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.
It is no doubt that sports and outdoor activities can have beneficial effects on a community. Rainbow Recreation Center in Oakland, California is taking the benefits to a new level. Dan Peterson has begun fixing up basketball courts in urban communities to bring people together and make the area Read More...
No matter what you think of the proliferation of smartphones in society, it’s hard to deny that apps can make some facets of life much easier—including living a sustainable life. In Helsinki, the capital city of Finland, a new app has been launched that lets residents, tourists and business Read More...
In Alicante, it never rains, but it pours. The city in southeast Spain goes without rain for months on end, but when it comes, it’s torrential, bringing destructive and sometimes fatal flooding - or, at least, it used to. In San Juan, a low-lying area of the city, authorities have built a new Read More...
With 65,000 square feet of warehouse rooftop space dedicated to growing all sorts of produce, New York City’s Brooklyn Grange is one of the largest urban farms in the world. Next year, however, the urban farm will seem like a dwarf in comparison to a new urban farm soon to open in Paris. The Read More...
You may not be so motivated to pick up littered plastic bottles when you walk around the city, but if those plastic bottles paid for your ride on the metro, you might be more inclined to collect those bottles. That’s the idea behind a new scheme in Rome where residents can deposit plastic bottles Read More...
Communal gardens, landscaped rooftops, and wide-open windows aren't features of your typical hospital—but maybe they should be. Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in Singapore is a case study in what can happen when a nature-inspired design is applied to the medical setting to promote healing. The Read More...
We write quite a lot about the development of self-driving vehicles, but it will surely feel a bit strange the first time we actually step foot in one and watch the steering wheel turn itself. In New York City, autonomous car company Optimus Ride just debuted the first public self-driving vehicle Read More...
The home of the future needs to be prepared for the harsh weather events that will surely come about as a result of climate change. That’s why a startup by the name of Geoship is designing buildings made from a new material that can withstand disasters: bioceramic. Geoship is using the new Read More...
At a public elementary school in Hell’s Kitchen in New York City, a playground that used to be a barren asphalt lot is now a green space filled with plants and trees—and when school isn’t in session, it’s open to anyone in the neighborhood to use as a park. It’s one example of a Read More...
Housing vouchers help millions of American families weather the crushing experience of poverty. With housing choice vouchers, low-income households receive federal aid to pay their rent. Also known as Section 8, the program has been a simple and effective alternative to America’s troubled Read More...