Urenio Watch Watch: Cities

REFLOW: Co-Creating Circular Resource Flows in Cities

REFLOW Approach: Sally Bourdon, Manuela Reyes Guerrero. IAAC
REFLOW Approach: Sally Bourdon, Manuela Reyes Guerrero. IAAC

REFLOW is an EU H2020 project, from 2019 to 2022, that seeks to understand and transform urban material flows and to co-create and test circular and regenerative solutions in urban and peri-urban areas across Europe. The vision of REFLOW is to develop circular and regenerative cities through the re-localisation of production and the reconfiguration of material flows at different scales, leveraging Fab Labs and makerspaces as catalysts for wide-scale collaboration and co-creation conducive to systemic, sustainable change. The project operates at the international level, mobilising existing networks and movements that are working towards a new productive model for cities such as Circular Cities, C40 Cities and Fab City Global Initiative. Continue reading

New report from the European Commission: The Human-Centred City

human-centered-coverThis report “The Human-Centred City: Opportunities for citizens through research and innovation” provides a very comprehensive and detailed analysis on a policy research and innovation framework that broadens the perspective towards more holistic approaches. It aims to trigger discussions among policy makers, EU institutions, the scientific community and society at large, and inspire strategic planning and investments within Horizon Europe and its dedicated Mission on ‘˜Climate-neutral and Smart Cities. Continue reading

Can cities become smart without being sustainable?

sustainable_cities_and_societyThis article explores whether smart city policy and sustainability outcomes are intertwined, through a systematic literature review. The review highlights limitations of smart cities to achieve sustainability and reveals that cities cannot be truly smart without being sustainable first. Overall, authors advocate the sustainable and knowledge-based development of smart cities and emphasize on the need for a post-anthropocentric urban turnaround for sustainability.

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The 2019 European Triple Helix Congress on Responsible Innovation & Entrepreneurship 30/09/2019 – 01/10/2019 in Thessaloniki

ETHAC 2019The 2019 European Triple Helix Congress on Responsible Innovation & Entrepreneurship (EHTAC2019) will take place on 30th September ‘“ 1st October 2019 in Thessaloniki, Greece. The Congress is organized by the Triple Helix Association – a non-for-profit, non-governmental association with scientific purpose and a global reach. Continue reading

Neighbourhood & City: Between digital and analogue perspectives

neighborhood_and_cityThe aim of this book is to promote discussion and critical thinking on the urban environment at the intersection of neighborhood and the city from an interdisciplinary and multidimensional perspective, encompassing their socio-spatial relations. It is the third volume of the Culture & Territory Series produced by the CyberParks Project. Continue reading

Unlocking Sustainable Cities: A Manifesto for Real Change

book cover_unlocking sustainable citiesThis book, written by Paul Chatterson, seeks to explore the power of rapidly emerging constellations of connected experiments that can harness the creative power of the many and have the potential to radically unlock the latent potential of cities. It foregrounds that one of the central problems is the way that we approach the very idea of sustainability and questions the dominant urban project of the human species, which he defines as Capitalocene. Continue reading

New Report: Frontier Technologies for Sustainable Development

frontier_technologiesThe World Economic and Social Survey 2018 reviews the advances in frontier technologies ‘“ automation, robotics, electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies, biotechnologies and artificial intelligence ‘“ and analyses their economic, social and environmental impact.   Advances in frontier technologies present new and unique challenges. While promising prosperity, these technologies also present risks of growing unemployment, underemployment and inequality, and raise new ethical and moral challenges. Continue reading