On AlterNet: cities

Stories, blog posts, and videos tagged as "cities"

Can Taking Public Transit Be Joyful?

Scott Carlson, Grist.org. May 23, 2012.

A new e-book shows how cities around the world are using art, music, play, and even sex to make transit a lot more fun.

Are "Sentient Cities" That Track Your Personal Data To Design Your Life For You On the Way?

Will Doig, Salon. April 29, 2012.

Humans will act in ways that even the smartest computer model can fail to anticipate — which is fine, until you put your entire city in its hands.

Participatory Budgeting Lets New Yorkers Experiment With Economic Democracy

Michelle Chen, In These Times. April 15, 2012.

Unlike the shady fiscal roulette that lawmakers often play with your tax dollars, PB gives ordinary people leverage to direct spending according to their idea of the greater good.

Kiss the McMansion Goodbye: Is the American Home Shrinking?

Sara Robinson, AlterNet. March 16, 2012.

A long-term trend toward smaller houses is well underway -- with huge implications for the future of our cities.

Why We Need to Get Boomers to Move to the Cities

Will Doig, Salon. February 21, 2012.

If boomer retirees keep flooding suburbs, the cost of providing for them soars. Here's how we could get them to cities instead.

How Yelp Destroyed the Thrill of Exploring

Will Doig, Salon. January 29, 2012.

Zero of five stars! The Internet is loaded with crowdsourced opinions, making authentic, new experiences impossible.

Are Slower Cities Better for Bikers, the Air, and Our Mental Health?

Will Doig, Salon. December 18, 2011.

Cities around the world are considering radical new speed limits on cars -- slowing down in the name of progress.

A Step Backwards: CA Court Rules Cities Can Ban Marijuana Dispensaries

Phillip Smith, Drug War Chronicle. November 14, 2011.

In the days since the ruling was announced, a number of localities have already either moved to enact bans or halted plans to regulate dispensaries.

Who Says Suburbs Can't Be Cool?

Jay Walljasper, Shareable. May 27, 2011.

Why the author of "Bomb the Suburbs" has had a change of heart.

Wal-Mart Invasion: How the Corporate Behemoth Forced Its Way into Your City

Nelson Lichtenstein, The American Prospect. April 28, 2011.

America’s mega-retailer can’t boost profits unless it gains entry to America’s largest cities. Against stiff resistance, it’s still trying.

Our Cities Are Devastated -- Will Obama Bail Out Urban America?

Clay Risen, AlterNet. February 27, 2009.

40 years of benign (and not so benign) neglect have done inordinate damage to the socioeconomic structures of our inner cities.

Note to the '08 Candidates: The American Heartland is a Big City

Andrea Batista Schlesinger, Drum Major Institute. December 20, 2007.

Mayors urge presidential candidates to address urban issues.

Anti-authoritarian Cities

Annalee Newitz, AlterNet. September 5, 2007.

Archaeologists have discovered that Brak, a Syrian city and one of the oldest urban areas in the world, was built in a way that completely defies conventional wisdom about how cities grow.

Cities of the Future Won't Look Like Ours

James Howard Kunstler, Kunstler.com. October 23, 2006.

The era of cheap oil is over, and lost with it an energy-rich way of life that billions of city dwellers have come to take for granted.