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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. samadashvili3_ GIORGI ARJEVANIDZEAFP via Getty Images_georgia elections GIORGI ARJEVANIDZE/AFP via Getty Images
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    The End of Georgia’s European Dream?

    Salome Samadashvili

    Initial evidence suggests that the victory of the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party in the recent parliamentary election reflects widespread fraud. If the West fails to support democratic opposition parties in challenging the results, Georgia’s 30-year-old democracy could come to an end.

     urges Western leaders to take steps to halt the country’s slide into authoritarianism.
  2. grigaitedaugirde1_Alex GottschalkDeFodi Images via Getty Images_icc Alex GottschalkDeFodi Images via Getty Images
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    Belarus in the Dock

    Gabija Grigaitė-Daugirdė & Aarif Abraham explain why Lithuania is requesting an International Criminal Court investigation into its neighbor.
  3. jschwartz1_EonerenGetty Images_sustainabilityfinance Eoneren/Getty Images
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    Where Financial Innovation Meets Sustainable Development

    Jordan Schwartz explains why new instruments must be standardized and integrated into developing countries’ economic policies.
  4. rzlawrence1_MEGAN JELINGERAFP via Getty Images_us manufacturing MEGAN JELINGER/AFP via Getty Images
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    No President Can Revive US Manufacturing Employment

    Robert Z. Lawrence explains why there is no going back to the heyday of middle-class factory jobs for low-skilled workers.
  5. bailey1_The Washington PostContributorGettyImages_election_polling_screen The Washington Post/Contributor/Getty Images
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    Is Political Polling Broken?

    Michael A. Bailey urges pollsters to stop thinking in terms of random samples and instead focus on diagnosing non-response bias.
  6. fischer221_MAXIM SHIPENKOVPOOLAFP via Getty Images_BRICSputinxi Maxim Shipenkov/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
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    Don’t Dismiss the BRICS

    Joschka Fischer thinks it would be a serious mistake for Western strategists to ignore the bloc and what it represents.
  7. krueger80_PUNIT PARANJPEAFP via Getty Images_india PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP via Getty Images
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    Can India Become a Developed Economy by Mid-Century?

    Anne O. Krueger urges policymakers to resume key structural reforms and streamline regulations that stifle business activity.
  8. posner36_Scott OlsonGetty Images_trumpsupporters Scott Olson/Getty Images
    2

    Why Many Workers Now Vote Republican

    Eric Posner explains how the failures of neoliberalism came to benefit the traditional party of business.
  9. ito41_Takashi AoyamaGetty Images_japan election Takashi Aoyama/Getty Images
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    Japan’s Electoral Stalemate

    Takatoshi Ito considers the political and economic implications of the ruling bloc’s loss of its parliamentary majority.

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