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Cities

A 1908 postcard depicts Halloween mischief.

When Halloween Was All Tricks and No Treats

Nineteenth-century urbanization unleashed the nation’s anarchic spirits, turning holiday mischief into mayhem

Students and advisers in a class at the new Vaux Big Picture High School in Philadelphia

This Philly Transformation Plan Rethinks the Neighborhood School

The city housing authority’s designs for a mixed-income community include a once-shuttered high school that could guard against displacement amid change

A self-driving shuttle at Texas A&M

Are Self-Driving Cars the Future of Mobility for Disabled People?

Combining machine learning, artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles could revolutionize how people with disabilities get around their communities

Themira lohmanus

Cool Finds

New Species of Fly Found Breeding on Central Park Duck Droppings

The creatures are likely drawn to the area by the high concentrations of duck poop

The historic Coplay Cement Company kilns used in the 1890s.

The Modern World Depends on Humble Cement

Portland cement is a key ingredient in one of the world’s most common materials

Tim Renner, undersecretary of state for cultural affairs, at a 2016 press conference for the Urban National Museum for Urban Contemporary Art.

Museum Devoted to Street Art Opens in Berlin

The façade of the five-story building is covered in large murals

Trending Today

New York City Could Finally Lose Its Prohibition-era Dancing Rule

The infamous “Cabaret Law” is rooted in racism

An engraving from later in the 1880s shows rioters burning an orphanage for black children.

The Civil War Draft Riots Brought Terror to New York’s Streets

This dark event remains the largest civil insurrection—the Civil War itself aside—in American history

Rescue workers search for survivors among the rubble of a collapsed building in Mexico City. Structures throughout the capital were devastated during yesterday's earthquake.

How Mexico City’s Unique Geology Makes Deadly Earthquakes Even Worse

The entire country—but especially the capital—has all the ingredients for seismic catastrophe

Metropoles like Shanghai have survived and thrived in large part because of their massive populations. But what happens when people start to become a liability rather than an asset?

Can the World’s Megacities Survive the Digital Age?

Like companies, megacities must adapt

Developers are breathing new life into indoor shopping malls.

The Transformation of the American Shopping Mall

Headlines claim malls are dying, and some are. But many others are having second lives as churches, schools, hospitals, even farms

Aerial view of Pennsylvania Station

Five Architects on the One Building They Wish Had Been Preserved

From an elegant solution to urban density to a magnificent financial hub

On a summer Friday, people gather at O'Connor Brewing Co. in Norfolk, Virginia.

Are Craft Breweries the Next Coffeehouses?

Taprooms springing up across the country are cultivating communities and helping to revitalize entire neighborhoods

Archaeologists diving off the coast of Nabeul, Tunisia.

Ruins of a Roman City Found Off the Coast of Tunisia

The city destroyed by a 4th-century tsunami is rediscovered

Eleanor Roosevelt’s Surprising Connection to a Dire Town

When first lady Eleanor Roosevelt first visited the mining town of Scotts Run, she was stunned by the poverty she encountered

Unionville today: The photographer used a process called intaglio printing to give her pictures an antique appearance.

Secrets of American History

After the Civil War, African-American Veterans Created a Home of Their Own: Unionville

One-hundred-fifty years later, the Maryland town remains a bastion of resilience and a front line in the battle over Confederate monuments

The battered remnants of Fritz Koenig's "Sphere" will return to the World Trade Center site after years of exile.

Cool Finds

The World Trade Center’s Only Surviving Art Heads Home

Battered, but not broken, Fritz Koenig’s “Sphere” is being reinstalled near its original location at Ground Zero

Casey stands at bat in a 1912 illustrated version of the poem.

‘Casey at the Bat’ Leaves a Lot of Unanswered Questions

Was there a Casey? Where did he strike out? Does it really matter?

The Devastating 1926 Hurricane that Halted the Growth of Miami

In 1926, the Miami economy was soaring, fueled by wealthy northerners attracted to the tropical climate and beaches

How Baltimore Quietly Became the East Coast’s Next Cool City

One native Marylander travels to the city he first knew as a kid to meet the doers and dreamers driving Baltimore’s next act

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