Focus

Colloquium "What is that drives public action on urban mobility issues ?"

03 April 2012

“The Making of Movement” provided an overview of concrete projects that feed both the controversy and debate around urban mobility issues in different metropolises in three parts of the world: China, Latin America and Europe.This international research program, headed by the Institut pour la ville en mouvement (IVM, City on the Move Institute), with its China and Latin American chairs and La Fabrique de la Cité, has brought together, on March 26 and 27, almost 300 people: researchers, academics, city planners, contractors, transportation operators and students, around the question "What is it that drives (or not) public action on urban mobility issues? find out more

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Focus

Looking for legacy : for a sustainable impact of major sports infrastructure

31 January 2012

At a time when more and more major sports events are being planned (London 2012 Olympic Games, Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Russia, Euro 2016 in France, Rio 2016 Olympic Games, etc.), La Fabrique de la Cité/The City Factory decided to explore the potential impact of major new sports facilities on urban areas at its seminar, “Looking for Legacy: for a sustainable impact of major sports infrastructure” held in London on January 25, 2012. find out more

Focus

Co-creating the digital city

21 December 2011

Some 75 percent of French people consider that digital sciences have made useful contributions to the transportation sector; however, one in three do not consider that digital technology is useful for the environment, agriculture or art. Those are the findings of a barometric survey presented by the Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (INRIA) at the Metro’num forum, held in Bordeaux on December 8 and 9, 2011, on the theme, “Co-creating the digital city.” find out more

Focus

New technologies and mobility

02 December 2011

On Thursday, November 24, 2011 in Nice, The City Factory explored the following question: “Technologies designed to serve mobility or vice versa?”To make transportation infrastructure more effective, Carlo Ratti, Director of the SENSEable City Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) presented, at The City Factory’s seminar, experiments currently under way in a number of large cities, notably, Venice, Copenhagen, and Singapore. find out more

Focus

Toward strategies designed to enhance the drawing power of intermediate metropolises

15 November 2011

How can quality of life be enhanced in “intermediate metropolises,” which may be defined as medium-sized cities whose scope is primarily regional? This was one of the key questions raised by the International Urban Development Association (INTA) at its annual congress, which was held in Lyon and Grenoble from November 6 to 10. find out more

Focus

Spotlight on a liege neighbourhood

05 October 2011

It was in Sclessin, a disadvantaged industrial area in Liège, that the Social Light Movement (SLM) organized its first Social Light Workshop to promote one of its founding concepts, that of “social lighting”: beyond its purely functional aspect, light has a role to play in social cohesion and the integration of marginalized neighbourhoods into the urban fabric. “Light is a right, not a privilege,” the movement’s manifesto proclaims. find out more

Focus

Which governance for public spaces in the city of the future ?

26 September 2011

The seminar organized by La Fabrique de la Cité in May 2011, in Barcelona, made it possible to progress on the issue of public spaces in the city of the future.  A study, titled "Governance of public spaces - International benchmarks", was led under the scientific supervision of Marcus Zepf, an engineer-architect and a professor who runs the Urban Institute of Grenoble (IUG). This study aims at presenting innovative ideas about the stakes of public spaces governance by examinig eight public space projects in seven international cities.Emerging trends in public-space governance illustrate issues and developments associated with: the diversity of players involved in the process of designing and implementing urban spaces; the impact on project flexibility; and stakeholder opportunities to plan future development.The City Factory asked 3 questions to Marcus Zepf. Let's read the interview and find the 8 case studies. find out more

Focus

Lighting: a major urban issue

31 August 2011

Several groups that support the importance of lighting in urban development have sprung up throughout Europe. Their focus is people and their experience as dwellers of urban environments. Lighting plays a functional role in cities, but its social dimension is just as important. There are many ways to view lighting and how it should be deployed in cities. As a result, lighting is more than a practical consideration in urban development: it is also a matter of sensory experience. That is why people should be consulted as part of efforts to develop lighting schemes. find out more

Focus

"The idea of population mingling is very strong"

30 August 2011

Denis Pingaud, Executive Vice-President of OpinionWay, presents the results of an opinion poll of 4,000 Europeans living in Paris, London, Barcelona, and Hamburg on their vision and understanding of the notion of public space. find out more

Focus

Hamburg at the forefront of environmental issues

22 August 2011

Hamburg has been elected European Green Capital 2011 and is coming to you with its “Train of Ideas.”This train has been travelling across Europe since May 1, 2011, and stoped in Paris (Austerlitz station) from September 1 to 4, 2011.On board, visitors were able to participate in the exhibition Visions for Future Cities. find out more

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