Joe Peach is the Editor-in-Chief at This Big City, which he launched in September 2009. Joe writes articles on sustainable urbanism for numerous websites and magazines, and works as a Technology Strategy Consultant at IBM (with which This Big City has no affiliation). In 2010, Joe won a Sustainability Now Social Media Award in the 'Best Blog Post' category for The Truth About London's Cycle Superhighways, and in 2011 took home the 'Built Environment Blogger of the Year' and 'Best Sustainability Blog' trophies at the Be2 Awards. All views expressed on This Big City are his own. Follow Joe on Twitter, or get in touch via email.
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Where better to look for ideas on how to handle the challenges associated with urban evolution than Asia – a region (quite rightly) synonymous with rapidly-growing cities. Here’s five of our favourite urban innovations from Asia with global potential. |
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With pressure on urban space increasing as populations grow and building becomes more intensive, will gardens be a less common sight in future cities? Those interested in this subject might enjoy the upcoming Serpentine Gallery’s Garden Marathon. |
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As the needs of cities change, older buildings can find themselves redundant. The challenge is to find a new purpose for these buildings, one which is historically respectful but meets the modern needs of a city. That is exactly what has happened in one development in Toronto. |
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With a dismal 2% of all trips made by bicycle in London, now seems like a good time to change our approach to cycling in the British capital. And the readers of This Big City seem to be full of ideas. Here’s our favourites. |
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This Big City’s very first region-specific themed week has drawn to a close, featuring eleven articles exploring urban innovations and Africa. Judging by the feedback received over the last seven days, content has been well received. |
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It is vital that we create balanced cities which prioritise people over automobiles, says sustainability activist Tia Kansara. In this interview, Tia imagines a sustainable future for cities, emphasising the importance of citizen engagement in creating sustainable African cities. |
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A weakness of today’s cities is that they were not built to adapt, says Futurologist Melissa Sterry. In this interview, Melissa presents her vision of future cities, and how Africa can thrive as it urbanises. |
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Mind Mixer from protokulture on Vimeo. |
Town Hall meetings are a nice idea. Invite the community to share their opinions, and improve the area based on their suggestions. Unfortunately, this supposedly democratic process can often become anything but – something MindMixer hopes to solve. |