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Curated by Project Syndicate

Future Cities

36 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. AI Holds the Key to Resilient Cities
    nixonsaintil2_shark_749Getty Images_AIdataclimatecity shark_749/Getty Images

    AI Holds the Key to Resilient Cities

    Apr 22, 2024 Justina Nixon-Saintil surveys the technology's foreseeable applications in promoting urban sustainable development.

  2. The West’s New Infrastructure Imperative
    coyle36 Alishia AbodundeGetty Images INFRASTRUCTURE Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images

    The West’s New Infrastructure Imperative

    Apr 19, 2024 Diane Coyle explains why a broader conception of the term could reflect a renewed interest in investing in the future.

  3. At COP28, Cities Will Show Us the Way
    bloomberg6_Getty Images_cop28 Getty Images

    At COP28, Cities Will Show Us the Way

    Dec 1, 2023 Michael R. Bloomberg & Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr call attention to subnational efforts to drive climate-change mitigation and adaptation efforts.

  4. Justice for Street Vendors
    marchiori1_Annika HammerschlagAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_street vendors Annika Hammerschlag/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

    Justice for Street Vendors

    Nov 14, 2023 Teresa Marchiori explains why governments’ failure to provide informal workers with access to public space is short-sighted.

  5. What Local Governments Need to Lead
    mazzucato55_Dusan StankovicGetty Images_city Dusan Stankovic/Getty Images

    What Local Governments Need to Lead

    Jul 4, 2023 Mariana Mazzucato & James Anderson announce a new initiative to catalogue and publicize municipal capacities and outstanding needs.

  6. 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.

Our Pick

Featured

  1. varoufakis121_Justin SullivanGettyImages_chinese_conainers_oakland Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
    1

    America’s Trade Deficit Is Not Afraid of Donald Trump

    Yanis Varoufakis shows why the incoming US administration can’t eliminate the negative balance – and wouldn’t even if it could.
  2. kuttab60_CHANDAN KHANNAAFP via Getty Images_trumpisrael Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
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    Trump’s Middle East Challenge

    Daoud Kuttab highlights the changes in the region that will complicate the US president-elect's peacemaking efforts.
  3. watkins30_ Stanislav KogikuSOPA ImagesLightRocket via Getty Images_sdgs Stanislav Kogiku/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
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    Last Chance for the SDGs?

    Kevin Watkins thinks the fate of the 2030 targets hinges on the next International Development Association replenishment.
  4. sayang4_China News ServiceGettyImages_china_ai_exhibit China News Service/Getty Images
    0

    America’s Tech Blind Spot

    S. Alex Yang & Angela Huyue Zhang

    In recent years, a growing chorus of academics and policymakers has sounded the alarm over the systemic dysfunction of the US tech sector. Yet, despite the high drama of congressional hearings with Big Tech CEOs and a cascade of bills promising comprehensive reforms, the results have been disappointing.

     worry that in its bid to outcompete China, the US risks stifling its own potential for innovation.
  5. kirchschlager3_JC MILHETHans LucasAFP via Getty Images_teenagersocialmediaphones J.C. Milhet/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images
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    Protecting Children from Anti-Social Media

    Peter G. Kirchschläger urges countries to emulate Australia and bar young people from addictive online platforms.
  6. Anadolu/Getty Images
    0

    Democracy Needs Workers

    Bartosz M. Rydliński urges center-left parties in the West to reconnect with voters who increasingly support far-right populists.
  7. op_acemoglu6_Getty Images_AI Getty Images
    Free to read
    5

    The World Needs a Pro-Human AI Agenda

    Daron Acemoglu fears that the tech industry’s current priorities will result in the worst of all possible worlds.
  8. fofack30_ Andrew BurtonGetty Images_trump Andrew Burton/Getty Images
    1

    Big Money Beat Bigger Money in the US Election

    Hippolyte Fofack warns that the ultra-rich are corroding US democracy, even if they can’t always spend their way to power.
  9. rogoff256_Sean GallupGetty Images_brandenburg airport Sean Gallup/Getty Images
    4

    Europe’s Economy Is Stalling Out

    Kenneth Rogoff

    As Germany and France head into another year of near-zero growth, it is clear that Keynesian stimulus alone cannot pull them out of their current malaise. To regain the dynamism and flexibility needed to weather US President-elect Donald Trump’s tariffs, Europe’s largest economies must pursue far-reaching structural reforms.  

     explains why the EU’s long-term economic slump is not likely to end anytime soon.

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