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Cities

This Device Unearthed an Ancient Gladiator School

With its abundant greenery, you’d have no idea there was once an ancient city located just outside of Rome

A view into Flint drinking water pipes, showing various types of iron corrosion and rust.

New Research

Scientists Now Know Exactly How Lead Got Into Flint’s Water

New report points blames corrosion and warns that fixing lead poisoning nationwide will require more work than we hoped

Monument declaring Rugby, North Dakota, the city claiming geographic center—until now.

Trending Today

New Calculations Reposition the Geographical Center of North America

After an 90-year-reign, the title moves from Rugby, North Dakota, to the city of Center, in Oliver County

Millions of immigrants passed through Castle Garden on as they entered the United States.

Cool Finds

America’s First Immigration Center Was Also an Amusement Park

Castle Garden went from fort to pleasure grounds to precursor of Ellis Island

In 300 years of fundamentally altering the Earth and its climate, what have we learned?

Age of Humans

Your Guide to All Things Anthropocene

Documenting an era of manmade change

Trending Today

Why Michigan Banned Banning Plastic Bags

A new state law prevents cities and counties from restricting use of plastic bags or disposable cups and utensils

The Santa Fe Railyard

The New Art Scene Transforming Santa Fe

The city’s image as a mecca of Southwestern-themed art and folksy spiritualism has begun to evolve, thanks to artists and entrepreneurs

Violence can spread like an epidemic among impressionable teenagers, according to new research.

New Research

Violence Among Teens Can Spread Like a Disease, Study Finds

Surveys of thousands of American teens add evidence to the theory that violence spreads in communities like a contagion

The first edition of A Christmas Carol. The illustration on the left is of Mr. Fezziwig's ball, one of Scrooge's good memories.

Why Charles Dickens Wrote ‘A Christmas Carol’

The beloved story sold 6,000 copies in its first week in print and 15,000 in its first year

Williams is perhaps best known for his iconic Theme Building, a space-age structure at Los Angeles International Airport.

Trending Today

Why You Should Know Trailblazing Architect Paul Revere Williams

Almost four decades after his death, the African-American architect whose work came to define Los Angeles gets his due

How Trump Tower Takes the Skyscraper Debate to New Heights

The future of urban development takes on a new twist when the president lives among the clouds

Cosmic dust particle collected from an urban gutter

Cool Finds

Scientists Discover Cosmic Dust in the Grime of City Gutters

Usually only found in remote locations, a dedicated amateur scientist combed through pounds of urban debris to recover these space specks

New York City’s Holiday Vintage Subway Trains Are Back

Go back in time, underground

“Current” would turn the entire stretch of the river into a dynamic, multi-colored piece of art.

Cool Finds

Ambitious New Public Art Project Will Turn the Thames Into an Illuminated Canvas

When Illuminated River launches in 2018, it will be the biggest such project ever undertaken

Proposal for Trinity Park

Cool Finds

Dallas Proposes the Country’s Largest Urban Park

A 10,000-acre Nature District could turn the Trinity River into the city’s centerpiece

Trending Today

Goodbye, Barrow, Alaska. Hello, Utqiagvik

The most northerly city has officially reverted back to the Inupiaq name for the settlement on the Arctic sea

Meandering river in Nyingchi, Tibet, China

Trending Today

Watch 32 Years of Our Changing Planet Unfold With Google Timelapse

A satellite-eye’s-view of growing cities and climate change

This whale is on is own sightseeing tour.

Cool Finds

New York’s Upper West Side Has Its Own Whale

The mammal is on what seems to be an epic tour of Manhattan

Marc Edwards and LeeAnne Walters

Without These Whistleblowers, We May Never Have Known the Full Extent of the Flint Water Crisis

A concerned mother and a renowned scientist spearheaded the investigation that exposed the dangers lurking in the water supply of the Michigan city

These bikes won't just make it easier to get around Marrakech—they could also send a message to world leaders about ways to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Cool Finds

Africa Just Got Its First Bike Share Program

Now you can get around Marrakech on a fleet of bicycles—no air pollution needed

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