How Verhalenhuis Belvédère keeps Katendrecht connected: Participation, recognition, solidarity

May 31, 2026

Verhalenhuis Belvédère demonstrates how community-led, culturally rooted public spaces bolster neighbourhood resilience during urban renewal by combining participatory co-creation, flexible programming, recognition, and memory work. More broadly, examples like this show how a socio-spatial triad—spatial agency, networked solidarity, and identity grounding—can help protect neighbourhood identity and strengthen lasting social infrastructure in diverse communities.

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Enhancing green infrastructure within slums can promote residents’ well-being

May 22, 2026

Green infrastructure has been conceived as something for the well-off in cities of developed countries. How green infrastructure contributes to quality of life and wellbeing in slums and informal settlements is largely unknown. A survey of the residents (sample size = 455) within a slum community (Ikorodu-Ajegunle) in Lagos, Nigeria. The survey was preceded by stakeholder forum where actors from health, urbanism, environmental sectors discussed the links and made inputs to the research instrument used for data collection.

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Natural experiments in urban air quality in Rwanda

April 12, 2026

To understand the current drivers of air pollution, we used two natural experiments (Car-Free Day and COVID-19 Lockdown) to examine their impact on air pollution using particulate matter air pollution data in Kigali City. The health impact of non-motorized transport events in Kigali, known as ‘Car-Free Days,’ goes beyond just mass physical exercise. Importantly, it has reduced air pollution by 15%, this is expected to save more than 200 disability-adjusted life years annually.

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Want diversity? Collaborate and plan with members from equity-deserving groups 

April 12, 2026

People from equity-deserving groups have unique needs, barriers, and priorities that need to be addressed in order to create inclusive and accessible active transportation. This paper highlights some of the complexities of planning for different cultures, languages, ages, and abilities. Recommendations are made to support municipalities with creating better active transportation infrastructure and policies.

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Urban design as an antidote to loneliness?

April 12, 2026

Recognizing the challenges of social isolation and loneliness among the aging population; research attention is turning to explore the social dimension of urban design and questions of how the built environment can support social interaction. In the rapidly evolving context of transit-based urbanism, urban spaces not only enhance the city’s overall livability but also offer older adults increased accessibility and interaction opportunities beyond their immediate residential neighbourhood, potentially alleviating feelings of social isolation and loneliness.

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