Sustainable Urban Development
With cities expected to host about 70 percent of the world's population, sustainable urban development is key to making communities worldwide more resilient against the growing threat of climate change. Find out about the latest urban practices from across the world aiming to make our cities more sustainable and inclusive in these good-news stories from The Optimist Daily.
Sunlight and saltwater is all you need for this electricity-free cooling system
Researchers at Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) are working on a cooling system that requires zero electricity, something that would be highly valuable in many parts of the world that lack infrastructure but get a lot of sunlight. The team’s strategy Read More...
Vertical modular farms aim to solve the problem of urban food deserts
Millions of people in the US experience food insecurity on a daily basis. This problem has been exacerbated by the pandemic, which has pushed the total number of Americans experiencing hunger to an estimated 42 million people, many of whom live in urban food deserts which lack adequate access Read More...
CA introduces trio of laws to make housing more affordable and sustainable
With new policies surrounding oil extraction, recycling, and building codes, California has led the way on green policymaking this year. Now, the state is taking aim at low-carbon affordable housing with a series of new laws that remove red tape surrounding progressive construction. The first Read More...
NYC to build one of the country's biggest EV charging networks
Electric vehicles aren’t a common sight on the streets of New York City. In fact, this fast-paced city seems to have finally slept on EV adoption. It lags behind Los Angeles, a city that boasts four times as many registered EVs and around eight times more chargers—but NYC plans to turn this Read More...
100 solar EVs will soon feed the Dutch energy grid with renewable power
The Dutch city of Utrecht has just become the first region in the world with a bidirectional charging ecosystem, where energy harnessed by electric vehicles is fed back into a home or into the grid. As part of the initiative, the fourth largest city in the Netherlands will use vehicle-to-grid Read More...
Amsterdam's underwater bike garage will also improve aquatic habitats
The Netherlands is a country that is home to more bikes than people, which explains why city train stations have more than half a million bicycle parking spots, including the largest single garage in the entire world located in Utrecht. Even so, cyclists often struggle to find a spot to park Read More...
These US cities are home to tree-mendous green spaces
Urban green spaces and forestry have a multitude of benefits ranging from cognitive development and mental health to decreased crime rates, lower energy costs, and cleaner air. They also offer shelter for wildlife, boosting local biodiversity. The following US cities have taken urban forestry in Read More...
Alternative transportation is included in the rent at this car-free community
We first wrote about the plans to establish Culdesac Tempe, the US’ first community built on a zero-driving model, back in 2019. Now, the $170 million residential development located just outside Phoenix, Arizona, is getting ready to welcome its first residents in July 2022. When construction is Read More...
The Optimist View: The Green Divide
"Neither cities nor places in them are unordered, unplanned; the question is only whose order, whose planning, for what purpose?” - Peter Marcuse BY Amelia Buckley If you stand outside in the heat of summer, you’ll notice that things are considerably less comfortable on concrete or Read More...
Rotterdam becomes home to the world’s largest floating office
While Rotterdam is typically known for hosting Europe’s biggest port, the second largest Dutch city is also famous as a forerunning innovator in climate adaptability. This reputation is reflected by (among other things) a floating dairy farm located near the port, as well as by the more recently Read More...