The Christian Science Monitor

Many American cities are looking to new ways of handling their homeless populations, including programs that provide assistance in renting permanent housing rather than pouring money into temporary shelters.

With desertification threatening thousands of acres of land, Chinese officials have announced the forced relocation of more than 10,000 people.

Such a move would set a new legal precedent and might encourage other prosecutors to bring similar charges in structural failures.

Congress and the Interior Department investigate whether the Bush administration undermined federal protections.

A bill in the U.S. House of Representatives aims to build or rehabilitate 1.5 million affordable homes in the next 10 years. Housing advocates say this is the first step towards solving a growing problem.

New York City has plans to install a permanent closed-circuit camera system throughout the city. It is based on a similar system in London, which some credit with preventing terrorist acts. But the system's constitutionality is a major concern.

A development battle in Boston highlights the ongoing and controversial transformation of American's Chinatowns.

State and federal funding is slowly feeding the recovery of New Orleans, while private foundations and philanthropies are playing an active role in supporting the city's rebuilding. However, much of this money is going to middle-class neighborhoods.

Despite the attention that global warming has received in the U.S., most Americans aren't choosing more eco-friendly commutes.

Many cities are following the lead of various municipalities up and down California that are using any and all possible powers to prevent Wal-Marts from moving in. But despite the growing opposition, business is booming.

Efforts are underway to 'green' ferries and other commercial ships -- which represent a major but largely ignored source of air pollution.

With significant oil reserves in its rainforests and rampant poverty, Ecuador has a dilemma. The country's president is asking the international community to compensate the country for its plans to protect the rainforest by not drilling for the oil.

Rural towns are making moves to provide their own high speed internet services. Many rural areas are underserved by big internet service providers, and public officials recognize the importance of internet access to the future of their communities.

Brazil has announced an expansive and ambitious plan to update its crumbling infrastructure. But some critics say the proposal is not feasible.

As property prices spiral upward in Beijing, some tenants in the city's 600-year-old hutong alleyways are rushing to cash in on their neighborhoods' destruction.

The oil-rich plant is being trumpeted as a source for biodiesel by some nations and corporations that hope to cash in on it as 'the final solution.'

In its second meeting ever, a conference of mayors from 32 cities worldwide will meet in N.Y. to strategize on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

One mile of road in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park will be closed to cars every Saturday this summer, just one of many examples of car-free zones that are being proposed in the U.S.

Some security experts are using the recent collapse of a Bay Area bridge due to an overturned oil tanker to highlight the dangers of routing hazardous cargo through cities.

As California tries to meet its goal of 20% renewable energy use by 2010, it faces the challenge of transporting all that renewable energy without negatively affecting the state's other natural resources.