Annika Lundkvist, FSI on LinkedIn: #walkability #publicspace #spatialequity (2025)

What happens when #urbanplanners, #realestatedevelopment, and #municipalities turn to make life more focused on social dynamics, walkability, and small-scale economic development?All of these themes are prominent in "Latino Urbanism" and are beginning to make an appearance in housing setups, legalizing sidewalk street vendors, and better coexistence. Our bet is that there's likely more enjoyable #housing setups and a more holistic view towards #healthKeep an eye out for Lucia Nogales and James Rojas work across the US, Latin America, and in parts of Europehttps://lnkd.in/gn9iznSA

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'Healthy cities aren’t a question of boring or exciting buildings but about creating better public space.'DPU's Prof. Haim Yacobi explores the role of public space in creating healthy cities in his latest article for The Conversation UK.Check it out: https://lnkd.in/dEHXMxyq#healthycities #healthycommunities #publicspaces #buildingdesign #developement #sdg11 #inclusivecities #safecities

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The importance of media, messaging, narrative and audience engagement. How Carlos Moreno 's "modest proposal for a more enjoyable urban life has caused such vile conspiracy theories".“I said to Hidalgo, the 15-minute city is not an urban traffic plan. The 15-minute city is a radical change of our life.”In his new book "he explains his theory, which is quite simple. When many modern cities were designed, they were for men to work in. Their wives and family stayed in the suburbs, while the workers drove in. So they have been designed around the car, and segmented into different districts: the financial district (think Canary Wharf), the cultural area (for example, the West End) and then the suburbs. They have also often been segmented into wealthier and poorer areas; in the less prosperous area to the north-east of Paris, Moreno says up to 40% of homes are social housing. In the wealthier west of Paris, this drops below 5%...“My idea is to break this triple segregation,” he says"."He also wants to bring schools and children’s areas closer to work and home, so caregivers can more easily travel around and participate in society. He also thinks office should generally be closer to homes, as well as cultural venues, doctors, shops and other amenities. Shared spaces such as parks help the people living in the areas to form communities..."€200m into managing retail areas in the city (Paris) with rates below the speculative real estate market. This is specifically to rent to small shops, artisans, bakeries, bookstores..."Hidalgo inevitably faced a large backlash from the motorist lobby..."Moreno talks about the concept of a “giant metronome of the city” which causes people to rush around. He wants to slow this down, to allow people to reclaim their “useful time” back from commuting and travelling to shops and cultural areas".What's not to love about 15-minute neighbourhoods?!? It's a public health win, an environmental win, a win for communities and local business, and for so much more.#15minutecity #community #localbusiness #community #activetransport #urbanmobility #planning #lifestyle #motoristlobby #neighbourhood #slow https://lnkd.in/gahyeubp

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Vibrant cities shouldn’t be controversial.So, what’s the deal?I live in Los Angeles, but more specifically I live in West Hollywood. Everything I need is walkable from where we live. I can walk to my barbershop, doctor, 15 coffee shops, a coworking space, tons of restaurants, and even the library (though carrying the amount of books our kids read is a stretch without a Sherpa).My life is much more peaceful when I only have to drive a few days a week. Now it’s not perfect, many of our kids activities are in other LA cities. So those are driving occasions. But no ones stopping us as some people seem to think is going to happen. The ideal of 15 minute cities is as much about space as it is about community. Having an area where you can know the folks at the local store, shop, etc - support your local economy and not need to drive as much feels like a huge win. I find that people often latch onto conspiracies when they feel their sense of freedom is threatened. But I think a good comparison for a 15 minute city is just a small town scaled up. We have no problem with the idyllic small town where everything is on Main Street and in close walking proximity, we even try to recreate it (Disneyland, The Grove, etc etc).So the idea of making more of our cities into something similar should not be controversial. And let’s not forget that as citizens we have the ability to actively research and understand these things. We shouldn’t give into conspiracy theories and the like when progress can be made for the better. What do you think ?#15minutecities #futureofwork #work Post inspired by Dan Smolen https://lnkd.in/gEPwpRjt

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A worthwhile read / interesting take.US cities can certainly learn a lot from our European counterparts, but for some of our most pressing issues -- lack of affordable housing, shared transport, climate change, access to public services, cultivation of shared community -- we might be better served by opening ourselves to some of the innovations coming from elsewhere... whether that’s “Latino urbanism” or Indian “jugaad urbanism”.What do you think? https://lnkd.in/evQ_6N-KAccording to Juan Miró, a professor of architecture at the University of Texas, Austin, European best practices have proven ill-equipped to address many urban challenges. “People go to Paris, and say: ‘It’s so beautiful, a model high-density city,’” he said. “But go to the outskirts where immigrants are and they are terrible places to live.”The features that define US urban life — extreme income inequality, sprawling 20th-century development patterns — are also seen throughout Latin America, and the two regions share the same “arc of history,” Miró said: colonization, Indigenous decimation, slavery and independence.“Despite all their problems,” Miró said, “the Americas are way ahead of Europe on issues of coexistence.”World Resources Institute Ani Dasgupta Institute for Transportation and Development Policy Heather Thompson Benjamin de la Peña Midori Valdivia Jyot Chadha New Urban Mobility Alliance - NUMO Shomik Mehndiratta Su Sanni Carlos Felipe Pardo Cedrick Tandong Andrea San Gil León (she/her) Carlo Ratti Gil Penalosa Alice Charles Madhav Pai Onesimo Flores Dewey

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The diverse opportunities at your feet within a metropolitan expanse like Warsaw are really exciting. However, the practicality, comfort and quality of life afforded by experiencing the benefits of a 15-minute (or related) neighborhood lifestyle (within a large city) are, for me, unparalleled. Someone recently commented, when we were discussing the concept of the #15minutecity, that I was taking the issue too personally. I am regularly immersed in papers and literature on the 15-minute city concept. It is a core dimension of my dissertation, which analyzes it within the metropolitan context. I have numerous 15-minute city surveys deployed as well as an interview series with various local players and stakeholders on the topic. But I am more than an urban researcher. This is not simply some cerebral academic topic and planning paradigm for me to analyze.It is a living reality to inhabit, experience and value, and personal experience isn't irrelevant- in fact it is also core to my research process. When I survey and interview people on this topic, I hear stories about the benefits of being able to walk their children to school; of elderly people recognizing the brilliant practicality of having 'everything they need' within a few blocks; of people reflecting that on their days off it's so nice to be able to stay local (if they so choose) and enjoy their amenity-rich neighborhood (and also not uncommonly how that led to them buying or renting in that area). People who work remotely note how practical it is now with a home office to also be able to enjoy so much neighborhood life on their breaks or post-work. I look forward to publishing my research on this topic that is, academically, fascinating to me and, personally, a significant factor in my quality of life. At Pedestrian Space, I have been documenting observations and snippets here and there for the past several years with regard to the 15-minute city and related themes. You can explore here:https://lnkd.in/d6-g-8b6#urbanplanning #urbanism #sustainablecities #sustainableurbanism

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The Past is the Future in Community Planning: Funny how getting back to urban planning for people vs. cars is back in vogue - rightly so as data about Barcelona’s “superblock” planning is pointing to healthier communities, residents and ecosystems. Do you feel safe and inspired walking in your neighborhood? #urbanplanning #communityplanning #CNU

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Why Child-Friendly Cities? A child-friendly city is much more than a safe playground. It’s a city optimised for all its residents, offering green spaces, clean air, and a safe environment where the community, particularly children, can flourish. By shifting the focus towards accommodating children, cities naturally become more livable, inclusive and vibrant, enhancing the quality of life for all residents.So what concrete steps can we take to make this vision a reality? In today's blog, our resident expert Nicolaie Moldovan, EMBA talks through these, as well as the benefits and overall impact of making our cities child-friendly 👇#europeofcities #europe #childfriendly #childfriendlycities #inclusivity #urbanplanning #urbanism #sustainability #safecities

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🏙️ Understanding Cities as Complex Systems 🚖How can cities cater to resident needs while sustaining economic security? How do we balance innovation for investment & innovation for culture? 🎨 As indicated in the article, our perspective must extend beyond singular buildings and structures, shifting attention towards cities as intricate ecosystems. Cities as complex systems are made up of diverse needs, both physical and social, interwoven into a dynamic whole. The essence of urban progress lies in embracing diversity. Whether it's improving housing quality, securing inclusive public spaces, ensuring accessible amenities, or establishing dependable infrastructure and services, a comprehensive approach is essential. Innovation and problem-solving in urban planning hinges on how we approach the interconnected nature of urban elements. This mean connecting stakeholders in all corners and at all levels. What do you want to see from urban development over the next ten years? 👀

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This is a short video of a city constructing equality and happiness. Wonderful pedestrian public spaces (designed for people´s enjoyment, not simply a forest for birds). People of all incomes meet as equals. They have contact with nature, trees, green, waterfronts. Such spaces make life happier for people of all income and ages, for the handicapped, for everyone. This is New York´s Battery Park City, on the Hudson riverfront and largely an infill in the Hudson River, partly from the World Trade Center excavations. Such infill would very likely not have been permitted by today´s environmental authorities, who tend to forget that human habitats occupy less than 1% of countries´areas.Also in New York, a large park on the banks of the Hudson River was to be located in spaces created by moving the West Side Highway underground and expanding the waterfront on spaces between dozens of docks dating from the nineteenth century. The project was going to generate 280 hectares for waterfront parks and housing. Some civic groups objected to the project for a number of reasons, among them covering of water between the docks. Short term political squabbling impeded the project. Finally, in 1985 a judge ruled that the project could not be implemented because of the shadow over the water that would be covered might affect the fish.Consequently, the city lost an opportunity to bury a major motorway, build thousands of homes, and create a formidable park on the river, many times larger than the one the images show.

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