The Ecotopia 2121 project details the futures of 100 super-ecofriendly cities across the globe as though they've overcome all social problems as well as the climate crisis. This week, we showcase the urban future of Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal. Vila Nova de Gaia, or just Gaia as the locals call it, is a Portuguese city of 200,000. It’s not really a stand-out city by any means; its most notable feature being the many cellars where barrels of port-wine are allowed to age. By th

The capital of Ghana is increasingly exposed to fatal and costly urban floods every year, made worse by unregulated construction over waterways and by streams clogged-up with garbage. If the floods continue into the future in this chronic manner, they will probably encourage the people of Accra’s flood-prone zones to migrate to other areas. Over the coming decades, those families who build their houses above the flood-line will avoid disaster. After one-hundred years of this

As a an academic in environmental studies, I've taught an array of standard survey courses in the field; environmental politics, environmental sociology, environmental history, environmental philosophy etc etc. and I've enjoyed all this very much. However, I've also had the opportunity to draw up a few specialized courses from scratch using novel or creative methods of teaching or study. Perhaps, the strangest three of these are listed below (with a brief description). I put

The Ecotopia 2121 project predicts the future of 100 super-ecofriendly cities across the globe -- as though they have survived climate change and gone on to flourish anew. Today, we highlight the future of El Dorado. Every dozen years or so, a 'Lost City' is unearthed. Previously confined to legend, or to a few texts, or maybe completely forgotten altogether, Lost Cities re-emerge now and again to confront us with stories of how people lived in times past. Despite being shrou