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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. velasco150_PAUL ELLISAFP via Getty Images_voting PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images
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    In Praise of First-Past-the-Post

    Andrés Velasco explains why Britain’s electoral system is better than all the plausible alternatives.
  2. slaughter105_JACK GUEZAFP via Getty Images_womenwagepeace Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
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    Peacebuilding in the Middle East Requires Women

    Anne-Marie Slaughter & Xanthe Scharff argue that negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians must no longer be the province of men.
  3. varoufakis117_JULIEN DE ROSAAFP via Getty Images_macron JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images
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    Macron and Europe’s Centrists Are Out of Good Options

    Yanis Varoufakis shows that an intractable economic conundrum lies behind the current impasse in French politics.
  4. quesada3_ Lokman Vural ElibolAnadolu via Getty Images_immigration Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images
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    Immigration Does Not Start at the US Border

    Carlos Alvarado-Quesada laments the failure of Republicans and Democrats alike to address the root causes of migration.
  5. landau4_Getty Images_AI money Getty Images/Anton Petrus
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    Will AI Kill Off Money?

    Jean-Pierre Landau considers some of the underappreciated implications of an economy run entirely by machines.
  6. op_krauze1_Fine Art ImagesHeritage ImagesGetty Images_spinoza Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images
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    A Philosopher for Our Times

    Enrique Krauze shows that, given rising illiberalism, the seventeenth-century thinker Baruch Spinoza is as relevant as ever.
  7. snower8_Getty Images Getty Images
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    A New Worldview for Troubled Times

    Dennis J. Snower proposes four principles to guide policymaking and global negotiations in the age of climate change.
  8. moyo29_Carl CourtGetty Images_FTSE Carl Court/Getty Images
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    Navigating Today’s Frothy Financial Markets

    Dambisa Moyo offers a basic framework for assessing the risk of new bubbles and their potential spillover effects.
  9. asadullah16_ MUNIR UZ ZAMANAFP via Getty Images_bangladesh MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images
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    An Arab Spring for Bangladesh?

    M. Niaz Asadullah argues that young protestors could help the country chart a democratic course and achieve sustainable growth.

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