Removing urban highways can improve neighborhoods blighted by decades of racist policies

Two urban policy experts explain why taking down highways that have isolated low-income and minority neighborhoods for decades is an important part of the pending infrastructure bill.

Julian Agyeman, Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, Tufts University • conversation
Sept. 7, 2021 • ~9 min

A subway flood expert explains what needs to be done to stop underground station deluges

Images of water gushing into subway stations filled social media following heavy rain in New York City. Solutions are at hands – but it takes money and political will, an expert explains.

Klaus Hans Jacob, Professor of Geophysics, Columbia University • conversation
Sept. 2, 2021 • ~8 min

Why the changing colour of our streetlights could be a danger for insect populations

The increasing prevalence of white LED streetlamps spells worrying population declines for insects like moths.

Douglas Boyes, PhD Researcher, Newcastle University • conversation
Aug. 25, 2021 • ~8 min

London's Marble Arch Mound was a fiasco in a city losing so many green spaces – but pop-up parks can work

Pop-up spaces can be successful, they just need to be better thought through and created with urban ecology in mind rather than economics.

Ian Mell, Reader in Environmental & Landscape Planning, University of Manchester • conversation
Aug. 17, 2021 • ~8 min

Farmers markets are growing their role as essential sources of healthy food for rich and poor

Farmers markets aren’t just for yuppies – they are increasingly serving customers at all social and economic levels, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alfonso Morales, Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Planning and Landscape Architecture, University of Wisconsin-Madison • conversation
July 30, 2021 • ~9 min

As urban life resumes, can US cities avert gridlock?

The pandemic offered a tantalizing look at city life with fewer cars in the picture. But with traffic rebounding, there's limited time to lock in policies that make streets more people-friendly.

John Rennie Short, Professor, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County • conversation
June 21, 2021 • ~9 min

Lighter pavement really does cool cities when it’s done right

Here’s how reflective pavement works and what cities need to think about.

Randolph E. Kirchain, Co-Director, MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub, Massachusetts Institute of Technology • conversation
June 18, 2021 • ~7 min

Urban oil wells linked to asthma and other health problems in Los Angeles

Photos from the early 1900s show LA's forests of oil derricks. Hundreds of wells are still pumping, and new research finds people living nearby are suffering the consequences.

Bhavna Shamasunder, Associate Professor of Environmental Health, Occidental College • conversation
June 2, 2021 • ~9 min

City dwellers gained more access to public spaces during the pandemic – can they keep it?

COVID-19 has underscored the value of parks and public spaces. A new survey shows that US mayors have gotten the message, but post-pandemic plans for public spaces remain largely undefined.

Katharine Lusk, Co-Director, Initiative on Cities, Boston University • conversation
March 31, 2021 • ~9 min

Cities must cut their 'consumption emissions' – here's how

These emissions aren’t factored into climate targets, and COVID recovery could make it worse.

Jana Wendler, Research Associate in Human Geography, University of Manchester • conversation
March 26, 2021 • ~7 min

/

9