Human Interest

"China's urbanization is a marvel. The population of its cities has quintupled over the past 40 years, reaching 813m. By 2030 roughly one in five of the world’s city-dwellers will be Chinese. But this mushrooming is not without its flaws. Restraining pell-mell urbanization may sound like a good thing, but it worries the government’s economists, since bigger cities are associated with higher productivity and faster economic growth. Hence a new plan to remake the country’s map.

The work of the acclaimed chef and writer, who has died at 61, provides a model for a truly inclusive urbanism based on the creativity of all human beings.

Redlining: the racist housing policy from the Jim Crow era that still affects us today.

"Unchecked development remains a priority in the famously un-zoned city, creating short-term economic gains for some, but long term flood risk for everyone."

Older millennials are ditching the city for a new kind of suburb that offers the convenience of high-quality grocery stores and boutique fitness centers without the hustle and bustle of urban life.

“SUPERCOOL you’re here,” says Eugene, looking like he means it. The young Singaporean is showing visitors around his new apartment, a three-bedroom flat in one of the city-state’s many high-rise blocks. Eugene says he and his new wife can’t wait to start filling the space with babies.

Walking around towns and taking photos of their places of interest you may not see the whole picture: the view from the ground doesn't permit you to fully

Freedom from cars, freedom from sprawl, freedom to walk your city! City planner Jeff Speck shares his "general theory of walkability" -- four planning principles to transform sprawling cities of six-lane highways and 600-foot blocks into safe, walkable oases full of bike lanes and tree-lined streets.

"In this animated video, Jonathan F. P. Rose explains how the first city was started in Turkey, 12,000 years ago."

Johnny Miller has caused quite a stir with his aerial images of South Africa’s divided communities. He explains the origins of the Unequal Scenes project

City Hall in Philadelphia is a fantastic example of using architecture to create civic pride by investing in iconic, public buildings. Monumental architecture helps to create a sense of place and communal identity. This building has open air access, making the public feel that this is more their building."

As the world’s biggest cities continue to sprawl, they’ll look to many of the technologies and tactics covered in today’s infographic from Raconteur to work smarter – and not harder – for their inhabitants.

Place is a news and information website designed to shed light on the many issues revolving around land and property rights.

'Gentrification' is a messy bogeyman of a term deserving more critical analysis. If 'gentrification' is 'exclusive economic development', what we want is INCLUSIVE economic development.

"In 1992, the Baltimore Orioles opened their baseball season at a brand new stadium called Oriole Park at Camden Yards, right along the downtown harbor. The stadium was small and intimate, built with brick and iron trusses—a throwback to the classic ballparks from the early 20th century. It was popular right from the start.

These new Populous ballparks are small and old fashioned-looking but they also feature modern amenities—comfortable seats and fancy foods. And while designed to be different, they tend to follow a similar aesthetic format, featuring a lot red brick and green-painted iron. These new parks also feature asymmetrical playing fields, which are in many cases dictated by the surrounding cityscape."

"Rio is hiding poor people. See Part II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3BRTlHFpBU "

To reduce the pressure on the world's productive land and to help assure long-term food security, writes Herbert Girardet, city people are well advised to revive urban or peri-urban agriculture. While large cities will always have to import some food, local food growing is a key component of sustainable urban living.

"New Urbanism is a planning and development approach based on the principles of how cities and towns had been built for the last several centuries: walkable blocks and streets, housing and shopping in close proximity, and accessible public spaces. In other words: New Urbanism focuses on human-scaled urban design."

The compact suburban bungalows of the 1950s were actually pretty tree-friendly by comparison.

Statues to Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard and Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis will be removed.