cities

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City Environments
on this page: headlines, recommended listening, videos, events related: city parks, people, rtcities flickrgroup: [|City Parks] flipboard: [|Cities] (121 readers, 21 followers) slideshare: [|responsible tourism in cities] (34,000+ views), [|city parks on the social web], (7,000+ views), [|cities] (1,000+ views) google docs: [|City Tourism and the Social Web] editing: [|Cities]

Urban ecotourism? It's about time!

Essay
Cities need human voices to articulate stories about sustainable practices and responsible travel. At its best, these are face-to-face encounters which are often supplemented by the social web. Think blended learning! We're able to meetup in person if we have established contact via our smartphones and digital devices.

We've been tuned into city environments for some time. 2014 was the 10th anniversary of our [|urban ecotourism conference]. Back then we were told that ecotourism was distinct from city tourism, nevermind the fact that to get to the remote outdoors people usually transit through an urban hub.

Ten years ago we did not have the mobile revolution that continues to shake the ground underneath our feet. Could we have imagined Facebook or YouTube? Could we have foreseen the immediacy of livestreaming events via Google Hangouts?

Our view: if we want to protect the world's forests, we need to start in the city parks and make sure that the trees are planted are tended. Likewise if we value the purity of our air and our water, it's time to look at city environments.

We would like to deepen our conversation by spotlighting various cities around the world. Suggestions, are welcome. Editors are invited to share headlines and relevant resource links.

If you want to develop or document a new project, come on board! Editors and non-editors are welcome to [|edit a collaborative Google doc].

Those interested in this topic should also check out Responsible Tourism in Cities.

Headlines
https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/postlive/transformers-cities-connecting-local-governments-with-citizens-and-their-cities/2017/11/14/596ef9ee-c956-11e7-b506-8a10ed11ecf5_video.html https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/jul/03/which-worlds-most-biodiverse-city-extreme-cities https://theconversation.com/go-native-why-we-need-wildlife-allotments-to-bring-species-back-to-the-burbs-69631 http://www.thenatureofcities.com/2015/06/14/how-can-we-engage-residents-to-conserve-urban-biodiversity-talk-to-them http://www.accorhotels-group.com/en/news/urban-ecotourism-greening-cities.html http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/04/nature-urban-national-parks http://news.wtmlondon.com/blog/responsible-tourism/how-can-cities-meet-the-needs-of-locals-and-tourists http://safecities.economist.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/EIU_Safe_Cities_Index_2015_white_paper-1.pdf (PDF) [|The 10 worst city tourism videos] [|The Rise of the 'Free' City Tour] - [|@vickybaker] [|The secrets of the world's happiest cities] [|How well do cities use the social web?] [|Crowd-Sourced Sightseeing] [|Ciudades no sostenibles]

Cities and Climate Change http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2014-320

Wiki
Responsible Tourism in Cities

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Flipboard
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Events
http://cbc.iclei.org/dialogue%20twelve
 * May 12** [|Connecting Cities and Nature URBIS Webinar]

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Hashtag: [|#CitiesDay] http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/oct/27/the-2014-world-cities-day-challenge-whats-your-favourite-city-idea
 * October 31** [|World Cities Day]

City Spotlight
Compare and contrast!

Responsible Cape Town Taking Responsibility for Tourism RT Policy and Action Plan || [|blog] Flickr Facebook YouTube @CapeTownTourism || Cape Town Green Map Smart Living Handbook Green Building Guidelines Green Events Guidelines [|Recyclers' Map] || [|Facebook] [|YouTube] || First Friday Las Vegas Green Drinks [|Green Chips] http://www.rtcsnv.com [|@RTCSNV] || [|@febobalam] || http://www.planverde.org || [|1roConocetuCd] ||  || [|Quito Visitor's Bureau] ||  || [|@noticiasquito] ||   ||
 * || **City** || **Government** || **Tourism Portal** || **Social Web** || **Sustainability** ||
 * media type="custom" key="23845732" || Auckland, New Zealand || [|aucklandcity.govt.nz] || [|Auckland Tourism Bureau] || [|Flickr] || [|Regional Parks] ||
 * media type="custom" key="23845750" || Cape Town, South Africa
 * things to do in cape town
 * responsible travel in cape town || [|capetown.gov.za] || [|Capetown.travel]
 * media type="custom" key="23845758" || Las Vegas, USA
 * dtlv
 * wetlands park
 * http://planeta.com/vegas-wetlands || [|lasvegasnevada.gov] ||  || [|@cityoflasvegas]
 * media type="custom" key="23845726" || London, England
 * WTM || [|london.gov.uk] ||  ||   || [|Green London Meetup] ||
 * media type="custom" key="29078193" || Mexico City
 * UNAM || [|df.gob.mx] ||  || [|@PlanVerde]
 * media type="custom" key="25044094" || Oaxaca de Juárez, México ||  ||   || [|Oaxaca.tu.Mexico]
 * media type="custom" key="23845714" || Quito, Ecuador || [|quito.gov.ec]
 * media type="custom" key="23845684" || Sydney, Australia
 * worldparkscongress ||  ||   ||   ||   ||

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auckland, new zealand austin, usa barcelona, spain beijing, china berlin, germany boston, usa brisbane, australia calgary, canada cancún, mexico cape town, south africa chicago, usa christchurch, new zealand copenhagen, demmark durban, south africa edinburgh, scotland jerusalem, israel las vegas, usa lima, peru london, england los cabos, mexico miami, usa melbourne, australia mexico city, mexico moscow, russia oaxaca city, mexico monterrey, mexico philadelphia, usa queenstown, new zealand quito, ecuador tokyo, japan wellington, new zealand whistler, canada
 * Index (in alphabetical order)**

Facebook
Cities [|Oranjezicht City Farm] [|BiophilicCitiesProject]

Flickr
[|City Environments]

Flickr Groups
[|Urban Nature] [|Desire Paths] [|City Parks]

Buzzword Bingo
Architecture - Biodiversity - [|Borough] - Brasilia Syndrome - **City** - Cityscape - Climate Change - Destination - Downtown - Experience - Fanzone - Gateway - [|Gentrification] - Growth - Indigenous - Local - Market - Monorail - Narrative - People - Pocket Park - [|Psychogeography] - Public Transportation - Recycling - Rhythm - Senses - Script - Skyline - Sidewalks - Signs - Sprawl - Street Art - Transportation - Urban - Visitors - Walk - Water - World Class City


 * Brasilia Syndrome** - City planning from high above - Jan Gehl


 * World Class City** - []

TweetChat
#citytalk

Google+
[|This Big City]

Twitter
[|@EngagingCities] [|@thisbigcity] [|@futurecapetown] [|@UrbanIU] [|@CITIESONLINE] [|@FirstFridayLV] [|@andrewboraine] [|@urbanphoto_blog] [|@TNatureOfCities] [|@livingcity2014] [|@SustainCorv] [|@BiophilicCities] [|@leagueofcities] [|@TEDCity2_0] [|@ICLEICBC] https://twitter.com/UrbanAfricaACC https://twitter.com/LaCiudadVerde https://twitter.com/BloombergCities https://twitter.com/BigSurfDon

Twitter: City Parks
[|@sandiegoparks] [|@cityofhenderson] [|@CityOfLasVegas] [|@NYCParks] [|@CentralParkNYC] [|@FortWayneParks] [|@SeattleParks]

Twitter: City Markets
[|@OZCFarm]

Hashtags [|#NaturalezaUrbana] .

Embedded Tweets
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https://twitter.com/Alt_NASA/status/824866277739032577

Questions
We talk about sustainable cities but how will we do it?

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Slideshare
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Questions
Where can I find your information stands and kiosks? Where can one travel on public transport within an hour of the city? Where can one rent a bicycle? Do you have a city guide available for my smartphone? Bioregional focus - Where does the water come from? What is the water supply?

Quotes
“We hold the principle that only a city that is good for its people can be good for its visitors. A city that is safe and healthy for its people is safe for its visitors. A city that is enjoyed by its people can be enjoyed by its visitors. If you believe in this principle, then we can see tourism as a force to rejuvenate cities and infrastructure, boost trade and commerce, and enhance economic activities in cities. We see tourism as an igniter of many activities within the city.” UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai in [|Metropolis Magazine]

Developers on the whole tend to look at success modeled in other cities and then import them rather than trying to figure out something fresh that makes sense for their particular situation. You really have to look at the local conditions and ask what makes sense in terms of quality of life. - Arizona State University design professor [|John Meunier], [|Urban Planning and Climate Change]

Cities exist to bring people together, but cities can also keep people apart Daniel D'Oca, Urban Planner, []

China, like several other countries, is exploring the creation of sustainable urban areas, or “ecocities” as they are known. Around the world, ecocities are beginning to emerge from the drawing board, from [|Masdar City in Abu Dhabi] to [|PlanIT Valley in Portugal]. Aimed at being the world’s largest of its type, [|Tianjin Eco-city] is a collaborative project between the Chinese and Singaporean government that will house 350,000 people in a low-carbon, green environment around half the size of Manhattan by 2020. All going well, the team hope its model for building a sustainable city will provide the blueprint for future urbanization efforts in China, and other countries. [|China's eco-cities: Sustainable urban living in Tianjin]

Recommended listening
[|The power of the city] - Would we be better served by refocusing our social, political and economic energies toward the city, rather than the nation?

[|Rewriting the Book?] - RSA hosts a discussion on the ways that city regeneration can enhance economic competitiveness, community cohesion and a sense of place. We bring together an expert panel to discuss the regenerative potential of large culture-led development schemes. What are the key drivers of social renewal and the development of enterprise and how can cities ensure transformational change is community-driven, allowing greater local ownership and participation?

[|The importance of parks] - How far would you have to walk from where you are now to get to the nearest park? And when you got there what type of experience would that open public space afford you?

[|Psychogeography: discovering the mental terrain of the city] - Take in the smells and sounds of back alleys, recall emotional memories and join us on a 'psychogeographical' adventure, and discover the impact of the city on your psyche.

[|Cities - RadioLab] - There's no scientific metric for measuring a city's personality. But step out on the sidewalk, and you can see and feel it. Two physicists explain one tidy mathematical formula that they believe holds the key to what drives a city.

[|Green Cities] - By 2030, two-thirds of the world's population will be living in cities. How do we build green cities and overcome the barriers to sustainable urban design?

[|The value of green space] - As our cities continue to spread there's increasing pressure on the number of parks and other green spaces. But what are the benefits of urban green spaces when it comes to biodiversity? And what impact do they have on our physical and mental health?

[|Boom cities of Asia] - Competition to achieve global city status has had a profound effect on many booming Asian cities including Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Seoul, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai. But how resilient are these cities to the risks they face? How can they manage continuing pressures for development and growth while reducing their vulnerability to a range of potential crises?

[|Cities] - One of the popular themes at this year's Adelaide Festival of Ideas was Architecture, Planning and Urban Design. The issue of what to do with our urban environments to cater for increasing populations and the need to reduce our cities' carbon footprints is one that's been talked about for years and will be discussed into the future.

[|Living in the city] - Architects working in Australia and China explore how our cities can be better designed.

[|Urban Planning and Climate Change] - Urban planners are considering how to build city infrastructures that would run on limited resources.

Videos
[|GoMA TALKS What makes up a 21st century city and are there any boundaries? - Hosted by Alan Saunders]

Recommended Reading
[|The Urban Agenda] - An overview of the international urban debate since 1976 by Daniel Biau, a UN manager and expert who has been part of the process along the way. "Contrary to a prevalent view, the urbanization process of the developing world has been less chaotic than expected by the media. Many countries are managing their urban development relatively well, particularly in Asia, the Arab States and Latin America...the urbanization of our planet should not be seen as an outright disaster. It has both positive and negative features. The United Nations has always stressed the negative to raise awareness while not placing enough emphasis on the positive role of cities, including their impact on rural development...This article seeks to redress this imbalance."

Wikipedia
[|Planned community] [|Pocket_park] [|Slaapstad] [|Invisible Cities] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Jacobs

Blogs
[|Digital Urban] [|Rebuilding Place]

Elsewhere on the Web
[] - [|@TEDCity2_0] [|Urban Reforestation] - [|Facebook] - [|@URBANREFOREST] [|Cities in Fact and Fiction: An Interview with William Gibson] [|The Top 10 Smart Cities On The Planet] [|Shareable Cities] [|Where are the world’s greenest cities?] [|Sustainable Cities Index - Forum for the Future] [|360cities.net] [|Experience Canberra's Wild Side] EU plans 30 cities to lead world on "smart" energy [|Urban Manifesto: Factors that make a city great] [|The Urban Forest Map] [|Urban Parks: Innovate Or Stagnate - Planetizen] [|Is the green belt getting looser? - BBC] [|World Environment Day 2005: Green Cities] [|World Carfree Network] [|City Compare] [|Vias Verdes] [|Fundación de los Ferrocarriles Españoles] [|The Green Belt Movement] [|Best Practices] [|businessofcities.com] - [|@TheBizOfCities] [|Città Slow (Slow City)] [|City Bugs] [|Ecological Cities Project] [|Living Roofs] [|Planet Drum] [|Planetizen] [|Project for Public Spaces] [|Sister Cities International] [|Sustainable City] [|Sustainable Cities] [|Print Creating sustainable cities - Australian Conservation Foundation] [|Terrain.org] [|Urban Biodiversity] [|Urban Development] [|Urban Ecology] [|Making cities more livable may save the world] [|Cities: Who Decides? - A Grattan Report] [|Urban Manifesto: Factors that make a city great] [|European Cities Tourism] [|African Centre for Cities] [|National urban parks] (Finland) [] (USA) [] [|Cities Magazine] - [|@CITIESONLINE] - Facebook [|Engaging Cities] - [|@EngagingCities] [] []

Art and Culture
[|The Economic Importance of the Arts and Cultural Industries in Santa Fe County] (PDF) [|Art, culture districts, and revitalization - Rebuilding Place]

Jane jacobs https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Jacobs http://janeswalk.org https://mobile.twitter.com/janeswalk http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/blueprintforliving/buildings-or-people-the-view-from-the-street/8797396

Nature of Cities http://planeta.com/the-nature-of-cities/ https://www.thenatureofcities.com https://www.thenatureofcities.com/2017/12/28/highlights-nature-cities-2017/ https://twitter.com/TNatureOfCities

Biodiversity
[|Singapore Index on Cities' Biodiversity] [| User’s Manual for the City Biodiversity Index]

Cities and Biodiversity
What role do you think cities can play in sustaining biodiversity? [|asks] [|@livingcity2014]

Cities play a critical role in sustaining biodiversity, through specific conservation efforts as well as public education and engagement with surrounding rural areas.

City parks are the easiest venues by which to commune with the natural world and with a mix of locals and visitors. Think of the 'tourist attraction' that is Central Park in New York City, Barton Creek in Austin, the [|Viveros Garden] in Mexico City, [|Yamuna Biodiversity Park] in Dehli and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney.

Environmental education takes the form of lectures, workshops and permanent signage.

Urban gardens and markets are taking center stage around the world. In Oaxaca the Pochote Market brings farmers and cooks together on weekends. In Cape Town Market Day at the [|Oranjezicht City Farm] takes place Saturdays.

What can cities do? Help locals and visitors find the city parks! Examples: [|Las Vegas], [|Montreal], [|Auckland], [|Wellington]

Cities that convert airports into city parks: [|Tempelhofer Park] in Berlin.

(Double check on Austin, Quito http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Mariscal_Sucre_International_Airport  and San José)

Cittaslow
[] []

Climate Change
[|Carbonn Cities] [|Carbonn Cities Climate Registry] [|Cynthia Rosenzweig on climate change and cities - Earthsky] [|New Report on Climate Change and Cities a "Wake-Up Call" for Global Policymakers]

Cycling
[|Walk and Bike for Life]

Gardens
[|Historic Gardens: The Florence Charter - ICOMOS] [|Jardines Históricos: Carta de Florencia - ICOMOS] http://www.concernedhistorians.org/content_files/file/et/86.pdf [|Rooftop Gardens - City Farmer]

Urban Agriculture http://futurecapetown.com/2014/11/watch-how-to-create-a-space-for-urban-agriculture/#.VGDhlvTF-F5

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IUCN Urban Program
http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/gpap_home/gpap_people/gpap_tilcepa/gpap_urban http://www.interenvironment.org/USG.html
 * [|The Urban Imperative (2005)]
 * [|Urban Protected Areas (2014)] - http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/bpg_urban_protected_areas.pdf

[|Urban National Parks in Emerging Countries and Cities (UNPEC)]

Español
[|Ciudad Humana] [|Ciudades Sustentables - UNEP]

PARK(ing) Day
PARK(ing) Day is an annual, worldwide event on September 17 that inspires city dwellers everywhere to transform metered parking spots into temporary parks for the public good. PARK(ing) Day was started by some San Francisco basket weavers back in 2005 to call attention to the lack of green space in their city.

Protests
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,2047066,00.html

Quality of Living
[|Mercer's 2010 Quality of Living survey highlights] [|Quality of Living Survey]

Events
[|Program (PDF)] [|Facebook] Twitter: [|@livingcity2014] Hashtag: [|#livingcity]
 * March 7** [|Partnerships for the Living City], Montreal


 * Sep 19-20** [|2nd UNWTO Global Summit on City Tourism: Innovative strategies for improving competitiveness and the development of new business models] takes place in Moscow, Russia. Hashtag: [|#UNWTOCity]

http://www.thecity2.org/about http://www.ted.com/pages/tedx_tedxcity http://www.ted.com/pages/attend_tedcity2 [|Satellite Events] [|@TEDCity2_0] https://www.facebook.com/thecity2.0 [|#TEDCity2]
 * September 20** [|TEDCity 2.0]commences at the TimesCenter in New York City from 9am-5pm EST. Co-curated and co-hosted by Chris Anderson, John Cary, and Courtney Martin, the event surfaces stories of urban ingenuity and interdependence from across the globe, and features an unexpected mix of over 20 speakers. Live-streamed for free, the TEDCity2.0 anchor event will coincide with self organized TEDxCity2.0 events over a 48-hour period. TEDx communities worldwide will envision the cities of our future and share big ideas about collaborative action and sustainable solutions.

[|City Biodiversity Summit 2010] took place concurrently with the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 10) October 24 - 26. Local authorities from around the world exchanged information of biodiversity-related issues and problems in their respective communities and best practice cases for use in their community development.

sustainablecitiescollective
http://sustainablecitiescollective.com

**Transition Towns**
[|Transition Towns] is an amazing movement that brings communities together to build local ecological resilience. Communities are encouraged to seek out methods for reducing energy use as well as reducing their reliance on fossil fuels. They do this in communities locally, and make friends and have a drink and enjoy their lives while they're doing it.

England
[|Sustainable Urban Fringes (SURF)] brings together partners and experts from across the North Sea Region to exchange information and develop a common approach towards the sustainability of urban fringe areas.

Editing
[|City Notebook] [|Urban Ecotourism]

Misc delicious: [|cities]

Documentaries
The Human Scale http://variety.com/2013/film/reviews/film-review-the-human-scale-1200745255/

[|Urbanized]

Recommended Viewing
[|Cities for People: A lecture by Jan Gehl] []

[|James Howard Kunstler: The tragedy of suburbia]

We are going to have to raise more food closer to where we live. The age of the 3,000-mile Cesar Salad is coming to an end.

We are sleep walking into the future.

Life is going to be about living locally. Be prepared to be good neighbors.

Please stop referring to yourselves as consumers. Consumers are different than citizens. Consumers do not have obligations, responsibilities and duties to their fellow human beings. As long as you are using the word 'consumer' in the public discussion you are degrading the discussion we are having and we are going to continue being clueless.

Hosted by the [|Hixon Center for Urban Ecology] and the [|Yale School of Public Health], the conference will be held at Kroon Hall, 195 Prospect Street in New Haven and will be broadcast [|via livestream]. [|Click to register] [|More info] Twitter: [|@YaleFES]
 * February 5-6** [|Urban Nature as a Health Resource]

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Photos
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Videos
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Artwork / Cue Yourself
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