Urbanization

Kaid Benfield investigates the rise of a more independent and nimble workforce, and ponders what the new economy means for the shape of cities as we enter an urban epoch

On Tuesday, China's National Bureau of Statistics announced that China has, for the first time ever, more urban than rural dwellers.

Tom Miller, author of "Urban Billion," discusses the pitfalls and shortcomings of a too-quickly urbanizing Beijing in this interview with David Pierson.

A new exhibition curated by the Cooper-Hewitt in New York illustrates how the design community is trying to reshape itself as more collaborative than 'pedagogic or paternalistic.'

The UN released new demographic projections Thursday that forecast India's urban population will more than double in the next thirty years. UN Under Secretary General Joan Clos said there is an urgent need to discuss urban issues in response.

Futile efforts to deal with rampant urbanization could fetter the region's robust economy and squander its potential to become a global economic powerhouse, according to the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI).

New development is spreading uncontrolled throughout much of China, and it's closing around many of the country's military bases.

This interactive map from the BBC tracks growth and urbanization in global cities from 1955 up through 2015.

This podcast from The Guardian explores why cities have grown in population and what economic forces are behind this shift.

In this piece from Metropolis, Joel Kotkin argues that as the world urbanizes, cities are becoming increasingly unequal and do not provide the opportunities they once did.

The Daily Show host interviews Edward Glaeser of Harvard University to discuss his new book, "Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier."

The industrialization of Hong Kong created hundreds of abandoned villages on the outskirts of the city. Today, these rural villages struggle to rejuvenate their economies and preserve their traditions.

RThe impact of cities is spreading beyond local and even national borders, argues Robert Neuwirth in this piece from What Matters.

Writing for City Journal, Mario Polese argues that big cities are more important than ever, and backs up his argument with seven reasons they're luring people, from economies of scale to falling transportation and communication costs.

Architect Peter Weingarten discusses the importance of high-rise buildings, and why the future of cities will be very high density.

As populations shift to cities, the concept of urbanism begins to take on more relevance across the planet. In a recent book, author Jeb Brugmann explores what urbanism means as a trend and a process.

A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows how population growth increases greenhouse gas emissions. More importantly, two demographic factors shape the increase, urbanization and aging -with opposite effects.

For some time researchers have noticed more instances of non-affective psychosis in urban populations than in rural groups. Now the American Medical Association has found "certain elements of city living raise the risk of developing schizophrenia."

A decade after its inception, Shanghai's One City, Nine Towns project, an ambitious attempt to manage the city's massive population growth via the creation of international-themed satellite communities, has failed to deliver hoped-for results.