Reuters

With one of the world's higher rates of air pollution, Mexico City is cracking down on one type of emission: cigarette smoke. Smoking has been banned in all public places in the city, including office buildings and restaurants.

Capitalizing on the booming Mexican home market and government calls for better urban planning, Mexico's second biggest residential developer is planning six new towns complete with homes, stores, employment and schools.

New research suggests that urban sprawl doesn't cause weight gain in residents, though it does attract people who are inclined to be heavy and prefer to move around by car.

Miami may be the first American city to have its police force adopt Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to aid police in fighting crime, a development civil liberties groups are finding disconcerting.

The world's largest marine protected area has just been established around the tiny Pacific island of Kiribati.

Mexico City has announced plans to dedicate some of its transit system buses for use by women only -- a move made in response to increasing reports of women being groped on crowded buses.

As foreclosure rates rise across the country, former homeowners are seeking shelter in suburban "tent cities" while municipalities struggle to cope with extra costs and declining tax revenues.

The head of traffic and parking enforcement in Rome, Italy was fired after parking illegally using a fraudulent handicapped permit.

Officials in Spain have announced billion-dollars plans to help homeowners retrofit and renovate houses to be more energy efficient.

Fuel costs, environmental concerns, and striking transport workers are reviving interest in horse-driven vehicles in some French towns.

The rising price of oil is fueling an economic development boom in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Sounding eerily similar to his London counterpart, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called on the federal government to adopt a national carbon tax. Bloomberg is currently pushing congestion pricing similar to London's program implemented in 2003.

An elderly man watering his lawn in drought-stricken Australia was recently berated by a passerby for wasting water. A fight then broke out and the man was beaten to death.

A Bill advocating the formation of an affordable housing trust fund will likely be vetoed by the Bush White House, which believes the program is unnecessary.

In the Mexican city of Altar, just 60 miles from the U.S. border, a booming economy has built itself around catering to those looking to make the treacherous walk through the desert to cross into the U.S.

With the nation's crumbling infrastructure having grabbed headlines lately, two U.S. senators are supported the concept of a national infrastructure bank to evaluate and finance major public works.

U.S. home builder Toll Brothers, renowned for its large home suburban subdivisions, is looking to expand overseas.

The vast majority of the world's e-waste is processed in China, in towns like Guiyu.

A new poll shows that just 37 percent of New Yorkers support Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan, though two-thirds of Manhattan residents support the idea.

From fears over immigration to the pursuit of control over territory, countries and cities around the world are increasingly turning to the oldest form of defense: the wall.