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  • Only bulldozers and bison can save Detroit now

    Aren’t these preferable to a statue of robocop?Photo: Cathleen ShattuckThe latest U.S. census reveals that not even Detroit natives are that into the Motor City anymore. The once-flourishing city saw the biggest population drop in 10 years — 25 percent — of any city ever, except for the special case of post-Katrina New Orleans. Civic-minded […]

  • Actor/activist Mark Ruffalo will follow you on Twitter if you donate to Japan relief

    Last seen agitating for a ban on fracking, actor and environmental activist Mark Ruffalo is now using Twitter as a platform to raise money for relief efforts in Japan. Dude is following and retweeting the sh*t out of anyone with good news about the island nation, and/or anyone who pledges to donate. Go Mark go!

  • The world’s top 10 walking cities [SLIDESHOW]

    Photo: Miss KA great city is a great walking city. So which is the greatest of them all? Travel book publisher Lonely Planet just surveyed its readers and asked them to pick the best walking cities in the world from a list of 186. Take a stroll through the top 10, counting down to the […]

  • Liberal NIMBYism: the most despicable form of hypocrisy?

    Prospect Park’s new bike lane is worse than airborne weaponized AIDSPhoto: shannonvsimmsIn staunchly liberal enclaves all over the country, citizens who profess to progressive environmentalism in the abstract are thwarting local efforts to increase the sustainability of their immediate environment. Whether it’s suing over bike lanes in Park Slope, Brooklyn, or blocking a bus rapid […]

  • Are ‘smart cities’ not as smart as they think they are?

    Smart cities like Masdar, in Abu Dhabi, are all the rage. But are they intelligent in the right way?Photo: Trevor PattCross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Intelligent cities” and “smart cities” are all the rage right now, especially in corporate image advertising related to emerging technology. But is there a downside? I think there […]

  • SYMPATHY RAGE: Watch Henry Blodget yell about this country’s complete lack of an energy plan

    Feeling angry that America’s economy is about to fall apart because oil and gas industries have a stranglehold on our political landscape, sprawl rules your city and no one seems willing to move toward a more rational energy and transportation future? You’re welcome. [vodpod id=ExternalVideo.1011893&w=425&h=350&fv=%26embedCode%3D5lazQyMjq5ZjGRnzX_QW6DBdaOnH2VrM]

  • Are the British building the perfect town?

    The U.K.’s greenest, cutest town. Image: Red Tree (2004) LLPCharles, the prince of Wales, is building the U.K.’s greenest town. We know what you’re thinking, because we’ve seen Hot Fuzz too: It’s important to be suspicious of British villages that look too good to be true. But Sherford, a planned eco-town that was just approved […]