Cities

500 million reasons to rethink the parking lot

All the world is a parking lot -- or a heck of a lot of it is, anyway. But according to professor Eran Ben-Joseph, these places don’t have to be wastelands.

Jared Green Cities

Greening the ghetto: From survival to sustainability

Artist and activist Marc Bamuthi Joseph says the first step toward greening the inner city is fostering an appreciation for life. The next step? Take the green brand back from the Prius-driving vegans.

Claire Thompson Cities

The 9 billion-person question: What kind of cities will we build?

As humanity rushes into urban areas, the future of life on Earth hangs in the balance, says environmental historian Jon Christensen. Can we weave natural ecosystems into our human habitat, and vice versa?

Samantha Larson Cities

The best subway map tattoos

There are people who like public transportation, and then there are people who want to rub public transportation all over their body parts — or at least get it permanently inked on them. Here are some of our favorite transit-map tattoos from the internet. Here’s a nice-looking Chicago El map, done large enough that you […]

Jess Zimmerman Cities

NYC learns to heart bicycles

Just over a year ago, New York's transportation commissioner was raked over the coals for her romance with bikes. Now, it seems the city has fallen for them too.

Kate Hinds Transportation

Parks and recreation: The best American cities for green spaces

ParkScore measures and ranks the park systems of the country’s 40 largest cities. How does your hometown stack up?

Claire Thompson Cities

Stray dog follows bikes for 1,000 miles (and beats most of the cyclists)

This adorable terrier-looking pup was hanging around a group of cyclists when they took a break, so one of them gave her chicken. Well, you know what happens when you give a dog chicken: She never leaves your side again, even if you’re riding your bike from China to Tibet, covering nearly 40 miles a […]

Jess Zimmerman Transportation

‘The Great Inversion’: Cities are the new suburbs, suburbs the new cities

Young and wealthy people are moving back to city centers, while immigrants and poor people increasingly flock to the ’burbs. Um, is this a good thing?

Andrew Zaleski Cities

Weird astronomical event in New York City tonight

If you’re in New York City at 8:19 p.m. today, get your ass to a major cross street (the best ones are 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd, and 57th) and you can see the street grid take on astronomical significance. Tonight is Manhattanhenge, where the setting sun lines up exactly with Manhattan’s east-west streets. It’ll be an […]