Our world is urbanising at an increasing rate. Structures, systems and policies that were developed in the twentieth century or earlier are increasingly insufficient for responding to, and mitigating against, an emerging set of challenges concentrated in urban areas of the planet. While conflict and disaster are the most visible and immediate challenges, displacement, transport, energy, resource competition, new technologies and other issues compound the difficulties of governing urban areas. New thinking is required on urban planning, architecture, movement of goods, people and labour, services, consumption and public spaces to meet the pressing demands of a rapidly changing urban landscape.
The Urban Challenges Network (UCN) at Coventry University brings together researchers covering:
- Humanitarian Engineering
- Conflict and peace
- Security and terrorism
- Infrastructure and construction
- Disaster management
- Refugees, migration and forced displacement
- Smart transport
- Shrinking cities
- Architecture and urban design
- Aging cities and public health
We work in partnership with the UNESCO UNITWIN initiative and the Global Alliance for Urban Crises. Our work addresses the challenges detailed in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the New Urban Agenda and the World Humanitarian Summit’s Grand Bargain. The Urban Challenges Network brings together researchers to seek innovative solutions to some of the planet’s intractable complexities. The aim is for CU researchers and postgraduate students to be better networked, to share information about upcoming events, funding opportunities and innovations in the sector.
