The Economist

Super-fast, beautifully-designed trains are the all the rage again in China, but safety, pricing, and technology concerns now need to be bumped to country's rail priority list to make it work.

"Look out, Silicon Valley"-- A decades-long effort to bring technology-based firms to New York City is beginning to see a payoff, according to this piece from The Economist.

Can Honduras develop it's own Hong Kong by enabling free market "startup cities"? The sleepy city of Trujillo is selected for the country's first experiment.

Delhi was being celebrated as a capital for the first time, under British rule, a hundred years ago. This short piece from the Economist compares today's Delhi with the images of fanfare in December 1911.

Brainchild of libertarians, seasteads are brand new cities built upon the ocean. It's not as far-fetched as it sounds, according to this article's author, but it will have to overcome the myriad engineering, energy, and legal challenges.

Once reversed to keep its filth out of the drinking water, the Chicago River is finally getting cleaned up, on orders from the EPA. Now recognized as an asset, re-reversal and clean-up is predicted to infuse the city with $1 billion in investments.

The 2010 Census reveals that Detroit's population is approaching the 1910's level. Of the City's 714,000 residents, 83% are black and nearly 40% live in poverty. With virtually every statistic going against its favor, can Motown make a comeback?

The Economist paints a gloomy picture of an ailing Detroit, but also says there is hope in the form of urban pioneers attracted by the affordability of space.

The benefits of building a new $52-million HSR that connects London to northern England are plausible but not persuasive, says The Economist.

Any prospect for the green initiatives to produce desired results requires more than just aggressive reduction targets, according to The Economist. It comes down to scope and suitability, the two factors that vary greatly from city to city.

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).

Like the Hamptons for affluent New Yorkers, Singapore emerges as the go-to real estate hot spot - replacing Hong Kong - for wealthy Chinese. "It confers class status in China to say that you own a flat in Singapore," asserts Mohamed Ismail.

Designing the U.S. embassy abroad is any architect's dream. But a crash between safety imperatives and beautiful design often results in "a dull series of near-identical, boxy bunkers," says The Economist.

London's preparations for next summer's Olympic Games have been widespread, but the event's economic returns are harder to see.

The moribund state of the Los Angeles River reflects the zeitgeist of the city that it runs through, says The Economist. A mile wide but an inch deep, revitalization proposals are too conceptual at best and too feeble at worst.

While most homebuilders take measures to control cost, such as modifying the plan layouts or building more energy-efficient homes, few revamp their business strategies by creating specialized division for distressed markets.

Airlines argue in the European Court of Justice that the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is an overreach when imposed on flights to/from Europe.

Hong Kong and Singapore experienced a double-digit growth in the housing market. And so did Ireland - albeit in the opposite direction. In the U.S., prices dropped about 5% from last year. What gives?

The Economist argues that heavy reliance on solar power as an alternative energy source will not help Britain meet its greenhouse-gas reduction targets in 2050 due to operational and financial infeasibilities.

The Economist is fascinated by China's experiments in public-private financing in which the government gives land to private transit developers in exchange for greater mobility.