Mobility
BMW Veterans Challenge Conventional Cars
Barcelona or Paris will be the cities where retired BMW engineers will market a new concept of personal urban mobility that takes on conventional cars
MUNICH, GERMANY
Europe
Mobility
Another EU Green City Project — But This One Listens
The GreenInCities project, funded in Europe, supports the renewal of the Besòs River in Barcelona by asking local wildlife experts for their advice
BARCELONA, SPAIN
Mobility
Another Revolt Against Fossil Fuels – This Time It’s the Doctors
In August 2024, the General Medical Council in the UK suspended the licenses of two health professionals for participating in peaceful climate change protests; that move has backfired
LONDON, UK
Mobility
To Tackle Climate Change, Lucie Pinson Follows the Money
Oil and gas giants are capable of single-handedly turning the Paris Agreement into just a pipe dream – banks should tighten up the loose screws that finance fossil fuel operations
PARIS, FRANCE
Mobility
Russian Cycling Activist Grigory Skarchenko: “We Felt Really Free in the Urban Field of Politics”
In Irkutsk, he mobilized people to influence local policies for road safety; now based in Leipzig, his urban activism has shifted to bring him back to Russia
IRKUTSK, RUSSIA
Mobility
Agroecology: A Long Brewing Urban Fight
After decades of a vicious food system for our planet, agroecology is becoming a popular form of activism to wield clout for longing structural changes
BARCELONA, SPAIN
Mobility
Why Arctic Conditions Don’t Stop Cycling in Oulu, Finland
Winter cycling veteran star Pekka Tahkola on why his fellow residents in Oulu, Finland, don’t give up urban cycling even with snow for five months
OULU, FINLAND
Mobility
Activist Philanthropy in London – Good Causes Morph Into Urban Gardens
How an unconventional form of philanthropy turns a prestigious event in London into a powerful platform to support urban gardens and good causes across the UK
LONDON, UK
Mobility
Samira Benini Allaouat: “Micro-Bacteria Could Illuminate the Streets of Barcelona”
After a great start, artist Samira Benini Allaouat hopes to bring sustainable public lighting to a new level while decontaminating the urban soil
BARCELONA, SPAIN
Mobility
London’s Wayfinding System Founder: “I Am Looking for Eureka Moments”
How Tim Fendley has been advocating for walkable cities behind the scenes while cracking human behaviour in wayfinding to boost walking
LONDON, UK
Mobility
The European City Designed in a Huge Oasis, Long Neglected
Extreme weather makes the case for the renaissance of an urban nature-based solution built a century ago, which many cities would envy
ELCHE, SPAIN
Mobility
“More Than Weeds”: Rebel Plants and Our Obsession to Control Nature
Sophie Leguil, founder of “More Than Weeds”, on stopping our endless weeding of wild plants on the streets and ending our alienation from nature
LONDON, UK
Mobility
In Berlin and Paris, Two Museums Ask People to Collect Stories of a Changing Environment
An experimental collection of objects and stories of ordinary people, hosted by two natural history museums, takes on our changing planet. Could storytelling spark action?
BERLIN, GERMANY
Mobility
‘Citizens Could Seize the Moment’: Energy Cooperatives’ Pluck in Paris
Some consider energy cooperatives in cities a quixotic adventure, but one worth trying to decarbonize the energy system at this moment in history.
PARIS, FRANCE
Mobility
Are Car-Free Cities Sexist? More Female Voices Could Spark Innovation in Mobility
At first glance, a car-free city is a great idea but it is contradicting itself. While more women walk and use public transportation for multiple destinations, they are also the ones more dependent on driving. How does it all fit together?
BONN, GERMANY
Mobility
‘gieß Den Kiez’: Giving Trees in Berlin a Chance to Outlive Their Planters
Berliners are making watering trees more sexy than announcing new planting. The citizen-led initiative ‘Gieß den Kiez’ coordinates watering efforts to prioritize aftercare of street trees to outlive multiple generations of people.
BERLIN, GERMANY
Mobility
London’s Dream for Trees: Mini Urban Forests Towards Carbon Neutrality
With a science-led approach, ‘Dream for Trees’ has started to plant mini urban forests in London to efficiently store carbon and create local balanced ecosystems. Can they save us from human-caused climate change?
LONDON, UK
Mobility
We Are Here Venice. Back Soon but Better
Now that Venice is back for its residents, culture and science are stimulating an urgent debate on its future. Some answers might already lie in the natural capital of the lagoon. If we can't save Venice, what does that mean for the rest of humanity?
VENICE, ITALY
Mobility
No More Unease to Refill. A Revolution to Free Tap Water
Natalie Fee, co-founder of Refill in Bristol, has put the power to disrupt the vicious circle of bottled water at people’s fingertips to protect our water sources and the environment.
BRISTOL, UK
Mobility
Running Goes Mainstream for Everyday Journeys. Mayors Wanted!
Born in London, a coalition of running enthusiasts is growing by the day to inspire more of us to run everyday journeys, errands and commute. Running mayors will advocate in their cities to legitimize it as an active travel.
LONDON, UK
Mobility
A Green City State of Mind for Climate Protection
The grass-root association Green city e.V. has been at the vanguard of spreading global climate action among citizens in Munich.
MUNICH, GERMANY
Mobility
Urban Gardens Undergird a Network of Trust in Budapest
Kisdiófa Kert is an urban garden in Erzsébetváros neighbourhood, where citizens connect to each other building trust and supportive relationships in Budapest.
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
Mobility
Showers on Demand Encourage Walking and Cycling
If you google the question ‘How can I ride my bike to work without getting sweaty?’, you will get almost 19 million results just for the last month. For all the urban mobility talk about how to encourage walking and cycling in the city, the fact is that they mean a higher factor of perspiration. ...
LONDON, UK
Mobility
Urban Gardening to Connect People With Nature in the City
The 'Beyond a Construction Site' urban gardening initiative in Ljubljana (Slovenia) connects people with nature in the centre of the city.
LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA
Mobility
Urban Micro Gardens to Reduce the Impact of Air Pollution
Tamara Sancho, a primary care physician in Barcelona, and her neighbours have been converting the small spaces around trees into small lush gardens in their neighbourhood called ‘Poble Sec’ since 2015. Tamara was fed up with the amount of rubbish accumulated around those tiny tree islands and decided to do something about it. She started ...
BARCELONA, SPAIN
US
Mobility
How New Yorkers Help Birds Return to the City
Over 200 species of birds visit New York City each year. Grassroots conservation efforts make their migratory stopovers possible—and bring joy to all New Yorkers
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Mobility
The Whale Guardians of Seattle
Seattle's whale guardians network showcases the power of grassroots wildlife conservation in urban areas—proving city dwellers worldwide could start their own
SEATTLE, WA, USA
Mobility
No Pipeline, No Gas – New Yorkers’ Astute Move to Thermal Energy Networks
Activist J.K. Canepa explains how New York residents want to prevent the expansion of fossil fuels – and use the upheaval to kick off thermal energy networks
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Mobility
Can New Orleans Warn the World About Carbon Capture and Storage?
Why environmental justice activists are fighting carbon capture and storage; and why many companies and governments are so desperate to stop it
NEW ORLEANS, LA, USA
Mobility
Flashy Nights and Safe Cycling in LA With Marcus Gladney
How this advocate uses a brilliant form of attracting attention to bicycle safety in Los Angeles at this moment of cycling revival across US cities.
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA
Mobility
How the New York Public Library Lays the Seeds to Cultivate the City
Located in Mid-Manhattan, the New York Public Library has taken over a century-old practice of seed saving and distribution. Could seed libraries one day prevent a food crisis in our cities?
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Mobility
The Vicious Circle of Littering in Cities. Cleanup Activists Explain
Our planet suffers the problem of littering in cities. Apparently easy, why can’t cities solve this impossible task? Across the ocean activists explain the invidious choices to tackle the issue at its core.
PHILADELPHIA, PA, USA
Mobility
La Plaza Cultural: The Wisdom of a Visionary Garden
‘Radical acts of gardening’ more than 40 years ago were visionary actions to reconnect with nature, which anticipated the challenges facing our cities today to fight climate change.
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Mobility
Gardening Decentralized Healing in Los Angeles for a Damaged Planet
In Los Angeles, a guerrilla garden proved that cultivating collective healing is possible where hardship prevails. Gardening is where healing the body and healing the planet meet and paves decentralized ways for ecosocial renewal in cities.
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA
Mobility
A Towering Waste Problem. Local Ideas Spearhead Change in Brooklyn
Waste is a huge problem. By the day. Here are some community-led ideas bred in Brooklyn which are a successful approach for radical change in waste reduction.
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Mobility
Demystifying Open Data. Citizens-Created Science for Change
To embrace sustainability, cities ably need to reduce the social divide between the public and science by building data literacy and democratizing the use of open data.
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Mobility
Food Warriors in New York. The Fight of Our Century
The founders of the first plant-based community fridge in New York unlock fresh food for everyone and its value to combat diseases and heal the planet.
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Mobility
Racial Equity in Urban Planning Reframes Future Mobility in US Cities
Mobility advocates are spearheading a new discourse, which focuses on social justice rather than infrastructure and car free cities.
CHICAGO, IL, USA
Mobility
Popup Forest: A Call to Biodiversity in Cities From New York
Mariellé Anzelone is growing an urban movement for nature and biodiversity in the cities of the future.
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Mobility
Toronto Tool Library to Use Resources More Efficiently
Hi, my name is Power Drill and my average useful life is 12 minutes. If tools, gear and equipment could speak, you would be horrified about their short useful lives. The tool sharing initiative called The Toronto Tool Library offers an alternative to ownership to use resources much more efficiently in the city. Inspired by ...
TORONTO, ON, CANADA
The Thrilling Rest of the World
Mobility
The Elephants’ Gatekeepers: Feeding the Cities, Facing the Giants
As cities expand in Ghana, farmlands in their outskirts clash with elephant corridors. However, female farmers find ways of coexistence with wildlife while feeding urban dwellers
ZEBILLA, GHANA
Mobility
Inside Yemen’s Urban Farming Revolution
On the rooftops of mud-brick high-rises in Sanaa, urban farming that uses 90% less water than traditional agriculture offers a viable solution to combat food insecurity in Yemen
SANAA, YEMEN
Mobility
Zabaleen’s Work Is a Momentous Undertaking
The informal work of the Zabaleen in Cairo has been a landmark of waste infrastructure, but the city needs to be more ambitious to further boost a local green economy while empowering its people
CAIRO, EGYPT
Mobility
The Prospect of a Climate Revolt From Mexico City
While the West is giving lectures about climate action, in Mexico a new paradigm to combat the crisis could emerge from projects like Roma Verde Garden
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
Mobility
Mundano, Founder of Cataki, on Creating ‘Recycling Relationships’
Seven years after founding Cataki, artivist Mundano discusses informal waste collection, largely disregarded, yet indispensable to boost recycling
SãO PAULO, STATE OF SãO PAULO, BRAZIL
Mobility
The Battle of Ocean Pollution Is Upstream
Young Africans cleaning urban rivers and preventing dumping remain in the shadows but they are on the front line of the fight against ocean pollution
NAIROBI, KENYA
Mobility
Desirable Upcycling in Accra – There Is “No Time to Waste”
How the community-led initiative THE REVIVAL is rescuing textile waste from the landfills of Accra in Ghana and exposing fashion’s waste crisis
ACCRA, GHANA
Mobility
Breaking Bread: Boulangers in African Cities Start Baking With the Sun
How Solarbakery in African cities restore bread-making practices, wiped out by a colonialist legacy that hinders sustainability in Africa
KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Mobility
“We Are Suffocating”, a Public Outcry From a City in the Caucasus
Environmental pollution in the post-Soviet city of Rustavi is complex, but it should be read not as an act of despair but as a rallying call with concrete solutions
RUSTAVI, GEORGIA
Mobility
Cairo’s Unexpected Success Story to Clean the Nile
From a little island in Cairo, the Nile is getting free of plastic pollution with the urgency to develop local economies along the river
CAIRO, EGYPT
Mobility
Black Women Heroines Put an End to Whiteness of Cycling
Salvador, Bahia’s cycling revolution is grounded in the empowerment of Black women riders. Mobility justice movements in the US take notice.
SALVADOR DE BAHíA - STATE OF BAHIA, BRAZIL
Mobility
Locals Give Canadian Cities Butterflies. From Their Backyards
In Canadian cities a neighbour-led movement is unfolding the potential of backyards to provide pollination routes for monarch butterflies. Also it is a call on locals to become Beebnb hosts — the Airbnb for wild bees.
TORONTO, ON, CANADA
Mobility
Freetonians Return to Natural Infrastructure. Planting Trees for Life.
Deforestation is threatening citizen's life in Freetown, but its environmental impact goes beyond the city's borders. Collective and bold actions around the world put cities at peace with nature.
FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE
Mobility
Becoming an Urban Gardener to Deal With the Food Crisis in Beirut
Lebanon’s economic crisis has created a guerrilla of urban gardeners growing their own food to curb hunger and build an agriculture culture in the country.
BEIRUT, LEBANON
Mobility
Magical Trees: Our Curiosity for Nature Can Heal Us and Our Cities
The organization Árboles Mágicos in San José, Costa Rica, combines head and heart to regenerate biological corridors and the wellbeing of citizens.
SAN JOSé, COSTA RICA
Mobility
Right to Breathe: Blue Skies Vindicate Activist’s Demand for Clean Air in Delhi
Jyoti Pande Lavakare, co-founder of Care for Air, has been raising awareness on deadly air pollution in Delhi for the past six years. Due to the Covid-19 lockdown she finds herself under clear blue skies, an unprecedented time to demand more civic action.
NEW DELHI, DELHI, INDIA
Mobility
Food Security: ‘Urban Greens’ Cultivates Resilience on the Rooftops of Cairo
The social startup ‘Urban Greens’ spearheads a resilient food movement in Cairo through urban agriculture, which provides self-reliant fresh produce and guarantees food security to households, especially in times of crisis like water scarcity.
CAIRO, EGYPT
Mobility
Street Names Matter. ‘the Walk’ Paves the Way for a Walkable City
Street names do matter. A street in the city of Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman, is called ‘The Walk’. It sounds obvious. But are streets in cities always walkable? This beautiful piece of road is closed to cars supporting a vision towards a more walkable city and a sustainable urbanisation of Muscat. ...
MUSCAT, OMAN
Mobility
Clean Up to Raise Awareness About Waste Disposal
Chris Anaekwe is a graduate of the University of Nigeria in Nsukka which has organized an impressive clean up in his hometown, Onitsha (Nigeria), to raise awareness about waste disposal in the city. It is hard to believe that in a city like Onitsha rubbish containers are a rare thing. What do you do with ...
ONITSHA, NIGERIA
