Making Cities Work

MRC McLean Hazel is Making Cities Work. We apply our research tools to understand city dynamics, use best practice examples from around the world to illustrate ways forward, and then develop solutions that are tailor-made for each city. We are unique in ensuring our solutions have a good balance between public space and movement, and are also user focused.  

The world is undergoing the largest wave of urban growth in history. In the 1950s, only some 200 million were city dwellers. By 2030 this number will swell to almost 5 billion (UN, 2009). In just half a century cities have expanded by a factor of 10.

Making Cities Work means developing the ability to manage this growth and its economic, social and environmental implications. It means finding new models, techniques and tools to understand city dynamics, analyse issues, learn from world-wide best practice and bring forward solutions. Technology can help, but only if it is harnessed to contribute to agreed outcomes produced after a transparent governance process. Answers lie in a combination of improved governance, selected infrastructure, applied technology, new delivery models and incentive based behavioural change. If we lose the battle for sustainable urban development, we will surely not meet the global challenge for the future.

It also means finding new concepts to explain the complex forces acting on cities and the consequent challenges that cities face. Our City Mobility Audits will help you to understand the relative position of your city in relation to other similar cities, learn from best practice, and better understand priorities for action. We will provide solutions that take into account key principles for space and movement (the Seven Deadly Wins) as well as new ideas for creating user focused solutions (Citymanager)

 We can help and advise on all aspects of Making Cities Work, City Mobility Audits, Seven Deadly Wins and Citymanager.