Jan 07, 2015
In the last few years technology has begun to impact upon how we travel, but it has perhaps had even more impact on how we treat time and space. The introduction of personal ICTs has allowed for the making of just-in-time plans. Flexibility is the key indicator for plans which can be changed at a…
Dec 28, 2014
Songdo International Business District is conceptualized as the ultimate smart and sustainable city and a testing ground for leading-edge technological infrastructure by Cisco Systems; all dimensions of life are integrated: real estate, utilities, transportation, education, health and government. Built on tidal flats, 64 km from Seoul within the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ), South Korea’s…
Dec 21, 2014
Rawabi, meaning ‘hills’, is located centrally within the West Bank and is Palestine’s first planned city. It aims to improve living standards, boost employment and act as a major catalyst of economic growth. It accommodates a variety of lifestyles and is designed for a multi-religious population. Geo-political controversy has risen regarding the development, as Palestinians…
Dec 18, 2014
Putrajaya was designed to consolidate the government ministries in one location to attain greater efficiency for a growing government. The decision to move out of Kuala Lumpur was taken in order to relieve traffic congestion and to allow the government to convert all government properties into commercial developments. As the new capital, Putrajaya was designed…
Dec 17, 2014
Several years ago, the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure and the Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design partnered to create the Envision Sustainability Rating System. This pioneering rating system considers how infrastructure performs in terms of sustainability, and also in terms of durability, flexibility and utility of the proposed…
Dec 16, 2014
From San Francisco to Seattle to New York, tech companies are increasingly choosing to base themselves in city centers rather than in Silicon Valley. Understanding the factors pulling tech inside city walls not only suggests a new paradigm for the industry, but also has major implications for urban economic development and policy. Over the past…
Dec 15, 2014
King Mohammed VI Green City (VVM6) is the first city-building venture of Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP), the world’s largest exporter of phosphate fertilizers. The city is located between Casablanca and Marrakesh, adjacent to Benguerir, an existing city of 80,000 people, which hosts OCP’s second largest operations. The heart of the city will be the…
Dec 11, 2014
Lavasa is a private city located in a remote part of western India, 50 miles from Pune and close to the Pune-Mumbai corridor. As India’s first post-independence planned hill city, Lavasa follows the principles of new urbanism to prioritize walkable and accessible neighborhoods with a sustainable focus. 70% of the land is designated as natural…
Dec 10, 2014
President Joko Widodo faces multiple challenges as he begins his mandate. One area that is of absolutely critical importance is making sure that 21st century Indonesian cities become more livable, sustainable and dynamic. Given the new President’s background, first as mayor of Surakarta and then as governor of Jakarta, he surely understands the importance of…
Dec 08, 2014
Located on the coast of the Red Sea, 100 km north of Jeddah, King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) is one of four new cities being created in Saudi Arabia to promote industrial expansion, diversify its economy away from oil, and to provide housing and job opportunities for a young population, 65% of which are under…
Dec 05, 2014
This post is part of our Re-imagining Cities discussion series, following the third edition of the NewCities Summit in Dallas in June 2014. Hailing from four continents, the six city chiefs on the closing panel each addressed the biggest challenges they envisage for inclusive cities today and tomorrow. Mayor Mpho Franklyn Parks Tau stressed that…
Dec 04, 2014
Strategically located at the tip of the peninsula of Malaysia and adjacent to Singapore, Iskandar Malaysia is the single largest special economic zone ever to be developed in the region. The purpose of the development is to transform southern Johor state into a high income and sustainable metropolis of international standing. We want to be…
