Urban Transformations and BBC Brazil launch a new series of articles on the future of cities

With Brazil’s municipal elections scheduled in a few weeks time, the Urban Transformation Network, United Kingdom Economic and Social Research Council (UT-ESRC) has partnered with BBC Brazil to produce a series of articles exploring the challenges and opportunities of urbanisation in the 21st century.

Designed to coincide with the landmark discussions in Quito, Ecuador of Habitat III and the ‘New Urban Agenda’, they explore the future of cities in Brazil and worldwide, discussing a variety of issues including transport, health, public security, sanitation, water and liveability.

Each piece is authored by a different team of researchers linked to the Urban Transformations portfolio. Funded by the British and Brazilian governments, they span a range of comparative projects examining different aspects of contemporary urban life. The findings aim to support the development of safer, more inclusive cities in both countries.

The first in the series, “What can we say about the future of cities in Brazil and the world?”, co-authored by Michael Keith, Andreza de Souza Santos and Nicholas Simcik Arese, can be accessed in Portuguese here on the BBC website, with the follow up article on health in remote Amazonian cities by Luke Parry, Patricia Torres, Andre Moraes and Jesem Orellana. The third in the series, exploring the difficulties older residents experience in cities, is authored by Rodrigo Siqueira Reis and Geraint Ellis. The fourth, by Eliana Sousa Silva, Cathy McIlwaine and Paul Heritage, is on combating gender-based violence through better urban design.  The fifth, by Deljana Iossifova and Ulysses Sengupta, explores how science and technology can help transform the health system in Brazil. The sixth, by Joana Barros and Mike Batty, examines the connections between transport accessibility and urban inequalities. The final article in the series, on access to water, energy and food among children and youth, was developed by Peter Kraftl and Sophie Hadfield-Hill.