topos 105 | Mayors

TOPICS

In topos 105 we highlight the role of mayors for the work of landscape architects and urban designers. Today, these professionals operate within a framework that is increasingly determined through complex political processes. It is the mayors who often operate detached from national politics and make a name for themselves by promoting new urban development projects that emphasize sustainable design and green building. We look at a range of exceptional projects and exceptional city leaders and how they have advanced their cities, preparing for climate change, managing urban growth and improving the quality of life.

SYNERGY EFFECTS
How creativity fuels city development

GAME CHANGERS
The power of city leaders to face global threats

POLITICS OUT OF THE ORDINARY
Political activist turned establishment politician: Barcelona's Ada Colau

IN THE FAST LANE
Between economy and ecology: Anne Hidalgo, Paris

THE MAYORS OF LONDON
A portrait of three office-holders

WHY WE NEED WOMEN MAYORS
A plea

MAYORS: FACTS AND FIGURES

DEAR MR. BARBER
A letter written by OMA partner Reinier de Graaf

THE ZERO CITY
Tokyo challenges energy waste and climate change

“I WOULD LIKE TO SHOW THE MODEL OF A SUSTAINABLE CITY TO THE WORLD”
Interview with Governor of Tokyo Yuriko Koike

THE THREE CHALLENGES OF CLAUDIA S.
Mexico City's new mayor: a story of hope and misgivings

MOSCOW'S NEW CLOTHES
The (in)visible transformation of Russia's capital under Sergei Sobyanin

THRESHOLDS TOWARDS RESILIENCE
How LaToya Cantrell fights the consequences of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans

CITY UNDER SHADOWS
Barbara Ludwig, mayor of Chemnitz, and her attempt to protect urban space from right-wing extremists

WALK OF PLASTIC
Troy Bodden, mayor of Utila Island, Honduras, paves the way for clean beaches

LOOKING AFTER THE NIGHTHAWKS
The night mayor of Amsterdam: Shamiro van der Geld