The Albanian capital Tirana is centering its urban planning around the smallest and most vulnerable members of society: its children. CityLab's "Room to Grow" series explains that Tirana is following the global trend of seeing urban children's well-being as a barometer for a city's inclusiveness, accessibility, and sustainability. Among other initiatives the city has installed 33 new playgrounds and a central cycle lane grid that encourages children to cycle with their parents or adult supervisors. The Tirana case is especially interesting, says CityLab's Ferguson Sullivan, given Albanians' historically turbulent relationship with politicians. Sullivan suggests that a successful child-first approach to urban management might build public faith in their government.

Last week UN Habitat Executive Director Maimunah Sharif spoke with GovInsider on the  progress and future of UN Habitat as it pursues the Sustainable Development Goals globally. Progress in 2018, she asserted, stemmed from important technological partnerships. For Sharif, addressing poverty, mobility, and gender inclusion requires UN Habitat to continue to embrace technological innovations and solutions. Sharif asserted that open-source apps and programs like Minecraft, SpeakUp, and Sustainable Cities Consultation have been a "fantastic way to engage hard-to-reach groups especially youth in participatory processes."

Irish Times contributor Helen Shaw proposes Ireland think transnationally as it addresses its current housing crisis. Shaw writes that too often the Irish view their housing crisis through a particularly Irish historical and political lens. Instead, she asserts, Ireland must consider its housing problems and solutions as part of a global and especially European housing crisis. Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau agrees that Europe must "unite on housing."  European cities can draw on the models of and lessons learned by their neighbors and also use existing legal frameworks, especially the European Union,  to codify housing legislation into European and national laws. 

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The introduction of electric scooters in Washington, D.C., in addition to the number of pedestrian and traffic-related deaths in 2018 has meant that the dockless vehicles have figured prominently in urban and transportation-related debates this year. But, as a recent panel pointed out, these disagreements are restrained to the downtown core and the more affluent areas of the District: there are few if no scooters in neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River. According to panelist Denise Rolark-Barnes, many residents in Wards 7 and 8, "are not even aware of these scooters." The mal-distribution of such smart devices illustrates the need for cities to be more intentional about smart technology investment and understand the impact that it can have. But, District Department of Transportation spokesperson Terry Owens says that district officials are "working to ensure better distribution of the privately operated services." IHC Global's Smart City Just City is seeking to raise awareness and address the use of smart tools and technology in cities to advance greater inclusiveness and opportunity.

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The World Resources Institute selected five finalists for its Ross Center for Sustainable Cities Prize that awards $250,000 to a transformative project to initiate city-wide change. The prize awards creative municipal projects and policies that solve problems common to cities and offer the potential of scaleability. The geographical range of the award's finalists, Medellin (Colombia), Pune (India), Durban (South Africa), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), and Eskisehir (Turkey), attest to global links between cities. Winning projects include Medellin's construction of aerial trams to link marginalized hillside neighborhoods with the city's public transport system and a program in Dar es Salaam to improve safety for children walking to school by focusing on roadside infrastructure interventions and behavior change.  WRI will announce the winner in Spring 2019.