In the last couple of years, project Nova Luz has begun to transform one of the liveliest and most central parts of São Paulo. Low income groups fear they will have to leave the area soon, due to expropriation, demolition and gentrification. Questions are raised regarding the inclusion of these social groups in the urban [...]
Urbanized is a documentary film by Gary Hustwit. Cities are physical representations of existing forces, such as economic and environmental ones. Furthermore, they are the result of urban design: what we see while we’re walking through the streets, has previously been designed by someone.
A couple of times per year my inbox gets spammed by the International Monorail Association, asking me to register for one of their conferences on monorails for mass transit. As the invitation always looks rather tacky, I never go, but it made me wonder: Is monorail a mode of transport to be taken seriously, or [...]
Lagos is the fastest growing megacity in the world. In the process of attracting millions of new people, its inhabitants have found resourceful ways of making a living, building homes, recycling materials and trading goods. This creative attitude of the Nigerians are at the center of this BCC documentary. Part 1 focuses on recycling and [...]
On November 3, 2011, Paul Lecroart (senior urban planner at Île de France) gave a lecture on Flagship Developments at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). The focus was on his research which looks at the impact of major events, such as the Olympics, on world cities. How can they give an impulse to the development [...]
