change
Global urbanization and sustainability have become central topics in contemporary urban studies
2 min read
Nothing matches that search.
Shorts
’s Green Myth One of Europe’s capitals…
Killer heat
Sponge Cities The city that stopped fighting water
Cities Are Hiding SECRET Jungles on Their Walls!
Total flooding. Why expanding a city under climate change multiplies flood risk
HafenCity. The Futuristic District That Quietly Redefined a City
Underground Cities. The climate solution isn’t above us… it’s hidden beneath our feet
Color and Climate. The color that cools cities without air conditioning
Healing parks. A tree on your street isn't decoration. It's a medical intervention
Invisible infrastructures. The city’s most powerful highway can’t be seen
Cities Are Running Out of Land… So They’re Building on Water
vs Highways. Imagine a highway. Now imagine your city destroys it
More from the channel ↗