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Meeting the biggest challenges starts with the city
The best way to harness a city's potential for creativity and innovation is to jack people into the network and get out of the way
Most of humanity now lives in a metropolis. That simple fact helps to fuel our continued success as a species
New science reveals why cities become more productive and efficient as they grow
Shantytowns, favelas and jhopadpattis turn out to be places of surprising innovation
To rejuvenate urban centers, look to teachers and entrepreneurs
Retrofitting is the best way to clean up urban living
Mayors are often better equipped than presidents to cut greenhouse gases
Municipalities worldwide are exploiting a host of creative solutions to reduce energy consumption, water use, waste and emissions, while also making it easier for people to get around
The attacks of 9/11 supposedly ended the age of the skyscraper. A decade on we're building more than ever
What innovation—technological or otherwise—would make any city a substantially more livable place? We put this question to urban leaders and our own readers. Here's what they said
We walk a line between the anarchy of choice and Disney-fication, says the author of Neuromancer
By networking individuals and their gadgets, urban apps will tell inhabitants what is happening all around them, in real time
A new book describes how living and working in an urban expanse encourages the best humanity has to offer.
The people of cities such as Lagos are forging the world's urban future—messily, scrappily, but with do-it-yourself energy and entrepreneurial verve
Data from hundreds of U.S. cities show that, on average, larger cities produce more wealth and innovation per capita than smaller ones do
Forget about skyscrapers, protected harbors or capital markets. The lowly toilet is key to what makes modern cities possible
Economist Edward Glaeser explains why some U.S. metropolises have bounced back from adversity--and why others will not
China has plans for ecofriendly cities that may prove unrealistic. Instead, it could do a lot for the environment simply through sturdier construction
One of the greatest dangers cities face from continuing climate change stems from increasingly severe floods
Municipalities worldwide are introducing a host of creative solutions to reduce energy consumption, water use, waste and emissions, while also making it easier for people to get around. Choose a feature to learn more, and to find an exemplary city and link about progress
A tour of the world's tallest buildings, including those under construction.
Walkable metropolises and health clubs would improve the experience of living in urban areas.
Author of the cyberpunk novel Neuromancer, William Gibson talks about the relationship between his fiction and the contemporary urban landscape
Masdar aims to be the source for a environmentally friendly urban future, but some planners doubt it offers much for other cities to emulate
A nonprofit works to get information about the lack of health, water and sanitation services into the hands not just of the government but of slum residents as well
The public-transit goals of "new urbanism" can fail if residents don't foresee true travel benefits
A visual tour of past efforts, many better left unrealized, that have shaped the way we live and work in cities—as seen in the pages of Scientific American
Not all cities are created equal. As part of Scientific American's "Cities" special topic issue, for the next five days we will feature recently compiled lists ranking cities across the U.S. on aspects of green living, pollution, health and technology. Today, we feature rankings of cities based on green living, Part 1 of 5
As part of Scientific American's "Cities" special topic issue, we assembled recently compiled lists ranking cities across the U.S. on aspects of green living, pollution, health and technology. Today, we feature lists that rank cities based on their residents' health, Part 2 of 5
To coincide with Scientific American's "Cities" special topic issue, we assembled recently compiled lists ranking U.S. cities on aspects of green living, pollution, health and technology. Today, we feature lists that rank cities based on air pollution, Part 3 of 5
To coincide with Scientific American's "Cities" special topic issue, we put together recently compiled lists ranking U.S. cities on aspects of green living, pollution, health and technology. Today, we feature lists that rank cities based on their on their technology opportunities, and then add up each city's rankings to find the best overall technology cities, Part 4 of 5
To coincide with Scientific American's "Cities" special topic issue, we gathered recent lists ranking U.S. cities on aspects of green living, pollution, health and technology. Today, we feature the cities that showed up most frequently on the top 10 lists to determine the overall top performers, Part 5 of 5
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