Greener cities in 2012

published on 13 January 2012

The start of the New Year is an opportunity to look back at projects from 2011 and look forward to developments in 2012. We will continue to bring you stories, videos, and photos of the latest news on environmentally friendly urban design. On the international stage, Brazil and the United Kingdom have earned high marks with low-cost ecological projects. This month, the web also focuses on initiatives for the cities of tomorrow. From connected urban design to collaborative movements, there is no shortage of ideas designed to improve quality of life without wasting or spoiling natural resources.

Overseas: low-cost ecology

London remains loyal to containers

Following its “Container City” initiative (a neighbourhood made up entirely of recovered shipping containers), the British capital was bound to repeat the experience. At the end of 2011, a shopping centre known as “Boxpark” was opened in the Shoreditch district. While it is only a temporary structure, this “pop-up mall” aptly combines sustainable development, consumer culture, and trendiness. A success story applauded by This Big City.

Brazil: making ecology economically viable
The city of Curibita is a model of green community development accessible to all social strata. A case in point is its “rapid bus” and “surface subway” systems, funded by a new kind of public-private partnership; the transit systems have become profitable despite the ridiculously low fares they charge users. Mayor Lerner, who initiated these projects, granted an online interview to Grist.

Innovation

Cities as living organisms

Cities’ emerging ability to go online autonomously and retrieve information from the “cloud” is a development that brings the concept of “smart cities” closer to reality. The “Internet of Things” is the name given to a system created by a small group of engineers that transforms cities into “living organisms.” Thanks to high-performance and interconnected hydraulic infrastructure, for example, the system allows cities to consult weather reports online in efforts to optimize the management of storm water, flood risk, and water collection networks.

Cities on the big screen

Are cities equipped to face the challenges of the 21st century, including increasing population, influx from rural areas, sustainable infrastructure, and transportation management? Urbanized, a feature-length documentary by Gary Hustwit, explores the difficulties cities face, including issues such as housing, the environment, and mobility. See the film trailer on YouTube.

Collaborative urban development

Technology and connectedness will not necessarily shape the future of urban design. On the contrary, there is an emerging DIY (do-it-yourself) trend, also known as “tactical urbanism, which entails the building of closer ties with immediate neighbours and the physical occupation of urban space (such as car parks) as well as taking the time to share viewpoints. Collaborative urbanism encompasses a wide range of projects, as reported by Engaging Cities.

Architecture

Photo: the new Tel Aviv Museum

Discover pictures and floor plans of the new wing of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, designed by architect Preston Scott Cohen. On the outside, the Museum features vast geometrical shapes; on the inside, spacious and luminous halls, including six storeys, three galleries, and 18,500 m2 of floor space devoted to avant-garde works of art.