cities
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The sci-fi future of lamp-postsBright lights, big city The sci-fi future of lamp-posts
Street lighting has always been a form of social control. As ‘smart’ lamp-posts start to adapt to our needs, are we entering a brave new world of big city lights? -
A city of ethereal beautyMumbai from the sky A city of ethereal beauty
Robert D Stephens flew 15,000ft above the city to take photographs for his Mumbai Articles exhibition
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Hamburg in drive to reverse privatisation of city servicesHow to build a fairer city: German municipality to buy back utility grids after referendum vote to end private ownership of power, gas and water networks -
How a €19bn model city has changed attitude to protestCampaigners wanted to help the public understand how much money the government had used to bail out a bank – so they created the model for a vast city that could be built for the same amount of cash
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Why is Brighton so obsessed with coffee?
Hot shots Why is Brighton so obsessed with coffee?
With Brightonians the biggest coffee drinkers in the UK, spending an average of £177 a head per year, the city’s coffee shops - from chains to artisanal independents - are acting as a community hub and temporary workplace
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The world's most beautiful metro stations - in picturesUnderground stations are often filthy, noisy and festooned with litter and rodents. But not the new Fulton Center in New York, which has opened after 10 years and at a cost of over $1bn, and is already receiving rave reviews from commuters. Here are some others that buck the trend
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Underground London: adventures in the secret city beneath our feetExploring the forbidden subterranean world of ghost Tube stations, Victorian sewers and disused shelters has given academic geographer and urban explorer Bradley Garrett a whole new perspective on the city
in depth
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Adventures in the secret city
Underground London Adventures in the secret city
Exploring the forbidden subterranean world of ghost Tube stations and Victorian sewers has given Bradley Garrett a whole new perspective on the city -
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Missing maps project: How do you map a city like Baraka?Last week, we invited our readers to collaboratively map the city of Baraka, DRC as part of the Missing Maps project. Here’s what happened
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China's new ghost city-dwellers get 're-educated'Don’t spit, don’t play loud music, don’t drive on the pavement … Farmers moving to the former ghost city of Kangbashi are getting lessons in how to be urbanites
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End of the Boardwalk empire? The rise and demise of Atlantic CityCan this one-industry town find a way to rescue its losses? A man called Guardian still thinks so ...
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big picture
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The world's most beautiful metro stationsThe new Fulton Center subway station in New York opened after 10 years and at a cost of more than $1bn, and is already receiving rave reviews from commuters. Here are some others that buck the trend
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Indian boss gives cars, flats and diamonds to employeesForward-thinking Hari Krishna chairman marks Diwali by lavishing almost 500 cars and more than 200 apartments on his long-serving staff
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'Are we safe? Of course not': scientist's NYC warning after SandyAs part of our Stormproofing the City series, Klaus Jacob, who predicted the devastation wrought by 2012 storm, tells Lilah Raptopoulos why city planners could be making things worse, not better, for future generations
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Does Bogotá's transformation hold up to scrutiny?Western audiences are being sold a shiny new version of the Colombian city – but one academic says his research has uncovered a culture of exclusion and a mirage of social harmony
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Mitchell Silver: making New York’s parks havens of happinessMayor Bill de Blasio’s $130m plan to upgrade New York’s neglected parks has put the spotlight on a commissioner who likes to go incognito to see how people use ‘his’ green spaces. Emma Brockes joins him
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Indian police chief pushes yoga and meditation to strengthen arm of the lawHasmukh Patel hopes to change the culture of his force by encouraging officers to adopt ancient techniques. His crime figures have gone up – but that’s ok, he says
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Is New York City ready for future natural disasters? Join our investigationWelcome to our new series, where a NYC resident makes sense of the network protecting her from the next Sandy-sized storm … by interviewing the people preparing for it
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China's obsession with vertical citiesBy the end of next year one-in-three of the world’s 100m+ buildings will be in China, as its state-orchestrated urbanisation drive prompts a megacity building bonanza
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Could new technology help older people in Barcelona create stronger networks?Ageing populations are increasingly prone to feeling lonely and isolated in modern, anonymous cities around the world. A new app from Barcelona might have the answer
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Q&A: Are UK cities prepared for another flooding disaster?We invited readers to join our experts in a live webchat on whether UK cities and towns are ready for the threat of flooding
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Jo Baka: the Gujarati internet meme that went viralFrom jokes between friends to public health messages, a traditional phrase is sweeping though Indian communities worldwide, thanks to Facebook, WhatsApp and a good dose of humour
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Can we climate-proof cities? Six of the best conclusions from SXSW Eco 2014City links: This week we were at the SXSW Eco conference in Austin, Texas, thinking about the future of cities amid climate change. Here are some of the best of the (many) conclusions
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For too long, cities have paid little notice to global issues. Climate change must change their mindsetMature cities can adapt and new cities can design themselves to be climate resilient from the start. Alongside unavoidable expenditure come potentially lucrative benefits for innovative businesses providing solutions – and the prize is a big one
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Why climate change should signal the end of the city-stateOur urban leaders’ belief in autonomy as the ultimate goal must be unset, writes Richard Sennett. The seductive idea of a place controlling its own fortunes is out of date
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Wooden skyscrapers could be the future of flat-pack cities around the worldThe development of engineered timber could herald a new era of eco-friendly ‘plyscrapers’. Christchurch welcomed its first multistorey timber structure this year, there are plans for Vancouver, and the talk is China could follow
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Sink or swim: designing for climate change – in picturesArchitectural, fine art and news photographers shed light on contemporary and traditional solutions to the problem of climate change in densely populated coastal regions
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Can Amsterdam’s e-trikes revolutionise the city’s food system?The future of food: A new Dutch scheme aims to distribute local fare more sustainably, unclog the streets and reduce Amsterdam’s 15 million annual food miles
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Readers' short films: invisible Venice, Brazil's toy city and a Doha lullabyWe asked readers to make three-minute films about their cities for the Barbican’s City Visions film season. In this first of three updates, here are some of our favourites
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How temporary 'cardboard cathedral' rose from the ruins to become most recognised building in ChristchurchAs Christ Church Cathedral remains gripped in a battle between modernity and heritage, a bold new structure is coming to symbolise progress as the city rebuilds after the earthquake
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Indian city of Surat anticipates worst effects of climate changeGujarat city on India’s west coast is preparing to cope with twin disasters brought on by rapid growth and global warming
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Resilience in the playable city – liveTune in to watch the session exploring urban resilience and digital civic engagement from the Making the City Playable conference in Bristol - live
talking points
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The best city blogs around the worldWe're getting to know the local urban voices who cover their home cities most insightfully. Here's our initial list of bloggers, from Detroit to Addis Ababa
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Should we be concerned about Placemeter?Placemeter pays New Yorkers to suction-cup an old smartphone to their window, then records and analyses what’s happening outside
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What Copenhagen can teach us about cyclingFrom ‘green wave’ traffic lights and majestic harbour bike bridges to digital countdowns and foot rests at junctions, the Danish capital is full of clever ideas to improve city cycling
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LuminoCity: new interactive map tool sheds light on citiesDuncan A Smith of UCL’s Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis talks us through his new data visualisation platform, LuminoCity3D, and the insights it offers into population, employment, transport and the environment
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Bring on Mr Pothole: the classic urban problem meets its matchPotholes kill, cost billions to fix and are the focus of endless apps and initiatives (yes, there’s a UK Pothole Fund). Enter the brave urban warriors fighting to slay this original urban bugbear for good
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World's first solar cycle lane opening in the NetherlandsSolar panels embedded in the cycle path near Amsterdam could generate enough electricity to power three houses, with potential to extend scheme to roads
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The best cycling infrastructure in cities around the world – your picturesFrom boardwalks to bridges, tunnels to cycle-friendly subways, you shared your experiences of the best urban bike infrastructure from across the globe
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Architecture for bikes – in picturesFrom Calgary’s space-age Peace bridge to Eindhoven’s floating roundabout and the Copenhagen apartments with a cycle path straight up to the 10th floor, Gavin Blyth’s Velo City highlights some of the world’s best cycling infrastructure
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Cycle superhighways row: wheels within wheelsThe PR war over Boris Johnson’s flagship cycling scheme risks impeding its progress
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The Tour de Neglect: a cycle ride through Buffalo's deprived East SideThe ‘rust belt’ city of Buffalo, New York is experiencing a renaissance after decades of decline. But while one half rises from the post-industrial ashes, large swaths of the other remain trapped in poverty and disrepair
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Reality check: will 'Crossrail for bikes' bring gridlock to central London?London could soon be home to the longest continuous, substantially segregated urban cycleway in Europe – but lobbyists are raising concerns about the impact on congestion, pedestrians and businesses. Do they have a point?
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We can't let lobbyists destroy London's segregated cycle lane plansThe main political parties and 60 big employers support ‘Crossrail for bikes’ – yet behind the scenes there are intense efforts to poison the project, says Chris Boardman
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Missing Maps: nothing less than a human genome project for citiesA huge number of the world’s most vulnerable human settlements have remained unmapped ... until now. Enter an unprecedented plan to map the world’s forgotten places
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Cycle couriers: my life as one of the dwindling band of urban cowboysBike messengers were once the fastest way to get a document across a city – until the arrival of email. Yet even today, in a world with superfast broadband, a few of us still eke out a living, writes cycle courier Emily Chappell
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In China, a single plague death means an entire city quarantinedTens of thousands of people were trapped in Yumen after officials swiftly locked down the city when a man died of plague. While the crisis has since passed, it highlights China's severe approach to the threat from disease
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From Seoul to Changwon, in search of the world’s best bike-share schemeAn urbanist’s tour of South Korea, day 4: How the little-known industrial city of Changwon learned to love the bicycle so much they’ve even written a song about it
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Why can't all cities have bike bridges like Copenhagen's new Cycle Snake?The two-lane elevated orange Cykelslangen – the latest of the city's continuous and safe bike lanes – is a joy to ride as it wriggles its way over the harbour
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AppMyCity winner Peerby brings small-town sharing to big city life
Amsterdam-based Peerby enables users to share items – a hammer, a tent, a badminton racket – in the way neighbours did before cities made us more anonymous
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Aberdeen, the oil city where boom and bust happen at the same timeThe city boasts the highest concentration of millionaires in Britain and an unemployment rate of just 2% – but wage inequality and astronomical rents have heightened calls for change
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The best city app competition finals: who should win?Peer-to-peer car sharing, borrowing from neighbours and connecting with fellow cyclists: which gets your vote?
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Google Street View sleuth: help us identify our cities’ biggest failingsNow we’re focusing on cyclists and pedestrians – what daily dangers do you face and what changes to road and pavement layouts do you want to see? Use Street View to show us
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Is your city giving you panic attacks?City links: From urban anxiety to pictures of stairs (yes) to shipping container 'ghettos', here are some of the web's best city stories this week
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AppMyCity! shortlist is good news for Adelaide foodies and Sao Paulo skatersAfter much agonising, the list of 10 creative concepts still in the running to be named best new mobile city app of 2014 has been revealed. As ever, it's an impressively eclectic, global list
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Has cycling finally become a natural part of British city life?
Architecture and design critic Rowan Moore, himself a cyclist, asks whether our dreams of a Dutch-style bike culture have materialised
get involved
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Missing Maps: a human genome project for citiesA huge number of the world’s most vulnerable human settlements have remained unmapped ... until now. Enter an unprecedented plan to map the world’s forgotten places
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Cities Day challenge: we put 36 contestants in the 'hot seat' …We put 36 cities from around the world in the ‘hot seat’. See how they got on …
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The world's best cycling infrastructure – your picturesFrom boardwalks to bridges, tunnels to cycle-friendly subways, you shared your experiences of the best urban bike infrastructure from across the globe
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The best US green spaces: share your favouritesFrom huge city parks to neighbourhood community gardens, share your favourite urban green spaces in the US
in pictures
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Ghost signs around the worldLurking in the back alleys of New York or perched above the busy streets of Cairo, ghost signs provide an ephemeral link to a city’s past
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London life – mappedWhere do the happiest, least stressed, most satisfied Londoners live? What’s the busiest station? Do football fans support their local team? These questions and more are explored in London: The Information Capital
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Architecture for bikesFrom Calgary’s space-age Peace bridge to Eindhoven’s floating roundabout and the Copenhagen apartments with a cycle path straight up to the 10th floor, Gavin Blyth’s Velo City highlights some of the world’s best cycling infrastructure
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Stephen Wilkes' day-night cityscapesThe American photographer spends 15 hours perched on a rooftop or crane photographing each city from one camera angle through night and day, before months in the studio painstakingly blending them into one seamless image
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Street View: then and nowBerlin’s modern face – glass skyscrapers, busy roads, overgrown lots – shows little trace of its old scar. Our Street View expert takes us back to Checkpoint Charlie, the death strip ... and the wall’s glorious fall 25 years ago next month
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São Paulo artist transforms hoardingsOliviera’s repurposed plywood construction hoardings wind their way around the university contemporary art museum’s white columns in a tangle of roots
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An American horror story: 'real' haunted houses – in picturesHalloween special: Photographer Seph Lawless – whose eerie images of abandoned shopping malls we featured this summer – has explored houses blighted by tragic histories in his new book, 13: an American horror story
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Inside Geneva's nuclear bunker turned homeless shelter – in picturesReinforced doors, metal bunks and hot food – with nuclear winter an unlikely prospect, Geneva’s fallout shelters have thrown open their doors to welcome the homeless
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Welcome to Venice, China: Dalian copies canals, palaces … and gondoliersThe copycat city in north-eastern Liaoning province is just the latest example of China’s fondness for replicating Europe’s greatest architectural hits
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First world war in Google Street ViewFrom British prisoners of war being marched through Bruges to anti-aircraft guns on the Eiffel Tower and new recruits in Toronto, our Street View specialist takes us back 100 years
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CBRE Urban Photographer of the Year 2014 – winning imagesThe theme of this year’s competition – Cities at Work – challenged photographers from around the world to capture the beauty and day-to-day reality of working life
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The Focus E15 protests – in picturesThe group of vulnerable young mothers who occupied vacant flats after being told they would be rehoused outside London by Newham council have now left the Carpenters estate. Photographer Jess Hurd visited the protesters this week to document their campaign
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Sink or swim: designing for climate change – in picturesArchitectural, fine art and news photographers shed light on contemporary and traditional solutions to the problem of climate change in densely populated coastal regions
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Underground London: abandoned tube stations and tunnels – in picturesOxford academic and ‘place hacker’ Bradley Garrett has spent years exploring the capital’s hidden depths. His latest book, Subterranean London, is published by Prestel
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Funny and confusing city signs: readers' picturesGuardian Cities asked you to share your photos of the most silly, confusing and dangerous signs near you via GuardianWitness. Here’s a selection of our favourites
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Constructing Worlds: classic photographs that redefine our cities – in picturesThe Barbican Centre’s new Constructing Worlds exhibition brings together 18 photographers who have changed the way we view the urban world around us, from the early skyscrapers of New York to the Torre David vertical slum in Venezuela
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Mayors: The Gathering – city leaders in fantasy playing cardsAs the global parliament of mayors prepares to kick off, which civic leaders would you want in your deck?
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Timbuktu: portrait of a city on the edge of existence – in picturesWhat is life like in Mali’s ‘city in the middle of nowhere’? Guardian photographer Sean Smith recently spent a week there, meeting everyone from Timbuktu’s chief muezzin to its only DJ
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Confessions of watching window cleanersEmma Brockes: Notebook: I’m transfixed by New York’s high guys, whether outside my window or cheating death above the World Trade Center’s 68th floor
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Boris Johnson admits London's Oxford Street is one of world's most pollutedLondon mayor makes u-turn over Oxford Street’s pollution levels in a letter to the EAC about research funding for King’s College, that made the original claim on air quality
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Weatherwatch: Gusts and a glassy skyscraper test the engineersDavid Hambling: Gusts and a glassy skyscraper test the engineers
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Greater cost of rural over urban homes highlighted by surveyHomes in British countryside cost quarter more than those in urban areas, Halifax finds, squeezing out first-time buyers
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How Berlin became a great city like no otherDavid Chipperfield: Since the fall of the Wall, Berlin has managed something truly admirable: to be defined not by wealth but by its very complexity
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Ten bikes that made history – in picturesTwo-wheeled transport has come a long way over the last two centuries. Take a pictorial spin through the bicycle’s journey from the wood and iron era to the age of carbon fibre
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Contemporary graffiti art on the walls of Athens – in picturesThe hardships and unemployment of the Greek economic collapse have led to a new wave of innovative graffiti, which is both politically aware and socially accepted – making Athens a new Mecca for street artists
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The world's best tall buildings of 2014 – in picturesThe eco apartment block One Central Park in Sydney has been named best tall building in the world, topping a list dominated by the Asia-Pacific region
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Can Batman fix India’s pothole problem?Mumbai residents have designed a mobile app – and enlisted the help of tiny superheroes – in their campaign to repair the city’s notoriously ramshackle roads
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Will Hutton:The country’s great conurbations are, currently, civic pygmies. George Osborne has made a start by giving Manchester more autonomy. Now more must followGive our cities power to prosper and all Britain will flourish too
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So what does artistic creation sound like?Alison Watt: The rippling of wooden bobbins, the sound of 2,000 lengths of wool being stretched taut… these make a fine accompaniment when an artist’s design is woven into being
you may have missed
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Affordable housing quotas get waived and the interests of residents trampled as toothless authorities bow to the dazzling wealth of investors from Russia, China and the Middle EastThe truth about property developers: how they are exploiting planning authorities and ruining our cities
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Rumble in the Jungle: 40 years on, Kinshasa is a city of chaosThe heavyweight world championship showdown between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman electrified a city full of pride and promise in the early years following independence – and then the money ran out …
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Enfield tears up rules in radical attempt to ease housing problemPushed into a corner by soaring prices, greedy landlords and a cap on benefits, one London council has embarked on a daring set of untested policies to provide more public housing
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Timbuktu: portrait of a city on the edge of existence – in picturesWhat is life like in Mali’s ‘city in the middle of nowhere’? Guardian photographer Sean Smith recently spent a week there, meeting everyone from Timbuktu’s chief muezzin to its only DJ
It's time to make town planning cool again