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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. brown111_ALAIN JOCARDPOOLAFP via Getty Images_mpox ALAIN JOCARD/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
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    The High Cost of the Netherlands’ Mpox Vaccine Hoarding

    Gordon Brown condemns European populists’ failure to heed the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  2. charap3_ TATYANA MAKEYEVAAFP via Getty Images)_kursk TATYANA MAKEYEVA/AFP via Getty Images)
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    How to Make the Most of the Kursk Gambit

    Samuel Charap & Charles A. Kupchan think Ukraine and its partners have a big opportunity to start working toward a negotiated end to the war.
  3. leonard104_SurkovDimitriGetty Images_USEUflag SurkovDimitri/Getty Images
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    The US Election Will Overturn Europe’s Strategic Status Quo

    Mark Leonard worries that Europeans are unprepared for whoever will succeed US President Joe Biden.
  4. mazzucato71 GettyImages-2159148172_AW Getty Images
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    The Water-Security Crisis

    Mariana Mazzucato, et al.

    Increasingly severe water shortages represent a human-made crisis that can be resolved through human interventions. The situation demands new thinking about the economics of this critical resource and how to manage it through mission-oriented strategies that span all levels of governance.

     call attention to a global problem that demands far more attention from policymakers at all levels.
  5. reyna1_Martin Schuttpicture alliance via Getty Images_ev green deal Martin Schutt/picture alliance via Getty Images
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    The European Green Deal Is Already Benefiting Consumers

    Agustín Reyna rejects the misguided notion that voters are indifferent to environmental concerns.
  6. bremmer34_Anna MoneymakerGetty Images_harrissouthkorea Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
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    What Is Kamala Harris’s Foreign Policy?

    Ian Bremmer

    Although Kamala Harris is largely aligned with Joe Biden on many global and strategic issues, her unique worldview promises a distinct form of leadership on the international stage. Not only would US foreign policy shift under a Harris administration; it could change in highly consequential ways.

     considers how the Democratic presidential nominees' views compare to Joe Biden's.
  7. anheier25_JOHN MACDOUGALLAFP via Getty Images_afd JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images
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    Will the German Center Hold?

    Helmut K. Anheier considers what is driving support for extremist parties in the country’s eastern states.
  8. delong263_MEGAN JELINGERAFP via Getty Images_USindustrysteel Megan Jelinger/AFP via Getty Images
    3

    America Has No Alternative to Industrial Policy

    J. Bradford DeLong thinks new threats to economic security outweigh the reasons for opposing government-led development.
  9. nye261_Kevin DietschGetty Images_us election Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
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    US Foreign Policy in 2025

    Joseph S. Nye, Jr. compares the two presidential candidates’ attitudes and positions on major global issues.

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