Volume 1 Issue 4, April 2024

In this interview, Peter D. Blackmer, Assistant Professor of Africology and African American Studies at the Eastern Michigan University, spoke to us from Detroit to discuss the value of grassroots perspectives in urban research and oral history as a method.

An international conference about gentrification gathered scholars, activists and practitioners to discuss urban changes worldwide that are displacing poorer residents to develop upscale areas.

The relationship between urban mobility and economic development remains controversial. New research analyzes how people in major US cities move and shows the power of infrequent and irregular activities in predicting economic development.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect urban climate actions worldwide? A study now finds that although the climate commitments of most cities persisted, low engagement in green recovery interventions can hamper long-term goals.

Flood risk exposure has traditionally focused on people’s place of residence, but people do not spend all day in their homes. This Article depicts a more complex story by place and time of day, arguing that flood risk exposure is more complex than what traditional measures show.

Adapting to warming cities is increasingly crucial. This study determines the most effective retro-reflective surfaces, which reflect incoming solar radiation. The authors consider various latitudes, seasons, urban geometries, street orientations and wall directions to assess the broad applicability of this cooling strategy.

Forests hold and absorb carbon, addressing a root cause of climate change. Given the rise of cities, many current and potential forests surround cities in ‘peri-urban’ areas. These peri-urban forests may play a particularly important role in providing ecosystem services and promoting livable cities. This study geographically assesses peri-urban areas available worldwide for planting trees under different scenarios, finding enormous capacity.

This study looks at the changes in Chinese port cities in relation to demography and emissions reductions to examine the relationship between health and emissions. They found that even though shipping-related PM_2.5 decreased, mortality associated with long-term exposure to it increased by 11%.

This study compares urban activities by frequency and matches them with socioeconomic data in three US cities. It found that mobility patterns predict economic outputs but it is the infrequent activities (for example, going to French restaurants) that have the highest explanatory power.

This study analyzed data on 793 cities to see how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their climate commitment and actions. It found that although climate actions persist, funding has fallen and less than half of the cities implemented green recovery initiatives.

Toyia Watts, President of Charlevoix Village Association in Detroit, speaks as a long-term resident of a neighbourhood targeted for gentrification.