When the pandemic put tourism on hold, many residents heaved a sigh of relief. Will hasty economic recovery plans scupper our chance for a rethink?
Green spaces are inequitably distributed across cities: The quality and quantity are lower in racialized neighbourhoods.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston
Green spaces can be part of the plan to ‘build back better’ after COVID-19. But city officials and policy-makers must address systemic racism for urban green spaces to benefit public health.
The more cities grow, the more urban residents need access to enjoy urban forests.
(squeaky marmot/flickr)
The more our cities grow, the more we need access to enjoy — and be in relationship with — urban forests to maintain our well-being.
Somerset House is an example of enlightenment architecture, which precluded greenery which was believed to obscure its strong lines and go against ‘reason’.
Ed Reeve
Photos from the early 1900s show LA’s forests of oil derricks. Hundreds of wells are still pumping, and new research finds people living nearby are struggling with breathing problems.
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority was hit hard by a 79% ridership reduction during the pandemic. It needs an extra $8 billion through 2024 to avoid service cuts and layoffs.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Transit agencies could use the money to buy new subway cars, buses and maintain rails. The funding is designed to build on last year’s emergency aid, which kept transit operating through the pandemic.
Will urban life in Toronto — and other cities — return to normal after the pandemic?
(Shutterstock)
Africa’s urban challenges are increasingly well known and documented. But the amount of data produced on urban Africa still pales in comparison to other parts of the world.
Electric scooters have become a popular way to get around since their introduction to U.S. cities about three years ago. But fatalities are mounting.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
Electric scooter rides soared from zero to 88 million a year between 2017 and 2019. But launching e-scooters in cities without safe infrastructure or clear rules of the road can be deadly.
Patti Shoes, Station Street, Lalor, 2020.
Courtesy of David Wadelton and M.33
A new book of photographs is a reminder of a slower and simpler way of living — before chain stores, throwaway clothing and online retail.
The pandemic has spurred many workers to contemplate their futures – and whether they ever want to return to office life.
Edward Hopper, 'Morning Sun' (1952) via hermien_amsterdam/flickr
The British-Iraqi architect left behind a trail of extraordinary buildings. More than her built legacy, though, it is her maverick problem solving – and her determination – that continues to inspire
Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
COVID-19 has underscored the value of parks and public spaces. A new survey shows that US mayors have gotten the message, but post-pandemic plans for public spaces remain largely undefined.
Discriminatory zoning and housing policies have concentrated poverty in America along racial lines. As a result, healthy food options are limited in many low-income and Black neighborhoods.
Not all gay people enjoy big cities, but pop culture has little to say about rural LGBTQ life.
Ruaridh Connellan / Barcroft Media via Getty Images
Stereotypically, gay, queer and trans kids flee small towns to find acceptance in big, diverse cities like New York or Chicago. But evidence shows many will eventually return to rural areas.
Mehran Karimi Nasseri sits among his belongings in a 2004 photograph taken at Charles de Gaulle Airport, where he lived for nearly 18 years.
Eric Fougere/VIP Images/Corbis via Getty Images
Some do so of their own accord, using airport amenities to meet their basic needs. Others, however, would rather be anywhere else – and find themselves at the mercy of bureaucratic wrangling.