Green Cities

Europe

Climate

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

Climate

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

Climate

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

Climate

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

Climate

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

Climate

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

Climate

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

Climate

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

Climate

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

Climate

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

Climate

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

Climate

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

Climate

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

Climate

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

Climate

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