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Urban Studies
A firsthand look at China’s material progress and clean-tech revolution -- and what could happen if we let an authoritarian state steer AI's future.
A century ago, an American colony named after Trump's favorite president was thriving on the Isle of Pines. Then came hurricanes and geopolitical reality.
Robotaxis can transform cities by improving mobile efficiency, equity, and safety — if cities adopt policies that prioritize the public good.
15mins
“This is a world in which we've essentially given ourselves the tools to stop the construction of the most important product in American lives in the places where Americans often most want to move.”
Here are three ways to do it better.
The latest "Superman" film sets Metropolis in the First State.
In "After the Spike," Dean Spears and Michael Geruso show why policy, rather than high population density, has the most significant impact on the environment.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
The history of catastrophe shows that true resilience comes not from restoration, but from reinvention.
In 1900, the UK clearly was the richest country in Europe. That's no longer the case.
How “Catastrophe and Social Change” (1920) became the first systematic analysis of human behavior in a disaster.
Slowing growth and limiting development isn’t living in harmony with nature—it is surrendering in a battle.
Architecture in the age of AI — argues professor Nayef Al-Rodhan — should embed philosophical inquiry in its transdisciplinary toolkit.
Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Tower is poised to become the world’s tallest building. What’s behind the century-plus drive to build ever taller skyscrapers?
A small Ohio town tried to escape America’s addiction to rectangular grids. It didn’t last long.
Architect and brand innovator Kevin Ervin Kelley sounds the alarm for workplace culture — and argues for a “big bang” collision of forms and shapes.
In 1924, sociologist and social reformer Caroline Bartlett Crane designed an award-winning tiny home in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
London’s busiest airport seems to be rebounding well from the pandemic — but Istanbul has better prospects in the long run.
Archaeologist Bernard Frischer spent decades uploading the ruins of the Eternal City to the cloud. Here’s what it looks like.
Bathtubs and toilets each got their own rooms until health professionals urged architects to put all the plumbing in one room.
France’s notorious disregard for washing gradually changed as military authorities and public schools promoted a modern regime of cleanliness.
Smarter building materials can control indoor temperatures without external power.
They had the technology. So why didn't they use it?
A photographer captured Bern’s eclectic and charming feline structures.
Walking is rarer in the U.S. compared to similar nations. It is also deadlier: Nearly 7,500 pedestrians were killed in 2021.
In the spirit of the 1969 moon landing, we now have a golden opportunity to pursue “nondisruptive” creative solutions.
Burj Al Babas may one day be full of wealthy vacationers, but for now it’s a ghost town in the center of Turkey.
Parking lots are about one-fifth of all land in U.S. city centers, making them "easy to get to, but not worth arriving at."
Quelle horreur! Paris isn't just a 15-minute city; it's a five-minute city.