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Future Cities

31 commentaries

Half of the world’s population live in cities, and that share is growing rapidly. How can cities expand, maintain services and communities, and be environmentally sustainable?

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  1. Greening Our Cities
    navarro1_Ernst Haas_Getty Images Ernst Haas

    Greening Our Cities

    Sep 24, 2019 Emma Navarro & Nanda Jichkar explain why urban development must be at the center of any global effort to tackle climate change.

  2. Locating Equality
    james158_GettyImages_dollarcoinhousechimney Getty Images

    Locating Equality

    Aug 5, 2019 Harold James sees rising real-estate values in urban hubs as a major force causing wealth disparities to widen.

  3. Don’t Fear the Scooter
    GettyImages-1140832884 Getty Images

    Don’t Fear the Scooter

    Jul 23, 2019 Alon Tal argues that smart policymaking can easily address most complaints about a new feature of urban life.

  4. Build Your Own Talent Magnet
    johnson117_GettyImages_digitalcitycommunication Getty Images

    Build Your Own Talent Magnet

    Jul 1, 2019 Simon Johnson shows why countries should focus on nurturing innovation ecosystems that are not in the largest cities.

  5. Putting Africa’s Secondary Cities First
    mayaki4_GettyImages_africaeuropeglobepenlight Getty Images

    Putting Africa’s Secondary Cities First

    May 21, 2019 Ibrahim Assane Mayaki advises policymakers not to lose sight of intermediary urban areas' crucial role in economic development.

  6. The Monetization of Garbage
    nwaloziri1_EZEQUIEL BECERRAAFPGetty Images_sorting rubbish Ezequiel Becerra/AFP/Getty Images

    The Monetization of Garbage

    Apr 19, 2019 Stephen Nwaloziri advocates financial incentives as a way to help big cities manage waste more effectively.

Our Pick

Featured

  1. sierakowski91_Omar MarquesGetty Images_ukrainian refugees Omar Marques/Getty Images
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    Resentment on the Western Front

    Sławomir Sierakowski thinks the Polish public needs a more open and honest conversation about refugees before resentment spirals.
  2. vives17_ Leon NealGetty Images_ftx Leon Neal/Getty Images
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    Crypto’s Well-Worn Path to Crisis

    Xavier Vives writes that, despite the novelty of the assets, the narrative of FTX’s collapse was established long ago.
  3. roubini171_Spencer PlattGetty Images_recession looming Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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    The Unavoidable Crash

    Nouriel Roubini anticipates a stagflationary debt crisis, owing to a dangerous combination of inflation and over-borrowing.
  4. nye236_SAUL LOEBAFP via Getty Images_biden xi SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
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    War Over Taiwan?

    Joseph S. Nye, Jr. considers whether a deterrence arrangement that has worked for 50 years is still sufficient.
  5. op_livingston1_Anna MoneymakerGetty Images_fed Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
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    The Contested Fed

    James Livingston

    By all accounts, central banks – particularly the Fed, because the dollar is still the world’s dominant currency – already act as investment authorities. But their recent bailouts have exacerbated economic inequality, and have done little or nothing to address climate change.

     reviews three books that, each in its own way, reveal a central truth about the world’s leading central bank.
  6. pisaniferry140_Sean GallupGetty Images_cop27 Sean GallupGetty Images
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    The Economics of Mainstreaming Climate Action

    Jean Pisani-Ferry & Selma Mahfouz identify the risks and short-term costs associated with the energy transition over the next decade.
  7. haldar15_ Tayfun CoskunAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_twitter Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
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    Killing Twitter

    Antara Haldar explains what Elon Musk fundamentally misunderstands about the platform – and about free speech.
  8. emmott41_musk
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    The Napoleons of Big Tech

    Bill Emmott

    Recent events in the technology sector suggest that investors and lenders should be demanding a premium to cover the risk that a star entrepreneur will become an egomaniacal dictator. With each business cycle, it seems, old lessons must be relearned.

     sees in the industry’s harsh reckoning this year lessons that apparently can’t be learned often enough.
  9. BP - ftx NurPhoto / Contributor via Getty Images
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    The Crypto Emperor’s New Clothes

    The collapse of several crypto platforms this year – including the spectacular crash of the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, FTX – has raised fundamental questions about the credibility of a digital innovation once hailed as the key to democratizing finance. Has crypto finally been exposed as a scam, or will a new, stronger crypto industry emerge from the current turmoil?

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