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George Ferguson, Mayor of Bristol, talks about why Bristol was selected as 2015 European Green Capital, and about Bristol’s program to become greener and healthier in the future.

“Thanks Suzanne, and first a denial: it’s not down to me that we are European Green Capital. I’ve been involved as an activist in the city for many years, but it is down to ALL those activists. It is down to Bristol’s Green Capital Partnership, which is a partnership of 800 organizations, and I always say, this is a great city in spite of its leadership. It is a great city because its a city of people who take initiative, and its the people who take the initiative that make a good place. I think that applies to everywhere, and my job is to enable…

2015 IMCL Design Awards  presented at the 52^nd IMCL Conference in Bristol include the following: IMCL Honor Award for a Built Project, to the New Town of Cayala, Guatemala, Pedro Godoy & María Sánchez, Richard Economakis and Léon Krier. IMCL Honor Awards for Proposed Projects were awarded for the Urban Regeneration ZEN, Arch. Ettore Maria Mazzola; and Baltimore Urban Farmstead, Scott Truex, Sustainable Communities Institute.  For more Awards and Honorable Mentions, please click here. 

Imagine a major intersection with no traffic lights, no traffic signals, no painted lines on the road, and no curbs. Now imagine that scenario with over 26,000 vehicles passing through a traditional village center with heavy pedestrian traffic bustling through. Believe it or not, this already exists and it’s called a “shared space” and it is located in the village of Poynton. Ben Hamilton-Baillie is the urban designer responsible for this phenomenon, and he will be a keynote speaker at this year’s 52^nd International Making Cities Livable Conference on Achieving Green, Healthy Cities.

By KJ Kresin

When I was growing up my family and I went to Peru every two years to spend a couple months with my mom’s family. Her father lived in Lima but was born in Arequipa, which meant we would stay there for a few weeks at a time. When we weren’t relaxing or exploring with our extended family, my mom would take charge and take us to some hidden gems around the town. One night, while staying in Arequipa a 6.3 earthquake struck the town at two in the morning. When the sun came up, my first thought was, “how do I get out of this earthquake ridden town?” My mom however, without hesitation took me to La Plaza de Armas in the middle of the city.