How Better Urban Planning Codes Lead to Greener, Sustainable Cities
As cities across West and North West Africa continue to expand rapidly, they face immense pressures—from climate shocks to population growth and deepening inequality. Yet the policies and planning frameworks governing these urban spaces often lag behind. They are shaped more by colonial legacies and outdated models than by the needs and creativity of their […]
Reclaim Tomorrow: Co-Create Greener, Safer, More Regenerative Communities
The future of our cities will not be delivered to us. It must be built—together. Across West and North West Africa, climate stress, rapid urbanisation, and widening inequality call for a profound shift in how we shape the places we live. But this shift won’t come from concrete alone. It must emerge from collaboration, material […]
Circularity in Construction: Where Bamboo Belongs
Urban planning should serve both the city and its people. That principle lies at the heart of sustainable development. When we speak of circularity in construction, we speak of more than recycling. We refer to a system where buildings respect resource limits, regenerate natural systems, and strengthen social bonds. In this, bamboo has a rightful […]
Designing with Bamboo: Sustainable Materials for the Urban Public Good
Through the analogy of urban metabolism, there is an understanding in policy cirlces that cities breathe. Their streets pulse with movement, their parks hum with conversation, and their buildings stand as witnesses to history. Yet, beneath this liveliness, an old challenge lingers—how to build with care, for both people and the planet. Bamboo, often dismissed […]
Biophilic Urbanism: Designing Cities That Heal Us
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove in Kyoto, Japan In a world increasingly shaped by glass, steel and concrete, biophilic urbanism offers a quiet but essential idea: that our cities should not just house us—but heal us. They should be places where we breathe easier. Where trees and water aren’t decorative, but foundational. Where the built environment doesn’t […]