Urban Microclimate explores how the quality of life of millions of people living in cities could be improved if the form of the city were to evolve in a manner appropriate to its climatic context. This new book advises that climatically responsive urban design is vital to any notion of sustainability as it enables individual buildings to make use of renewable energy sources for passive heating and cooling, enhances pedestrian comfort and activity in outdoor spaces, and may even encourage city dwellers to moderate their dependence on private vehicles.
Food sensitive planning and urban design (FSPUD) recognises that access to healthy, sustainable and equitable food is an essential part of achieving liveable communities. The new resource – Food Sensitive Planning and Urban Design: A conceptual framework for achieving a sustainable and just food system – is intended to raise the awareness of planners, architects, urban designers, engineers, policy makers, community members and elected representatives of the need to integrate food considerations into urban land use and development.
The theme for the 4th International Urban Design Conference is Resilience in Urban Design. Resilient Cities will need to endorse density and diversity in building types, and public spaces. They will be walkable communities that also support the innovative use of public transport. Resilient Cities protect their natural resources while managing the impacts of climate change. In many cases community living needs could be in walking distance. Transport, construction infrastructure, industry and communications systems will need to become more energy efficient, and reduce their environmental footprint. Resilient Cities will increase the use local produce; they will require the active participation of community groups, business and governments.
The Griffith University Urban Research Program (URP) paper Climate change adaptation in urban systems: Strategies for planning regimes investigates how urban planning regimes can use professional tools to develop climate change adaptation strategies in plan-making, development management, urban design and place-making.
Urban Design Forum (UDF) began in Melbourne in 1986 as a network of enthusiastic and creative people committed to making a significant contribution to improving the functioning and quality of our cities and towns. Since that time, the network has spread across Australia, with linkages to similar groups in New Zealand and other places. Since 1987, UDF has published the UDF Quarterly which can be viewed online. The latest edition of UDF Quarterly (March 2011) includes articles on urban design and ‘extreme climate events’, Australia Award for Urban Design 2011, Cities for People, Urban design and natural disasters, Australian Urban Design Initiative (AUDI) update, Can New Urbanism foster a sense of community, and more. To find out more visit the Urban Design Forum.
In the 21st century, more than ever before, cities around the world depend on the knowledge of their citizens, their institutions and their firms and enterprises. The Third Knowledge City World Summit, held in Melbourne in November 2010, aimed to shed light on the multi-faceted dimensions and various scales of building the ‘knowledge city’ and on ‘knowledge-based development’ paradigms. To download the full summit proceedings (37 MB) or individual summit papers visit Melbourne Knowledge Summit Proceedings. Read the rest of this entry »
The ADC Cities Report: Enhancing Liveability says there is no magic plan for the perfect city. Although modern design and technology are two important ingredients, cities will flourish by creating opportunity through their own narratives while working with their history, location and population to improve liveability.
The ADC Cities Report: Enhancing Liveability has been produced by the ADC Forum.
Matthew E. Kahn, professor at the UCLA Institute of the Environment, says that we have released the genie from the bottle: climate change is coming, and there’s no stopping it. The question, according to Kahn, is not how we’re going to avoid a hotter future but how we’re going to adapt to it. In Climatopolis, Kahn argues that cities and regions will adapt to rising temperatures over time, slowly transforming our everyday lives as we change our behaviors and our surroundings. Taking the reader on a tour of the world’s cities – from New York to Beijing to Mumbai – Kahn’s presents a positive yet realistic picture of our urban future. To find out more visit the Climatopolis website.