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Cities

Developer JTC Corporation has considered building an underground research facility for thousands of scientists.

To Keep Up With Its Growth, Singapore Has a Grand Plan To Expand Underground

The densely populated city-state is becoming a global leader in the underground urbanism movement

Urban Thinkspace in Philadelphia

Weaving Games and Puzzles Into the Fabric of a City

To encourage playful learning, Urban Thinkspace and other projects put miniature playgrounds along the paths kids travel

Cool Finds

Monster Fatberg Goes On Display at London Museum

The mass clogged the sewer under Whitechapel last year with 820 feet of solid grease, fat and dirty diapers

Cool Finds

This Textbook Helps Teach English in Downtown Los Angeles’ Skid Row

The readings are geared to engage and inspire adults hoping to improve their literacy skills

Times Square traffic jam

Should U.S. Cities Use Congestion Pricing To Ease Traffic?

New York may soon charge a fee to drive into central Manhattan as a way of reducing traffic and raising funds for public transit

These Men Risked Their Lives to Build 1920s New York Skyscrapers

The skyscrapers of Manhattan needed a new, bolder type of construction worker

Could a secret ingredient make crumbling concrete a thing of the past?

With Fungi in the Mix, Concrete Can Fill Its Own Cracks

Adding fungus might be one way to endow concrete with the ability to repair any damage, without the need for human intervention

An oyster-dominated anti-erosion structure in Texas

As Storms Get Bigger, Oyster Reefs Can Help Protect Shorelines

Municipalities and military bases are using the bivalve to defend against flooding and damage from climate change-driven storms

In Los Angeles, the architecture firm KTGY is repurposing shipping containers to build a transitional apartment complex for the homeless.

Three Architecture Projects That Will Build Community and Address Inequality This Year

These projects set to be completed this year are geared toward strengthening communities that have been left out of the economic recovery

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Future of Energy

Future of Energy

Bold new ideas to meet the world’s burgeoning need for power

A 2013 Romanian stamp features Cochran and her dishwasher.

This Time-Saving Patent Paved the Way for the Modern Dishwasher

Josephine Cochran just wanted to stop having broken dishes

MICRO's Smallest Mollusk Museum is inside the central branch of Brooklyn Public Library.

Putting Miniature Museums Where You Are Likely To See Them

The nonprofit MICRO is on a mission to meet people where they are, staging small exhibitions in busy, public places

Detail of north elevation of Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall), from 1752 map of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Two Centuries Ago, Pennsylvania Almost Razed Independence Hall to Make Way for Private Development

Fortunately saner minds prevailed when the state thought about tearing down Philadelphia’s historic structure

New Research

Air Pollution May Diminish the Benefits of Exercise

You might want to rethink that walk along the smoggy roadway

An apiarist tends to beehives at Hastings Urban Farm in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

Can Honeybees Monitor Pollution?

The tiny pollinators are useful sentinels of what’s going on in an ecosystem, and might just be environmentalists’ best asset

One proposed feature is a system where trash would be separated and removed through underground tunnels.

Five Questions You Should Have About Google’s Plan to Reinvent Cities

A waterfront neighborhood in Toronto will be a test bed for technological innovations. It also raises concerns about privacy.

The inherent flexibility and adaptability of the Shotgun Chameleon House in Houston grew from designer Zui Ng’s desire to create an economically and environmentally sustainable house. The exterior staircase serves as a separate entrance for potential renters.

What the Housing Market in America Needs Is More Options

From granny pods to morphing apartments, the future of shelter is evolving

Future of Energy

The Man Dead Set On Building an Offshore Wind Farm on Lake Erie

Lorry Wagner has Cleveland on track to lead a nascent offshore wind industry in the U.S., creating clean energy and jobs for a city in need of both

Little Children on a Bicycle

How Instagram Is Changing the Way We Design Cultural Spaces

As neighborhoods, restaurants and museums become more photogenic, are we experiencing an “Instagramization” of the world?

The Abbey Road crosswalk, which has been moved slightly since 1969, in modern times.

A Short History of the Crosswalk

Pedestrian crosswalks and roads have a complicated relationship

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