Wow!: Climate-resilient homes in Bangladesh aim to put communities first

MD TAHMID ZAMI, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how, while architects and aid groups are investing in climate-proof housing to withstand disasters, they say the Bangladeshi Government must step up…
Urban poverty: World’s slum populations set to surge as housing crisis bites

The UN says three billion people will live in slums by 2050 unless the world tackles poverty and inequality. NITA BHALLA, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports…
Saving lives: Cyclone Freddy teaches deadly lessons on storm warnings, city sprawl

FRANK PHIRI, MANUEL MUCARI, and CARIEN DU PLESSIS, of Reuters, report…
Postcards: Yemeni city looks to ancient past to survive climate change

MAYA GEBEILY, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports from Yemen where officials say that, as global warming fuels extreme weather in climate-vulnerable Yemen, restoring the Tawila Cisterns could help avert future disasters…
Portrait of poverty: UN visits Tripoli, Lebanon, poorest place on Med

MAYA GEBEILY, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on what United Nations’ special rapporteur on poverty Olivier de Schutter found when he visited Tripoli as part of a fact-finding mission to Lebanon…
Pakistan project wins award for shielding villages from natural disasters

Thomson Reuters Foundation A project that combines satellite images, mapping technologies and the local knowledge of villagers to help build climate-proof settlements in disaster-prone areas of Pakistan won an international award last week. More than one million people have benefited from the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) Pakistan project, which was a gold prize […]
Trees alone can’t win fight against soaring heat, cities warned

Abu Dhabi, UAE Thomson Reuters Foundation Popular projects to plant more trees and expand green space in cities may not protect residents from soaring and often deadly heat unless the efforts target those most in need of relief and bring communities closer, researchers and policymakers said. As record numbers of people move into urban areas, […]
Postcards: In war-ravaged Kabul, women throng parks for peace and picnics

RINA CHANDRAN, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports…
In Asia’s booming cities, urban planners urged to include the poor

Penang, Malaysia Thomson Reuters Foundation Urban planners in rapidly expanding Asian cities must involve the poorest residents in decision-making and include informal spaces if they are serious about tackling inequality, development experts said on Wednesday. More than 2.3 billion people in Asia-Pacific live in cities, and that number is expected to reach nearly 3.5 billion […]