City Monitor

25/11/2020

Take the survey: Are you considering relocating in 2021? - City Monitor

Have changes in your working conditions or home life led you to consider moving soon, or have you moved already? Please tell us about it in this short survey.

City Monitor would like to know more about how the events of this year may have changed your ideas about where you want to live. Please take our survey.

25/11/2020

Will anyone want to host the next Olympics? - City Monitor

Large events like the Olympics have long been attractive to cities for the economic and infrastructural opportunities that come with them. But there are fundamental conflicts between the immediate needs of an event and the needs of a city in the long run.

The conflicts between the short-term needs of events and the long-term needs of the city almost always result in the city losing out.

20/11/2020

Berliners want to expropriate 250,000 homes. Here's what stands in their way - City Monitor

A growing movement in Berlin is calling on the government to expropriate all landlords that own more than 3,000 homes.

A group of housing advocates are proposing a radical plan: transferring ownership of a quarter of a million apartments to the people.

19/11/2020

Intergenerational home sharing lowers rent and increases happiness - City Monitor

Intergenerational housing helps the elderly financially and psychologically while offering a useful alternative to the housing that's typically directed at young people.

Programmes that match seniors with students increase the supply of affordable housing while decreasing both living costs and social isolation.

19/11/2020

What power do US mayors really have? - City Monitor

"Whatever economic-development policies you think you’re adopting, they’re not likely to work."

Legal scholar Richard Schragger argues that the US's mayors focus on policies far outside their control and lose sight of real ways they can effect change.

18/11/2020

The urban-rural divide only deepened in the 2020 US election - City Monitor

Heavily urban areas have long been associated with larger shares of Democratic voting, but the results of this year’s election show that this relationship is becoming more extreme, with bigger swings in the vote towards the Democrats tending to occur in more densely populated counties.

The biggest, and ultimately decisive, swings towards the Democrats in terms of vote share occurred in more densely populated counties.

18/11/2020

Cleveland is still suffering from the last recession. It can't afford another.

The successful Cleveland of the mid-1900s is largely gone, gnawed down to the bone by some of the most inexorable forces in US history: anti-Black racism, deindustrialisation, population decline, state-level interference and aggressive suburbanisation.

To deal with this staggering social crisis, the city has largely been left on its own – and that seems likely to happen again.

Austerity feeds on the US's unique form of urban decline. To understand how, just look to Cleveland's ongoing cycle of recessions and budget cuts.

17/11/2020

After 2020, who even wants to run for mayor?

Mayors have a complicated reputation in US politics as leaders of one of the weakest forms of government, and one that is the closest to the people. That can make governing through these crises extremely difficult.

Several major US cities will hold mayoral elections in 2021. But in an age of overlapping crises, ambitious candidates might just opt out.

16/11/2020

Smart City Live 2020 | Smart City Live 2020

We’re pleased to be a media partner of TomorrowCity and Smart City Expo World Congress, a two-day virtual summit beginning Tuesday that explores how to accelerate the recovery of urban ecosystems and deliver better services to citizens. Register for free at the link below.

Be part of the worldwide digital native event for cities, November 17-18. A unique, two-day digital experience on what’s next in urban solutions.

14/11/2020

Bogotá wants to get more women on bikes - City Monitor

Bogotá bills itself as the bike capital of the world, and it certainly feels that way each Sunday morning. But the city is still figuring out how to be bike-friendly after the party ends.

Cycling is wildly popular in Colombia, but women in the capital say there are several reasons why they don't regularly commute by bike.

13/11/2020

Intergenerational home sharing lowers rent and increases happiness - City Monitor

Intergenerational home sharing is a relatively niche alternative housing option that fulfills the needs of two very different demographics.

Programmes that match seniors with students increase the supply of affordable housing while decreasing both living costs and social isolation.

23/10/2020

Daring Cities 2020 | Forum for Urban Leaders Taking on the Climate Emergency

We're pleased to be an official media partner of Daring Cities, a global virtual forum for urban leaders tackling the climate emergency, especially in light of Covid-19. You can register for sessions here: https://daringcities.org/

7-28 October 2020 | The Global Virtual Forum for Urban Leaders Taking on the Climate Emergency

20/10/2020

Level of service is a flawed transportation metric - City Monitor

The level of service assessment aims to reflect a traveller’s experience with elements of a city’s transportation network. It isn’t a bad way to assess car traffic, but that’s the thing: it only assesses car traffic.

It's time for planners to move beyond level of service, an assessment of roads and mass transit that prioritises vehicle flow at the expense of other needs.

12/10/2020

A Singaporean firm has become the go-to master planner for African cities - City Monitor

“For the longest time, the African city has not been controlled by Africa and not even built by Africans,” says Kenyan architect Kabage Karanja. African cities, he says, come straight out of the history of colonialism, and “the tools they use to plan them have tended to be tools to control the city as opposed to tools to liberate the city.”

Surbana Jurong has signed contracts to do city master plans in ten African countries. Why is the continent relying on outside firms to plan its future?

29/09/2020

Ban cars: Why cities are heeding the call for car-free streets - City Monitor

On a small scale, the goals are relatively simple: a ban on cars on individual blocks or streets generally makes those places safer for walking, cycling and socialising while also cutting down on air and noise pollution.

On a larger scale, the goals are more profound, envisioning a culture shift when people and cities realise they can build spaces and lives that don’t depend on cars.

"Ban cars" has become a clarion call of contemporary urbanism. There's evidence that such plans make cities safer, cleaner and more vibrant.

10/09/2020

How the pandemic is magnifying structural problems in America's housing market | CityMetric

Long before Covid-19, the United States suffered from a housing crisis. Working class and low-income Americans struggled to pay rent, while the possibility of home ownership receded into fantasy.

The coronavirus pandemic will only make these trends worse.

Business California September 2, 2020 How the pandemic is magnifying structural problems in America's housing market By Jake Blumgart Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Long before Covid-19, the United States suffered from a housing crisis. Across the country, working class and low-income Americans strugg...

10/08/2020

City Monitor's cover photo

10/08/2020

City Monitor