You are here

Cities

Boston Tops Ranking of Energy-Efficient U.S. Cities

Boston scored highest among 34 citiies in the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy's new ranking of municipal energy savings efforts. Photograph by Shobeir Ansari, Flickr/Getty Images

Image: Boston scored highest among 34 citiies in the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy's new ranking of municipal energy savings efforts. Photograph by Shobeir Ansari, Flickr/Getty Images

news.nationalgeographic.com - September 17th, 2013 - Patrick J. Kiger

Though legislation to promote energy efficiency remains in a holding pattern in the U.S. Senate, there was a glimmer of good news on American cities' efforts to achieve energy savings on their own.

According to a new ranking by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, many of the nation's cities are instituting a variety of energy-saving measures such as requiring more efficient building designs, building electric vehicle charging stations, and promoting bike sharing. (See related story: "Bike-Share Schemes Shift Into High Gear.")

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

14 U.S. Cities That Could Disappear Over The Next Century, Thanks To Global Warming

          

1.  Miami, Fla.

There is really no way around it: Thanks to climate change, sea levels are rising. A huge question on the minds of many is, what does this mean for America? Will sea walls and city planning protect major metropolises, or are we bound to lose some national gems?

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

The City as Lab: 21 Metropoles Prepare to Prototype

Living Labs Global co-founder Sascha Haselmayer addresses the crowd in Rio de Janeiro

submitted by Albert Gomez

good.is - by Zak Stone - May 4, 2012

In a megapolis like Mexico City, any planning initiative that moves citizens from cars to busses will pay off in reductions to traffic and air pollution. A major deterrent to using public transportation in the city? Comfort, according to Dr. Julio Mendoza, director of Mexico City's Institute of Science and Technology. Many would rather drive than experience that particular breed of public transportation-pegged anxiety: waiting helplessly on the street corner for a bus that feels like it won't ever arrive.

After participating in the Living Labs Global Award program, a competition designed to help cities solve planning challenges, the Mexican capital may have found a fix. In February, Mexico City and 20 other LLGA participants around the world put out an open call to companies to pitch solutions to important but fixable problems.

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Resilience Alliance

There are many definitions of resilience from simple deterministic views of resilience anchored in Newtonian mechanics to far more dynamic views of resilience from a systems perspective, including insights from quantum mechanics and the sciences of complexity.  One baseline perspective of resilience sees it in terms of the viability of socio-ecological systems as the foundation for sustainability.  For those that are ready to look beyond resilience as the ability to return to the "normal state" before a disaster, take a look at:

http://www.resalliance.org/

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Mesh Cities

 

What does it take to become a smart city?  Why are mesh cities important to sustainability?

 

For more information:

<http://www.meshcities.com/>

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Local Towns Signing Up for Twitter and Facebook for Emergency Comm.

submitted by Samuel Bendett

Homeland Security News Wire - December 7, 2011

Following the lead of several other cities and federal agencies, the town of Wilton, Connecticut recently launched a Facebook page and Twitter account to help communicate with residents and share information during a disaster

Following the lead of several other cities and federal agencies, the town of Wilton, Connecticut recently launched a Facebook page and Twitter account to help communicate with residents and share information during a disaster.

Two major storms, including Hurricane Irene, left many Wilton residents without water or electricity for up to a week and sent a strong signal to emergency officials that they needed to improve disaster communications.

To that end, the town created an official Emergency Facebook Page as well as a Twitter account.

Speaking before the Wilton Board of Selectman, Fire Chief Paul Milositz, who is also the town’s emergency response director, said, “We have to get better at [communication with residents].”

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Detroit in a Hostile Takeover Bid?

CBS News - December 4, 2011

      

The Detroit skyline is seen in this 2008 file photo. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

(AP) 

DETROIT - The idea is extreme, even in a city accustomed to fighting for survival: Should the state of Michigan step in to run Detroit?

The governor has taken steps in that direction, proposing an unprecedented move that could give an appointed manager virtually unchecked power to gut union contracts, cut employee health insurance and slash services. But city leaders bristle at the notion. Said the mayor: "This is our city. Detroit needs to be run by Detroiters."

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Protests in Occupy Oakland are Deepening and Broadening, But Perhaps in the Wrong Direction

One of the concerns from within the Occupy Movement, as well as from outside observers is that police violence is redirecting the energy of the protests into clashes between protesters and the police toward an escalating Victim - Villain - Hero cycle in which violence action is percevied as essential action between increasingly large crowds of citizens and law enforcement.  Increasing reports of police violence and charges are police brutality in many cities seem to be fueling larger and larger crowds inflamed by the injustice of the use of violence by the police against non-violent protesters and reporters acting within their legal rights. 

Meeting / Event Tags: 
Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Gallup Poll: 37% Support Occupy Wall Street Movement

A recent poll is showing that very large numbers of Americans support the Occupy Wall Street movement and that this support may be growing.  This story also shows the general difference between OWS protesters and Tea Party protesters.  OWS protesters are tending to blame the private sector.  The Tea Party protesters are tending to look at government as being at the heart of the problem.  As the OWS movement grows many Tea Party protesters are realizing that they too are part of the 99% embraced by the Occupy Everywhere movement. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/23/occupy-wall-street-poll_n_1027109.html

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Pages

Subscribe to Cities
howdy folks