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Green Society

Let L.A. Burn? How A Marxist Historian Tried To Warn California About Its Fire Risk

In 1998, urban historian Mike Davis published Ecology of Fear, exploring the consequences of Los Angeles urban development on the increase of natural disasters. Almost three decades later, his book is still relevant.

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This Happened

This Happened — September 19: Earthquake Devastates Mexico City

Updated Sept. 19, 2024 at 10:40 a.m. On this day in 1985, an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 on the Richter scale struck Mexico City. What was the toll of the 1985 earthquake on Mexico City? The estimated death toll ranged from around 10,000 to 30,000 people. Tens of thousands more were injured, and […]

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Future Green

Lisbon Postcard: Parking Spaces And The Dilemma Of Modern Mobility

The construction of parking spaces is an obligation in new urban building projects. But increasing the supply of parking in the city center doesn’t necessarily improve mobility. It may be just the opposite.

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Society

Converting Convents? A Sacred Response To Lisbon’s Housing Crisis

Throughout the ages, convents have been adapted and transformed to fulfil the needs of growing cities such as Portugal’s capital city Lisbon. Now more than ever, with an ongoing housing crisis, researchers, politicians and developers are looking at convents to be transformed into housing solutions.

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climate change Green

Not Your Père’s Paris Roof Garden! French Cities Adapt To Climate Change From The Top

How can we make the city both more dense and more liveable? By opening up its rooftops! At a time of land scarcity and global warming, this vast reservoir of largely unused land is the focus of much interest.

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Green

Moose In Our Midst: How Poland’s Wildlife Preservation Worked A Bit Too Well

Wild moose have been spotted on Polish beaches and even near cities. They’re a rare example of successful conservation efforts, but they’re increasingly coming into contact with people.

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Geopolitics

Guangzhou, How Villages Get Swallowed Into A Megacity

In 2002, the major southern city gave developers a decade to revitalize 138 old villages as part of China’s rapid urbanization. Almost 15 years later, only four have been revamped, and the last holdout residents still refuse to leave.

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Geopolitics Society

In Indonesia, Urbanization vs. Religious Harmony

BOGOR — The oldest Buddhist temple in Bogor, West Java, is a silent witness to religious tolerance in the area. Five men gather inside the temple, whose doors are always open for people from different religions to come inside and pray. Sitting behind statues of a Buddhist goddess, the men engage in their weekly communal Koran study group. After the evening prayer, they move to the temple’s kitchen to enjoy tonight’s dinner. “We’ve been doing this for three years now, every Thursday night. It’s a routine,” says Epul Saefullah, who leads this evening’s Koran reading. “At first people asked, “But […]

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Smarter Cities Society

7 Cool Underground Projects To Help Cities Grow Downward

From the concrete jungles of New York and Mexico City to the outbacks of Australia and Tunisia, ground-level isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. With our populations rising and spreading out across the lands, it makes sense to dig deeper into the earth. There are a growing number of projects embracing this solution to […]

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