#1: Announcing Urbanism Now

What if your city's biggest challenges were being tackled right now in another corner of the world?

Urbanism Now is here to bring you the best ideas from around the world to inspire action where you (c)are.

What is it?

A weekly newsletter summarizing the most important, innovative, and thought-provoking urbanism articles from far and wide.

Curated to be brief and insightful, giving readers insights they can use to make their cities better.

Cities everywhere face challenges like housing affordability, transportation, climate resilience, and public space design. By connecting global perspectives, Urbanism Now aims to show what is possible and spark ideas to improve your community.

Why are we starting this newsletter?

As urban scholars, our education took us across borders, providing us with a vast body of knowledge about how diverse communities and cities have implemented positive change. For example, Bogotá's bus rapid transit system, how Amsterdam radically shifted to a bike-friendly city, or how Vienna has sustained a vast portfolio of public housing.

When you’re outside of the academic sphere, learning about new and inspiring international examples becomes challenging and requires intention. We are solving this by bringing together news and resources from every corner of the globe in a short and digestible weekly newsletter.

Who is it for?

Anyone who aspires to improve their city. Concerned citizens, activists, urban planners, academics, or excited students.

Who is it by?

Raymond Berger is a software engineer turned urbanist. After building technology at organizations including The New York Times, BuzzFeed, and Maven.com, he realized: while technology can empower individuals, it's the fundamental systems we live in - our cities and communities - that truly impact our quality and potential of life. His mission is to inspire people to critically examine and boldly reimagine the systems that shape our daily existence: how we live, move, eat, and interact within our cities. Only by understanding and transforming these core systems can we create the sustainable and vibrant communities the world deserves.

Maria Paula Moreno Vivas is a Colombian housing policy urbanist who explores the intersection of city planning, affordability, and community wellbeing. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, she has worked in partnership with local governments and nonprofits to address housing and environmental challenges. She is breaking down disciplinary boundaries in urban planning to create sustainable, equitable, and resilient cities that work for all; Development without communities’ participation is stagnation.

We won’t keep you waiting. Here’s our first roundup:

• New York City launched the nation’s first congestion pricing program this month. With 43K fewer drivers (click here if the link is broken) on the road, preliminary results are promising.

• Speaking of big cities dealing with traffic, Bogotá, Colombia celebrated 50 years of Ciclovía in December! More than 100 Kilometers of highway are shut down to cars and opened to pedestrians and cyclists over 70 times a year. Chris N. Morfas describes the weekly transformation beautifully.

• Next City, a U.S.-focused publication, released its most-read stories of 2024, featuring coverage of a "Universal Basic Mobility Experiment."

• Fruit and meat consumption increased in Indonesia as food delivery apps reached the country. Unfortunately, so did body mass index (BMI) scores.

• The Urban Innovators Academy in Cyprus is accepting applications through Jan. 30 for its five-day sustainable mobility training program for undergraduate students.

Did we miss something exciting? Feeling inspired by these stories? Have some encouragement to share?

Join the conversation in the comments below and pass this along to a friend!

Ciclovia in Bogotá, 2009. Source: Ciclovia em Bogotá.jpg