Weekly Urban News Update
July 20th, 2018
In This Update
Observe and Report
Planning Inclusion
Data Driven
New Publications of Note
"No Time to Waste" IHC Global Weekly Feature
We Were There!
IHC Global Members: Look out for the IHC Global special report from the United Nations High Level Political Forum early next week and get an in depth view of the progress of IHC Global's Focus Topics as they relate to the SDGs of the 2030 Agenda, more coming soon!


Upward Reach
It is more than coincidence that our social and cultural understandings of success have a direction that is visible in architecture; upward. As cities grow, and people aspire to and within them, issues of space and density become more than physical. Read more on the politics and planning of our modern vertical economy here.

The Big Local
At the United Nations High Level Political Forum (HLPF) this past week, some member states submitted their Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) about their progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda. New York City, however, submitted the first ever Voluntary Local Review, and they tracked their progress toward sustainability, equity, and inclusion. Going beyond SDG 11-cities, New York City presented an unprecedented, even unorthodox, way of tracking SDG progress locally and globally. Read more  here.

Inclusive Planning
Discussions of urbanization, from local to national to global, often raise concerns about inclusiveness, equity and equality in the rapidly developing urban spaces world wide. Seattle, Washington is taking steps toward more comprehensively inclusive planning by requiring developers to involve the communities their projects would affect in the early phases of planning. Read more  here .

Inclusive Zoning
Or, rather, inclusionary zoning or IZ. This strategy is used by local governments and city planners to plan more economically sustainable and socially equitable urban spaces by creating incentives for private developers, potential home buyers, and residents, by planning with a specific awareness of property market rates in a given area. CityLab University provides a more in-depth discussion of IZ and its applications present and future   here .
Something's in the Air
Discussion of Smart Cities often talk about sensors and data driven policy frameworks and implementation projects. A tangible example of how Smart technologies are already visible in many urban areas is that of low-cost, low-impact sensors that report the conditions of the city and its environment. In some U.S. towns and cities, these lightweight sensors are already being used to track air quality data in real time. Read more here.

What is There
Informal housing takes on many forms, and will continue to as urbanization increases world wide. Often, informal housing creates a disparity in understandings of land usage between the lived experience of a resident of an area and the cadastral understanding of a planner, other government official, or developer. Read more about how data driven solutions are bridging this gap between the informal and formal, planning and people, here.
New Publications of Note

Learning From the Best
Even the most seasoned in the Real Estate business could use some advice on commercial property. IHC Global Board Member Alex Ruggieri provides exactly that in his new book The Executive's Guide to Buying Commercial Property. Be sure to add IHC Global to your Amazon Smile when you pick up the book

People Centered and Inclusive
As IHC Global continues to strive toward achieving a sustainable and equitable urban future, we are excited about the continuation of our Smart City Just City campaign. Keep the New Urban Agenda in mind as you help us take the lead on analyzing the current trends and putting forward policy framework with a global vision, read more here.

The City We Need
In collaboration with the UN Habitat World Urban Campaign, FIABCI, the International Real Estate Federation, published their new book:
The City We Need is Affordable Vol. III. Following their side event at the UN HLPF this past week, FIABCI presents an on going discussion of the future of urbanization worldwide and the progress of SDG 11-Cities. Read more  here.
No Time to Waste
Expert architect, urban planner, and IHC Global Board Member, Eduardo Rojas continues his cutting edge work on 'applying the lessons from Latin America's 50 years of housing policies,' with the recent publication of "No Time to Waste" with the International Institute for Environment and Development(iied). Find the article here, and more info on iied here.
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