The Rise and Fall of the Women's Restroom Lounge

The history of the women's restroom lounge is a strange blend of plumbing technologies, Victorian moralism, class and racial divides, and Hollywood glamour. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

A Brief History of California’s Housing Crisis

The new book "Golden Gates" chronicles how California set itself up for its current affordability crunch, and how it can now help build a nationwide housing movement. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

This City Was Sick of Tech Disruptors. So It Decided to Become One.

To rein in traffic-snarling new mobility modes, L.A. needed digital savvy. Then came a privacy uproar, a murky cast of consultants, and a legal crusade by Uber. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

How to Make a Housing Crisis

The new book "Golden Gates" chronicles how California set itself up for its current affordability crunch, and how it can now help build a nationwide housing movement. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

Is There a Better Way to Measure Wildfire Risk?

In fire-prone parts of California, insurance companies are using new AI-powered tools to better estimate the likelihood of a devastating wildfire disaster. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

Paris Mayor: It's Time for a '15-Minute City'

In her re-election campaign, Mayor Anne Hidalgo says that every Paris resident should be able to meet their essential needs within a short walk or bike ride. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

A New Spin on an Old Traffic Injury Problem

If you get hurt riding a dockless e-scooter, you have few legal protections, thanks to company liability agreements. A “Mobility Claims Board” could help. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

The Vast Undercount of Gaps in American Internet Access

The Federal Communications Commission says 21 million Americans lack broadband access, but a new report says the actual figure is double that. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

What 4 Years of Trump’s Transportation Budgets Add Up to

In his 2021 budget request, President Trump sends mixed messages about federal funding for highways, bridges, and railways. Sound familiar? | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

What It Would Take to Make Paris a ‘15-Minute City’

In her re-election campaign, Mayor Anne Hidalgo says that every Paris resident should be able to meet their essential needs within a short walk or bike ride. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

Lessons from Europe's Densest Neighborhoods

Built at the same time for the same reasons, many of these districts even followed the same path to becoming desirable today. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

To Navigate Love, French Intellectuals Mapped It

Starting in the 17th century, allegorical maps became a way of talking about relationships, from the Castle of Cuckoldom to the Abyss of Despair. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

What Abu Dhabi’s City of the Future Looks Like Now

At the UN’s World Urban Forum in Abu Dhabi, attendees toured Masdar City, the master-planned eco-complex designed to show off the UAE’s commitment to sustainability. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

What Redlining Had to Do With the 2008 Financial Crisis

Comments about New Deal-era housing discrimination made by presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg echo a familiar narrative about minority homeowners. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

Britain’s Bold Plan for High-Speed Rail

Faster north-south train service around London could decrease reliance on cars and planes. But northerners say their more dire transportation needs are being neglected. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

The Upzoning of Nebraska

Housing costs are climbing in Omaha and Lincoln. Can the Cornhusker State legalize “missing middle” housing when coastal states have failed? | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

Nextdoor Wants to Be a One-Stop Shop for Police

The neighborhood social network’s new app is aimed at public agencies, and it lets local law enforcement more easily tap into the online community. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

How We Map Epidemics

Cartographers are mapping the coronavirus in more sophisticated ways than past epidemics. But visualizing outbreaks dates back to cholera and yellow fever. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

Japan’s lost-and-found system is insanely good

If you misplace your phone or wallet in Tokyo, chances are very good that you’ll get it back. Here’s why. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

How We Map Epidemics

Cartographers are mapping the coronavirus in more sophisticated ways than past epidemics. But visualizing outbreaks dates back to cholera and yellow fever. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

Where Light Pollution Is Seeping Into the Rural Night Sky

Artificial light that floods the night sky is thought to be only an urban phenomenon. But when you adjust for population, the picture is dramatically different. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

Japan’s Lost-and-Found System Is Insanely Good

If you misplace your phone or wallet in Tokyo, chances are very good that you’ll get it back. Here’s why. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

How E-Scooters Can Survive in the Suburbs

In less-dense cities and suburban areas, e-scooter companies have a harder time profiting from dockless vehicles. Local leaders should regulate accordingly. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

What Happens When a City Tries to End Traffic Deaths

Several years into a ten-year “Vision Zero” target, some cities that took on a radical safety challenge are seeing traffic fatalities go up. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

The Evolution of Urban Planning in 10 Diagrams (2012)

A new exhibit from the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association showcases the simple visualizations of complex ideas that have changed how we live. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

The Problem With Research on Racial Bias and Police Shootings

Despite new research on police brutality, we still have no idea whether violence toward African Americans is fueled by racial prejudice. That has consequences. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

Raleigh Wants to Raze and Rebuild the Community Meeting

Facing a housing shortage, the North Carolina city is dismantling its Citizen Advisory Councils, which have shaped development decisions since 1974. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

Across the Globe, Urban Sprawl Is Spreading

Satellite images dating back to 1975 allow researchers to map how millions of cul-de-sacs and dead-ends have proliferated in street networks worldwide. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

The Rise and Fall of America’s Rural Meth Labs

In his new book "The Alchemy of Meth," anthropologist Jason Pine chronicles how methamphetamine addiction reshaped rural Missouri, and beyond. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

Is the White House Trying to Ban Modern Architecture?

A draft executive order mandating classical styles for future federal buildings drew a fierce response from the American Institute of Architects. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

Across the Globe, Urban Sprawl Is Spreading

Satellite images dating back to 1975 allow researchers to map how millions of cul-de-sacs and dead-ends have proliferated in street networks worldwide. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

Where America's Climate Migrants Will Go as Sea Level Rises

13 million U.S. coastal residents are expected to be displaced by 2100 due to sea level rise. Researchers are starting to predict where they’ll go. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

When It Comes to Refugees, Texas Isn’t Full

Governor Greg Abbott says that Texas can’t afford to take in more refugees and other new arrivals. Mayors and resettlement experts say otherwise. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

How to Emotionally Survive Climate Change

A pair of landscape architects hosting climate grief-themed parties are among an emerging cohort of therapists and artists interested in your feelings about the planet. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

Amsterdam Eases Train Travel to London, Despite Brexit

It will now take just four hours and ten minutes to travel from Amsterdam to London on the Eurostar high-speed train. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

How Meth Conquered a County

In his new book "The Alchemy of Meth," anthropologist Jason Pine chronicles how methamphetamine addiction reshaped rural Missouri, and beyond. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

Who Mayors Are Endorsing for President

Big-city mayors favor Mike Bloomberg after his late entry into the race, while leaders in smaller cities have lined up behind Pete Buttigieg. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

Mapping Where Climate Migrants Will Move in the U.S.

13 million U.S. coastal residents are expected to be displaced by 2100 due to sea level rise. Researchers are starting to predict where they’ll go. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

The Great American Pyramid in Memphis

The Great American Pyramid was supposed to give the Tennessee city an architectural landmark for the ages. Instead, it got a very large sporting goods store. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

The Fair Housing Case That Cracked Open the Suburbs

In 1995, the ACLU sued HUD on behalf of public housing tenants in Baltimore. The question "Thompson v. HUD" addressed remains urgent: Who gets to live where? | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

To Tame Game-Day Traffic, Give All Fans Transit Passes

What if each seat at major sporting events came with free bus, train, and subway tickets? It’s called “transit validation,” and it can reduce traffic, pollution, and costs. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

Amsterdam Tests How Farming and Land Restoration Can Get Along

The Dutch capital has long been a global model for flood management in a manmade landscape. Now it is seeking to break ground on how it preserves wetlands. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

California’s Controversial SB50 Upzoning Bill Stalls in State Senate

Senate Bill 50, the transit-housing legislation championed as a market-based response to the affordability crisis, now faces a significant hurdle to victory. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

Brexit Is a Disaster. I Found the Silver Lining.

Since the referendum to leave the European Union, my home in South London has lost value. So why am I happier than if it had gained? | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

How Racism Became a Public Health Crisis in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh’s city council voted to declare racism a health crisis, following precedents set by Madison and Milwaukee. Here’s what it means—and what it doesn’t. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

The Spine of San Francisco Is Now Car-Free

The plan to ban private cars from Market Street—one of the city’s busiest and most dangerous downtown thoroughfares—enjoys a remarkable level of local support. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

Vienna’s New Weapon in the War on Cars: Concert Tickets

In an effort to cut vehicle emissions and boost public transportation, Austria’s capital will reward car-free travel with free access to museums and concerts. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago

When Memphis Fell for a Pyramid Scheme

The Great American Pyramid was supposed to give the Tennessee city an architectural landmark for the ages. Instead, it got a very large sporting goods store. | Continue reading


@citylab.com | 4 years ago