New York restricts the growth of glass skyscrapers.
Shutterstock.
Glass has always been a notoriously energy inefficient building material – but an obsession with aesthetics led architects to ignore its shortcomings.
Yorkshire floods, 2014.
Matt Cornock/Flickr.
Artificial intelligence can help manage floods effectively, but decisions about which communities are protected require a human touch.
Luxury apartments loom over the Paraisópolis Favela in São Paulo, Brazil.
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Segregation is not just a problem in London – it’s happening in cities all over the world.
Sunset over an Iowa farm.
BJontzPhoto/shutterstock.com
Since the Great Recession, most of the nation’s rural counties have struggled to recover lost jobs and retain their people.
Ferrara, Italy bears some resemblance to da Vinci’s design.
hectorlo/Flickr.
Leonardo da Vinci’s ideal city contained design features and engineering works not realised until hundreds of years after he died.
Podcasters can introduce new voices to the conversations about the cities we live in.
Salim October/Shutterstock
Podcasters are creating new conversations about who and what the city is for. But even in the podcasting world, powerful interests can make it hard for new and previously excluded voices to be heard.
UNESCO world heritage site Patan Durbar Square, Kathmandu.
Shahed360/Shutterstock.
Nepal’s capital city was devastated by the 2015 earthquake, but rebuilding heritage sites has been fraught with difficulties.
Sometimes you want to take it slow.
Fabrizio Verrecchia/Unsplash.
Technology and data are being harnessed to increase productivity in cities, but there also need to be ‘slow moments’, when people can pause to enjoy their surroundings.
Members of East Baltimore Church of God, which was founded by Lumbee Indians, and was once located in the heart of ‘the reservation,’ in the 1700 block of E. Baltimore Street.
Photo courtesy of Rev. Robert E. Dodson Jr., Pastor, East Baltimore Church of God
A folklorist is working to preserve the history of a unique, urban community of Lumbee Indians.
The digital economy will impact the ability of cities to generate revenue through traditional land-based taxes. A new solution is needed.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Blinch
As more Canadians flock to urban centres, those cities have fewer options to raise taxes New tax policies are needed that reflect the shift to a digital economy.
No place like home.
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Housing laws in England can still leave tenants without proper protection, but the latest reforms offer hope for the future.
A little help goes a long way in a new home.
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Landlords could have a big impact on public health, if they help their tenants to feel at home.
Downtown Seattle’s busy, protected bike lanes.
Seattle Department of Transportation
This collective fundraising technique helps defuse anti-cyclist sentiment before it dooms protected bike lanes and other new infrastructure.
Vienna often scores highly in the rankings.
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When a city scores badly on “liveability”, it can put serious pressure on city leaders – but do these rankings really help improve life for local people?
London: a clean future?
Magic Bones/Shutterstock.
Drivers of polluting vehicles will face a daily charge, but evidence suggests it’s a price worth paying.
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Find out what the Ultra Low Emission Zone is, how it works and what Londoners make of the new measures.
Melbourne is a favourite destination for migrants from overseas and elsewhere in Australia.
TK Kurikawa/Shutterstock
Capital city populations are growing twice as fast as the rest of Australia, because of the employment and business opportunities and lifestyle on offer to both new migrants and long-term residents.
View of Kampala.
Shutterstock.
China is funding global infrastructure projects to expand its influence and capacity for economic growth.
Landlord to the rescue?
Shutterstock.
Previous laws gave tenants very little protection – but now landlords could face court if they don’t keep their properties in good repair.
Audio walk by zURBS: changing the way you see the city.
Frederic Tschepp.
Those in charge of urban spaces would like the public to believe that town and city environments have a predetermined function: participatory art challenges this view.