Cities

Scientists analyzed millions of eBird observations to see how bird abundance changed during the early months of the pandemic.

Birds Flocked to Pandemic-Silenced Cities

From ruby-throated hummingbirds to bald eagles, a new study finds our feathered friends thrived in quieter urban habitats

Researchers estimate that ancient builders used roughly 226,085,379 square feet of rock, dirt and adobe to construct the three main pyramid complexes in Teotihuacán's city center. Pictured here is the Pyramid of the Sun.

Mexico's Ancient Inhabitants Moved Land and Bent Rivers to Build Teotihuacán

Architects of the Mesoamerican city transformed the landscape in ways that continue to impact modern development today, a new study finds

Italian officials are imposing new crowd-control regulations in hopes of preserving Venices fragile architecture and ecosystem.

Starting Next Summer, Day-Trippers Will Have to Pay to Enter Venice

To combat overcrowding, the Italian city is set to charge non-overnight visitors an entry fee of €3 to €10

Inscription mentioning renovation of the settlement's hospital

Cool Finds

Ancient Christian Settlement in Egypt Shows Evidence of Urban Planning

Dated to the sixth century C.E., the Marea complex boasted public baths and a hospital

The limestone slab's inscription states that Claudius “extended and redefined the pomerium because he had increased the boundaries of the Roman people.”

Cool Finds

Rare Boundary Stone Dated to Emperor Claudius' Reign Unearthed in Rome

The 2,000-year-old travertine slab marked the sacred outer limits of the ancient city

Researchers excavating the sunken ruins of Thônis-Heracleion have discovered an array of archaeological treasures.

Cool Finds

2,400-Year-Old Baskets Still Filled With Fruit Found in Submerged Egyptian City

Wicker vessels recovered from the ruins of Thônis-Heracleion contain doum nuts and grape seeds

Instead of a soaring, verdant oasis in the middle of the city, visitors were greeted with sparse, earth-covered scaffolding.

Trending Today

Widely Mocked London Tourist Attraction Closes Two Days After Opening

The Marble Arch Mound sought to invigorate a major shopping district in England's capital. Visitors called it a "bad Santa's grotto"

A mural in Munich's former Olympic Village features Otl Aicher's pictograms.

The Tokyo Olympics

This Graphic Artist's Olympic Pictograms Changed Urban Design Forever

Having lived through Germany's Nazi regime, Otl Aicher went on to pioneer democratic design

A sulfur-crested cockatoo flips open the lid of a bin.

Why Australia's Trash Bin–Raiding Cockatoos Are the 'Punks of the Bird World'

The birds can bust open garbage lids—and the behavior is catching on fast, which could be a sign of social learning

Liverpool is only the third site to be stripped of its Unesco World Heritage status.

Liverpool Loses Its Unesco World Heritage Status

The English city argues that redevelopment of its waterfront shouldn't disqualify it from the list

An Egyptian-French mission found the 80-foot-long ship beneath roughly 16 feet of hard clay.

Cool Finds

Divers Discover Ancient Military Vessel in Submerged Egyptian City

Prior to the foundation of Alexandria, Thônis-Heracleion served as Egypt's greatest Mediterranean port

A seabird known as the white tern or Manu-o-Kū has surprised birders by taking up residence in Honolulu, Hawai‘i.

Future of Conservation

Meet the White Tern, a Seabird Surprisingly Thriving in a Big City

The bird—also known as Manu-o-Kū—has excited ornithologists, its population growing within Honolulu, the busiest of Hawai'i's urban landscapes

A portion of Chicago's newly renamed Jean Baptiste Point DuSable Lake Shore Drive, pictured in 2013

History of Now

Who Was Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, the New Namesake of Chicago's Lake Shore Drive?

Chicago leaders voted to rename the city's iconic lakeside roadway after a Black trader and the first non-Indigenous settler in the region

The Sound of Our Resurrection Is Stronger Than the Silence of Death is what McCormick and Calhoun call their picture of A Chosen Few Brass Band, photographed in the city’s Treme neighborhood in the 1980s.

Photographs Salvaged From Hurricane Katrina Recall Life in New Orleans

Making art out of disaster, two photographers reexamine these affectionate portraits of life in the Crescent City

Many of the tombs in Japan are elaborately decorated. Nearby visitors can buy flowers, buckets. brooms and other gardening tools to tidy up the graves.

'Tree Burials' Are Gaining Popularity in Japan as Gravesite Space Decreases

In some cities, cemetery plots are the most expensive real estate per square foot

Free Little Art Galleries simulate the culture of Little Free Libraries: Take what you want and give what you can.

Innovation for Good

Why Free, Miniature Art Galleries Are Popping Up Across the U.S.

Modeled on Little Free Libraries, these pint-sized museums make art accessible during the pandemic

A few short years after the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, Greenwood’s homes and businesses came back. This photograph shows a parade held in the Oklahoma neighborhood during the 1930s or '40s.

Remembering Tulsa

Decades After the Tulsa Race Massacre, Urban 'Renewal' Sparked Black Wall Street's Second Destruction

In the 1960s, construction of four federal highways brought the rebuilt neighborhood of Greenwood's prosperity to an abrupt end

Passengers ride the New York City subway on May 24, 2021.

New Research

Thousands of Unknown Microbes Found in Subways Around the World

A team of more than 900 scientists and volunteers swabbed the surfaces of 60 public transit systems

At its height in the 13th century, Angkor boasted a population of around 700,000 to 900,000.

Thirteenth-Century Angkor Was Home to More People Than Modern Boston

New research tracks the famed southeast Asian city's growth over hundreds of years

Mired in myth and misconception, the killer’s life has evolved into “a new American tall tale,” argues tour guide and author Adam Selzer.

The Enduring Mystery of H.H. Holmes, America's 'First' Serial Killer

The infamous "devil in the White City" remains mired in myth 125 years after his execution

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