As competition for land intensifies in Africa’s rapidly growing towns and cities, planning laws assume a fundamental importance. They determine how urban growth is managed and directed. In most countries outdated, inappropriate and unintegrated laws are exacerbating urban dysfunction. Read more.
Submitted by Editor — Tue, 11/26/2013 – 15:34
With urbanisation becoming a rising topic on the research agenda it is interesting to see how new models for urban planning, and laws, are being constructed. Recently, an event by the African Research Institute raised such ideas. The speakers introduced how the contextual diversity across Africa required exploration, and consultants need to focus on adapting a checklist of rule making, rather than make the rules, in planning Africa’s emerging cities. Current African cities were presented as ‘un-planned’, or in need of a re-visioned approach to become inclusive and equitable. Urban planning was the solution — a means of enabling tax reform, effective management, and equal rights to the city. However, urban planning law needed to be re-written to work for ‘African cities’. Read more.
Submitted by Editor — Thu, 11/21/2013 – 11:58
Caminhar é uma das minhas atividades favoritas. Sempre considero ir até um lugar caminhando – e se a distância for até 5 Km é bem provável que o faça. Essa paixão me motivou – e também minha amiga e colega de Mestrado Tais Lagranha, a escrever um artigo sobre a experiência de caminhar na cidade. O objetivo foi inspirar novos projetos de design no contexto urbano para qualificar espaços públicos e a experiência dos usuários na cidade. Leia mais.
I love to walk, it is one of my favorite activities. I always consider getting somewhere by walking, and I’ll usually do it if the distance is under 3.11 miles. This passion inspired me and my friend and colleague Tais Lagranha to write an article about the experience that people have when they are walking. Our goal was to inspire new design projects in an urban context as a way to qualify public spaces and user experiences. Read more.
Submitted by Carla Link — Wed, 11/20/2013 – 12:41
Event: Who will plan Africa’s cities?
5 December 2013 
London, England
A panel discussion with Peter Ngau, Centre for Urban Research and Innovations, University of Nairobi and Vanessa Watson, African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town. Register here.
It has been an interesting and intense week of strategic planning at the Global Land Tenure Network (GLTN) partner’s forum at The Hague. The Network was set up in 2008 under the UN Habitat with the objective of improving land and tenure rights. Over the last five years it has invested in tool development and engaged partner agencies in the training and delivery of capacities at the international, regional and national level. Read more.
Submitted by Rakhi Mehra — Fri, 11/15/2013 – 05:29
Walkability and green spaces are not the same thing, but it feels as if they ought to be related somehow. This is because walkability in its most basic form is more than some version of “is possible to walk there”, but also “is possible and pleasant to walk there.” Or is it? One published definition of walkability, for example, is: “The extent to which the built environment is friendly to the presence of people living, shopping, visiting, enjoying or spending time in an area.” (from Walkability Scoping Paper, 2005). All the action is in the word “friendly”, and there’s a lot of unpacking to do. Read more.
Submitted by David Maddox — Fri, 11/08/2013 – 12:17
Mumbai’s streets are a scary battleground. Rickshaws nudge ahead of beastly city buses; cows wander aimlessly through jams of oversized cars; and pedestrians push across busy intersections in droves, hoping the power in numbers will help them reach the other side safely. Everyone is vulnerable in this situation, but no one more than the thousands of school children who walk to school, often in the streets, in the absence of school buses and navigable sidewalks. Read more or join the discussion.
Submitted by Carlin Carr — Mon, 11/04/2013 – 00:00
O fato que Curitiba seja reconhecida como uma cidade verde, acessível e organizada não é um resultado improvisado, mais é resultado de uma cultura sólida de planejamento urbano e da liderança de suas administrações. Apresentamos alguns dos motivos que ajudam a explicar aquela boa reputação de Curitiba especialmente sobre por que é verde, acessível e “humana”; também apresentamos alguns dos desafios que enfrenta na matéria. Leia mais o discutir.
Curitiba’s reputation of being a green, accessible, and organized city is not just a random one, but a planned result of decades of strong urban planning practices and leadership by local administrations. Let’s take a look at what the city has done well to achieve its reputation — specifically, why is it so green, accessible, and even “humane” — while also examining some of the challenges it faces in these respects. Read more or join the discussion.
Submitted by Catalina Gomez — Mon, 11/04/2013 – 00:00
Travel in South Africa, and Southern Africa in general, is highly skewed by economic means. It is dominated by walking (often great distances on poor quality footpaths) and by public transport, primarily among the poor. In Johannesburg, the situation is exacerbated by the marginalisation created by historic spatial planning and the sprawling, low-density nature of the city. According to the City of Johannesburg’s Department of Transport, urbanisation and urban poverty require not only urban transport solutions but also low-cost modes of travel such as cycling. This strategy, known as “Non-Motorised Transport” or NMT, over recent years has gradually become a priority area at National, Provincial and Local Government levels, resulting in the City of Johannesburg’s Framework for NMT in 2009. Read more or join the discussion.
Submitted by Tariq Toffa — Mon, 11/04/2013 – 00:00
Desde mediados del siglo XX Cali ha experimentado un crecimiento muy significativo. La población que en 1951 era de 284.000 personas, pasó a 1.400.000 en 1991, y a 2.3200.000 en el 2013. El antiguo dentro histórico se ha visto rodeado por una sucesión de hasta 22 comunas en una extensión de 120.000 km2. La creciente necesidad de traslados dentro de la ciudad, y la ausencia de un sistema de transporte masivo, resultaron en un crecimiento explosivo en el número de vehículos circulando por la ciudad, y que en el último censo publicado, con datos del 2011, superaban ya el medio millón. Para acomodar todo este tráfico rodado, los sucesivos gobiernos municipales buscaron ampliar las calzadas y crearon vías rápidas, desplazando al peatón a un segundo lugar. Como consecuencia de todas estas dinámicas, Cali se convirtió en una ciudad sumamente congestionada, difícil y peligrosa para los peatones y ciclistas, y con un considerable déficit de espacios públicos. Leer más o discutir.
Cali’s growth since the mid-20th century has been exponential. Population went from 284,000 in 1951 to 1,400,000 in 1991, and then to 2,320,000 in 2013. The traditional city center became surrounded by 22 neighborhoods and a total urban extension of 120,000 km2. Increase in size meant an increase in transportation needs, and in the absence of a mass transportation system, the number of motorized vehicles grew to over 500,000 by 2011, the last year for which official records are available. In order to accommodate these vehicles, roads where expanded at the expense of sidewalks, and highways were built within the city. As a consequence, Cali became a difficult and dangerous city for pedestrians and cyclists, at the same time that traffic congestion has worsened. Read more or join the discussion.
Submitted by Jorge Bela — Mon, 11/04/2013 – 00:00