Groupe Chronos

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• Liveable Cities Rankings

  Almost weekly, it seems, an organization releases its annual "best cities" list. These lists rank everything from the best cities for young professionals or working mothers, to the best cities for urban gardening or entrepreneurs. A number of organizations tackle the bigger, broader challenge of ranking the world's most liveable cities.
  What determines if a city is "liveable"?

  03/06/2010
• Importing rural functions to the urban fringe

  The economic transition from Fordism to Post-Fordism has led to a massive industrial restructuring in Europe during the last 30 years. One of the most pronounced physical consequences has been the changing fate of industrial areas. Those with a relative central location, not too far from the core of city regions have generally managed the transition well - on the one hand, some have said goodbye to heavy manufacturing, on the other, some have welcomed service firms and knowledge intensive industries. However, the situation is rather different for industrial areas located further away. Often, the result is urban wastelands dominated by derelict buildings and neglected by decision makers.

  03/05/2010
• No(Ar)t in my backyard

  19/04/2010
• There is no Planet B

  Whether on bikes, cargo-bikes or warmly wrapped up in prams, more than 50,000 people were demonstrating on saturday in Copenhagen streets (30,000 according to the police and 100,000 according to the organizers). From the Parliament Square in the city center towards the Bella Center where the negociations take place, streets were packed with yellow signs saying : "THERE IS NO PLANET B" (as you can read below).

  16/12/2009
• Focus on innovative "citizen bikes"

  Citizen Bike : the expression has been coined by Le Club des Villes et Territoires Cyclables. It calls for a new relationship to the city, based on such principles as sharing and exchanges between individuals.

  03/12/2009
• On the road to the smurfs' village?

  In the recently published After the Car, John Urry and Kingsley Dennis envision different scenarios for a post automobile future (read J. Urry's interview in Libération). One of them focuses on local self-sufficiency and the revival of the local economy. This is a two-sided story : while some support its positive effect on the environment, others view it as sort of a "shrinking daily life" and there are obviously some social global issues at stake. For instance, countries with tempered climates are indeed favoured in this scenario. Yet, whatever the answer is, one has to admit that the local scenario is gaining ground...

  30/11/2009
• The A,B,C of the everyday bike

  What can we learn from bike share programs?

  Bike share programs are not the only solution to implementing bike riding within cities. Yet, it triggers something off. Whether in Barcelona, Boston, Paris or Montreal, the same massive joining can be seen and entails similar positive effects (See also Vélib accélère le droit à la mobilité).

  30/10/2009