Future of Cities Update: Parts 1 & 2 - September 2015

Coping with change

What connects Arsenal's stadium, Islington's housing and a cable car in Kathmandu? M. Bruce Beck and Michael Thompson develop a fourfold typology in discussing a process of governance for coping with change in the city.

Land, rent and housing in the UK

In July, Michael Edwards gave a public lecture at UCL discussing his new Foresight paper, which emphasises the complexity of the housing debate. You can read his accompanying post on our blog.

Cities and public policy

Alan Harding and Brendan Nevin examine  three components of urban policy, looking at how they  interact to produce policies of varying levels of effectiveness.

'The Future City' exhibition

In February, we collaborated with the Royal Institute of British Architects, on an exhibition drawing on RIBA and Foresight research to outline the UK¹s key urban challenges over the coming decades. It asked questions such as Œwhat might your city look like in 2065?¹ Read more on our upcoming blog post.

RCUK¹s Water Showcase

In June we published the UK Water Partnership¹s thought piece which sets out five visions for water in cities. These were discussed during RCUK¹s 2015 Water Showcase, where Sir Mark Walport gave the keynote and the project held a workshop on interdependencies.

Local project reports

In 2014, we seed-funded six local foresighting projects and they¹ve been busy developing their own visioning methods. They¹ve started publishing their phase one reports, which you can access via the accompanying posts on our blog.

What will cities of the future be made of?

Phil Purnell and Katy Roelich look at fixed materials within the city and the potential for addressing resource issues through altering design practices. They argue for city planners to have an increased awareness of how cities are affected by different material supplies.

Beyond peak car

How do we help a city develop beyond peak car? David Metz examines declining car use in London since the 1900s, and highlights its impact on greenhouse gas emissions. He argues for key policy interventions to get people out of their cars and onto bus and rail networks.

Cities, green infrastructure and health

How do we go beyond seeing green infrastructure as purely 'nice to have'? Val Kirby and Stephen Russell examine the positive impact green infrastructure can have on health and wellbeing in cities, and discuss some of the barriers to be overcome.

Smart cities, citizenship skills and the digital agenda

Theo Tryfonas and Tom Crick discuss the challenges of delivering digital citizenship skills in future cities, highlighting the need to deliver and integrate purposeful technology to ensure an educated and informed population.

Development and sub-surface use

The British Geological Survey thinks about where future development should occur, and methods of maximising and sustaining the potential of the urban subsurface for use in future cities.

Smart infrastructure

How will city infrastructure and sensors be made smart? Robert Mair examines the potential for smart infrastructures to protect against challenges in future cities, make city life more efficient, and enable smarter, proactive asset management decision-making for city infrastructure.