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Future of cities

Future of Cities project closes

Posted by: Future of Cities team, Posted on: 1 September 2016 - Categories: Project update
Crowd of pedestrians crossing a road (credit: B_Me/CC0 1.0)

The Future of Cities project has now concluded.

This blog is no longer being updated.

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I've seen the future city – and it's electric!

Posted by: Christopher Kennedy, Posted on: 28 October 2015 - Categories: Metabolism
'Electric City' sign, Scranton, Pennsylvania (by Carol Highsmith (adapted))

How can cities around the world reduce their greenhouse gas emissions?

Read more of I've seen the future city – and it's electric! - 2 comments

Urban ecosystem services

Posted by: Izzy Wightman, Posted on: 23 October 2015 - Categories: Metabolism
Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve showing St Davids Hotel (Cardiff Harbour Authority/CC BY-SA 3.0)

What opportunities might ecosystem services hold for the future city? Green roofs, living walls and vertical gardening are just some of the ideas mentioned in the latest paper published by the Future of Cities project.

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The city resilient - some systems thinking

Posted by: Bruce Beck and Michael Thompson, Posted on: 28 July 2015 - Categories: Form, Governance, Infrastructure
An aerial view of the Emirates Stadium and surrounding area (credit: Peter McDermott/CC BY-SA 2.0)

What do Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in London, the now glorious heritage of Islington’s housing stock, and the cable-car system in Kathmandu for getting milk supplies to that city, all have in common?

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The future of housing in UK cities

Posted by: Michael Edwards, Posted on: 1 July 2015 - Categories: Form, Governance, Infrastructure
View of roof-tops in Nottingham (credit: Natesh Ramasamy/CC BY 2.0)

The role housing plays in underpinning or undermining achievement in British cities in the coming decades will vary from city to city.

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Reviving the economic performance of Britain’s northern cities

Posted by: Professor Ron Martin, Professor Peter Tyler and Ben Gardiner, Posted on: 7 November 2014 - Categories: Economies
View of Tyne Bridge & Millenium Bridge (dan pope/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Writing some 30 years ago, in her classic study on 'Cities and the wealth of nations', the celebrated North American urbanist Jane Jacobs argued that nations are not the basic economic units, rather cities are.

Read more of Reviving the economic performance of Britain’s northern cities

Yesterday’s tomorrows: the power of the image

Posted by: Professor Nick Dunn, Dr Paul Cureton and Nicholas Francis, Posted on: 29 October 2014 - Categories: Form
Structures floating under helium balloons (© Clouds Architecture)

'A Visual History of the Future' examines how future cities have been visualised over the last 100 years, and considers what these depictions sought to communicate and why.

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Cities: the cultural dimension

Posted by: Professor Andy Pratt, Posted on: 23 October 2014 - Categories: Living in cities
People in the fountain at Bradford City Park (Tim Green/CC BY 2.0)

I have spent 25 years studying cities, and culture; so it was an interesting, if daunting, task to be asked to write one of the working papers for the Foresight Future of Cities project.

Read more of Cities: the cultural dimension - 2 comments

How cities are governed around the world

Posted by: André Côté, Posted on: 2 October 2014 - Categories: Governance
Edmonton - Packed Council Chambers (Dave Cournoyer / CC BY-SA 2.0)

There is growing recognition that cities are where the action is. Cities are playing an increasingly important role in creating prosperity, cultural vibrancy, social cohesion and better quality of life. How cities are governed is a critical success factor.

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How is our language on cities changing?

Posted by: Caroline Twigg, Posted on: 8 August 2014 - Categories: Living in cities
Departure board at Cologne-Bonn Airport (credit: Flowizm/CC-BY-2.0)

I recently lived in India, where English is widely spoken. English is my own mother tongue and, when discussing something with Indians, I often presumed that, just because ‘we both spoke English’, we would understand each other.

Read more of How is our language on cities changing? - 2 comments
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Future of cities

Please note: this blog is no longer being updated.

A blog about the Future of Cities research project, which looked at the opportunities and challenges facing cities over the next 50 years. Find out more.

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  • Metabolism

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