Urban Future

Once upon a time, not even that long ago, people treated their stuff differently.    But in our throwaway culture today, binning a broken object and buying a replacement is often the easiest and cheapest solution. This take-make-waste economy has serious costs – for the environment and also for the community. 😖   So, what would the alternative look like?    We visit a repair café in Graz, Austria, to understand what it means to give an item a new lease of life, and why it often pays to repair rather than simply recycle. 🛠️⚙️    With more than 2,500 repair cafes around the world, it's morphing into a movement - heralding a broader interest in repair culture and the right of ordinary people to be able to fix and extend the life of their items.   “We are not a service place for electronics. We are a community that helps people, to help themselves.” - Andreas Höfler   🎧 Tune in to the CityChangers.org Podcast and be part of the change: https://lnkd.in/dvtSrpFU 💖

Which video from our "Better Ways" Campaign spoke to you the most? 🤩 📽 🤓 Watch all of them in the comments or here: https://lnkd.in/d4ebQakQ

WE WON!!! 🤩 We learned last night that YOU voted for our "Better Ways" video campaign! 😊 Your votes - in combination with a jury decision - sent us home with the first-place prize in the field of Society and Culture (Gesellschaft & Kultur) from the PR-Panther! 🎉 We're so excited and proud! Thank you PR Panther for the honour!  Thank you to HENX Filmproduktion & Videomarketing for the fantastic collaboration.  And thank you, community, for all the positive feedback on this campaign.  (Here it is again!: https://lnkd.in/d4ebQakQ)     Stay tuned for more videos coming your way this Fall 😉

'I Love Cycling.' In this scene from 'Rotterdam Cycles', Donovan explains what he loves about cycling. It's often not only about getting from A to B, but also about being able to choose your own route, change the pace, and talk with your friends. “It’s weird that children in a city never get a voice when it comes to mobility. A good city is a city where all children can cycle safely to school, sports and their friends. Cycling should mean freedom and fun for every child!” – Willem-Frederik (WF) Metzelaar Car-centric cities take from youngsters this joy and freedom. We must reverse the trend. -- The full film Rotterdam Fietst is available with English, German, French, and Spanish subtitles. Interested in screening it in your city? Send an email to info@dutchcycling.nl Dutch Cycling Embassy Fietsersbond

A third of fruit and vegetables in Europe get thrown away because of their 'ugly' appearance. 🥬🥒🍅  Why and how should this change?   First, because that's a huge source of CO2. Second - people are still going hungry.   Most of us have an ideal image of what fresh produce should look like. (Thanks advertising!) Anything that doesn't make the grade gets binned! But it's just as tasty and nutritious 😋   Portuguese non-profit, Fruta Feia CRL is taking a stance. They bypass supermarkets by purchasing misshapen produce from farmers and distributing it directly to customers at a fraction of the price. “From an initial network of only about 10 farmers, it’s grown," says João Eustáquio. Now operating in 16 cities around Portugal, "we work with about 320 farmers” and sell to more than 8,000 members. This has saved an estimated 4,000 tonnes of food waste and almost as much C02, while putting €1.6 million back in the pockets of farmers. It seems we're not as superficial as some suppliers make out. 🙌🏽 👉🏼 Read the full story - including why farmers initially resisted the idea and how the organisation has convincing social advantages too - on CityChangers: https://lnkd.in/dNhhRDny

Rashiq Fataar joined Enrique Penalosa, former Mayor of Bogota and now a global consultant and Lan Marie Nguyen Berg, Member of the Norwegian Parliament to share stories of failure, not success. Thank you to the Urban Future team for providing such platforms to share learnings, and how even noble projects, can be poorly timed, or poorly received. #urbanconference #failureispartofsuccess #amsterdam #urbanism #cities

Revitalising cities takes ingenuity - an ability to look beyond what's there and envision everything it could be. 💡🔮    The floating community of Schoonschip in Amsterdam demonstrates this well.   This neglected former industrial waterfront property has been transformed into a 46 home neighbourhood - making economical use of space and embracing environmental stewardship & community values. It’s complete with heat pumps, solar panels, shared (green) spaces, and collective decision-making.   What a fine example of how urban spaces can be reclaimed and revived by a group of like-minded citizens! 🫶   Thank you CrAft - Creating Actionable Futures for allowing CityChangers.org to replicate this inspiring story: 👉 https://lnkd.in/dDZMVZ3U

Copenhagen's public canteens use 90% organic ingredients. 🤯 🥗 🍽️ Are you wondering how they did that? Spoiler alert: by changing municipal procurement processes. From schools to prisons and government offices, municipal kitchens feed a LOT of people, so the potential for benefits was massive! Betina Bergmann Madsen played a crucial role in defining Copenhagen's new food procurement policies so that suppliers responding to tender who offered healthy, sustainable food would receive more points - increasing chances of a contract. “I actually think that’s the way of helping – gentle nudging,” Betina says. “It’s all about how I can support our suppliers to be the best version of themselves.” Going organic was just the beginning. It's also improved nutrition and water quality, and led to a 25% reduction in carbon emissions in the city's food procurement processes. Read the full story - including how Betina won over Copenhagen's public kitchen staff and why it's important not to focus on procurement in isolation - on CityChangers.org: 🥕https://lnkd.in/dvbknsmK

What measures can planners put in place to ensure citizens enjoy an equitable experience of their city? That's the theme of The Gendered City - our latest episode of The CityChangers Podcast: https://lnkd.in/dbJEtjJ8 Along the way, we learn how women and girls lose out in conventional urban design because of challenges that include: 🚗 cities built for cars - when men are more likely to drive. 👤 intimidating spaces - anyone could be lurking in those dark, narrow, obscured constructions. 🚰 unmet gendered needs - a lack of safe, hygienic & convenient facilities. Tune in to hear from experts in the field, Linda Gustafsson and Nourhan Bassam, as they walk us through the problems affecting half the population and how 100% of us can make a difference.

Sustaining adequate food supplies requires a rethink of how we grow, process, transport and consume food.    Why?  ・Nearly 80% of food is consumed in urban areas ・Food demand is steadily rising: by 2050, two-thirds of the world's 10 billions people will live in cities. ・Due to urban sprawl, climate change, and over-farming, the land available to produce the food we need is shrinking.   📣 That's why CityChangers has chosen FOOD as our bold new topic - and it launches today! 📣   Join us as we amplify leading, unconventional & impactful voices in the field; those who accelerate change with the aim to create more sustainable food systems.   Together, we'll be answering questions like: 🥕 Why and how do food systems need to change? 🍉 How can cities mitigate food shortages? 🥒 What do citizens need from leaders to tackle urgent urban food challenges? 🍒 How can cities provide safe, healthy meals and still meet climate targets? Head over to CityChangers.org to check out the first of the articles on this multi-faceted subject! 🥗😋 👉🏼 https://lnkd.in/gwVgZCZw