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Dec 09,2023
Planning for Rapid Urbanisation Post-COVID-19
Research Scholars María Mónica Salazar Tamayo and Patrick Lamson-Hall presented their research findings and recommendations in a webinar, “Planning for Rapid Urbanisation in a Post-COVID-19 World,” co-hosted by the Commonwealth Association of Planners and the Prince’s Foundation. Lamson-Hall and Salazar Tamayo look at the global state of urban expansion and address the challenges rapidly growing cities face. Based on the data they have gathered, they outline the principles of the “making-room” paradigm. Lamson-Hall on the challenges of urbanization:
I think when we consider this evidence that shows really clearly that the quality of urban planning has been going down over time, the areas that we have built in the last 25 years are of a lower quality, less walkable, fewer arterial roads, less planning than what was built in the prior 25 years, then when we also consider that there are a lot more of them...we can see that this is a really significant challenge.
To address these challenges, the Urban Expansion team has also taken part in developing the The Prince’s Foundation Rapid Planning Toolkit, a “Mayor’s step-by-step guide to delivering sustainable cities and communities, focused on rapidly urbanising towns and secondary cities,” and the Commonwealth Association of Architects data platform. This involvement has led to participation in a pilot project in Bo, Sierra Leone to test the toolkit’s usability and effectiveness in addressing rapid urbanization challenges.