Our rapidly urbanized world has become a much discussed subject in recent years: more than half of the world’s population today lives in cities. By 2050, 20 percent more will be added to the percentage. Urban populations typically increase in three ways: natural growth, migration, and reclassification of rural to urban area. The United Nations … Read more
[NEW YORK] Back in 1985, Williamsburg was a sleepy, poor part of Brooklyn inhabited by Jews and Hispanics who had long been at odds with each other. The area saw a decline in manufacturing, with crime on the rise. Today, one might find a major thoroughfare closed off for an art exhibition attended by hipsters … Read more
Driving in large cities is rarely pleasant. Roads can be so congested that traveling a single block takes several minutes and, after enduring all the other difficulties, finding a convenient parking spot is tough. In the past few months, two teams of entrepreneurs have released smartphone apps that they claim will make this process easier, … Read more
If states are, as Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis wrote, laboratories of democracy, then modern cities are laboratories of progressivism. From Baltimore to Seattle, New York City to Houston, American cities are aggressively taking on climate change, gay rights, and living wage ordinances at a time when state legislatures are sluggish and Washington is outright … Read more
[JERUSALEM, ISRAEL] When Qusay Muzassar was a teenager in East Jerusalem, growing up in the tense climate of the Second Intifada, he was regularly exposed to demonstrations and riots. Though he tried to avoid them himself, expressions of hatred and frustration by both Arabs and Jews were hard to escape. A few years ago, … Read more
Imagine, for a second, all of the 1.4 million cars in New York City were on the road. Given the 6,000 miles of road in the city, a back-of-the-envelope calculation shows they would barely be able to move. The unlikeliness of this scenario highlights the necessity of public transportation in modern cities. A few of … Read more
Earlier this summer, a force of approximately ten militants attacked Pakistan’s Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan. The death toll from the attack, including the ten attackers, was approximately 38. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, stating it was a response to the death of one of their leaders during an American … Read more