Places Briefing #2
Healthy cities, Smart Cities, Street Design, Lifelog learning and climate change, Universities' community engagement and more
Thank you all for the interest shown in the first edition of Places Briefing posted on 27 January. Welcome to this new and expanded edition #2.
Lifelong learning and climate change
The Global Network of Learning Cities has posted a fascinating collection of 12 examples of climate-action initiatives promoted by Learning Cities from around the world.
To pick just three of the cities, Espoo, the second city in Finland emphasized lifelong learning in developing its strategy for climate action, whilst the emphasis in Wyndham, near Melbourne in Australia, promoted the role of lifelong learning in building climate resilience and engaging communities for resilience. Bogota in Colombia recognizes he pivotal role of children in driving climate change through transforming habits and attitudes to improving their environment and living conditions.
You can see the different place reports here
Healthy cities
Many cities are striving to promote public health through encouraging walkability and active travel.
Amsterdam wants to be an active city with plenty of space for cyclists and pedestrians, a city where everybody – young and old – can enjoy sports, play and relaxation. In the active city, physical activity is a natural part of everyday life. This book offers inspiration and design tools for city planners, designers and other professionals who work every day to improve the city.
Universities and community engagement
See a great example from the University of Keele. It’s Keele in Town project is now officially open. Situated on the main street of a nearby town, it offers a large variety of opportunities for the local community to engage with the University from hosting adult education, free legal advice, meeting space, creative space for local musicians and artists and much more.


Street Design
The 10th Anniversary edition of “Street Design - The Secret to Great Cities and Towns”, is set for release on February 15th by Wiley.
Transportation
This new publication explores the many ways in which politics influences transport policy, planning and implementation, as well as the effects of transport on political processes. It provides an analysis of the complex interrelations between administration, politics and transport/mobility, and presenting theoretical and empirical insights into the governance approaches required to advance transport’s contribution to social and ecological wellbeing.
Details of the publication are here.
Smart Cities
The World Smart Cities Outlook 2024 provides a comprehensive analysis of the current state of people-centered smart city development globally. The report offers qualitative and quantitative insights into smart city trends, challenges and opportunities, including fresh data on regional variations, the digital divide, skills gaps and more. It evaluates the impact of smart city technologies and strategies on sustainability, resilience, equity, social inclusion, accessibility and quality of life.
You can download the publication from here.
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