Hi everyone,
I’m opening registrations for the next Urban Solutions Journalism Academy, a two-hour online workshop on how to tell rigorous, engaging stories about what’s working in our cities.
After running several editions (online and in person), I’ve decided to continue the Academy as a paid workshop. If you’d like to join the next session on April 8th, you can find all details and register here:
The Academy is for you if you:
- work in urban planning or city-making and would like to write about your projects more clearly and confidently
- are interested in freelance writing on urban topics
- are a journalist or communications professional looking for a practical framework to report on cities in a solutions-focused way
But even if you’re not planning to join, I’d like to share why I believe solutions journalism matters (especially now).
Cities are facing immense pressures: housing shortages, climate adaptation, inequality, strained public services. We need critical reporting on these challenges. But we also need reporting that carefully examines responses – what has been tried, what evidence exists, what the limitations are, and what others can learn.
Solutions journalism is not positive PR. It’s rigorous reporting on responses. It asks: Does this work? For whom? Under what conditions? And what can other cities take from it?
In my recent work, for example:
- I profiled Ingrina Shah, a National Park City ranger working to make London’s green and blue spaces more inclusive and accessible.
- I wrote about an NGO rethinking how people with disabilities can access swimming in cities – a simple but powerful example of how design and community action intersect.
These are small pieces in a much bigger puzzle: how we share practical knowledge between cities. Stories hold immense power to not just inspire but also share ways of making our cities work. That is why I think it’s so important to spread the word about solutions from urban contexts all over the world.
Recently, I also taught Azerbaijani students how to report from large international events like the World Urban Forum. I’ll share my tips with you in a coming article. And if you’re coming to WUF13 in Baku this May, I’d love to connect.
Thank you, as always, for reading and for caring about how we tell stories about cities.
More soon!
