BBC

Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, is widely believed to be the most expensive city in which to buy a house in eastern Europe. Prices have seen a major surge in the last few years, with some prices increasing by up to 25% in the last two months.

The Parliament in India has passed bill granting more than 27 million forest dwellers legal rights to their ancestral lands. Before the bill's passage, the forest dwellers were defenseless as logging and mining interests moved in.

A new report has been released in Japan that projects a sharp drop in the country's population over the next 50 years. The report predicts that a declining birth rate will cause a decrease of more than 30% by 2055.

Bushmen have won a long court case against the Botswanan government for illegally removing them from their ancestral lands. The ruling is expected to set a standard for other indigenous people in the protection of their ancestral lands.

More than 57,000 square miles of land in Brazil's Amazon rainforest were recently set aside to be protected from unsustainable logging and development. The area will be the largest protected rainforest area in the world.

This photo slide show gives a detailed look at one of Venezuela's most populated barrios. With more than 120,000 people in 237 acres, the barrio is in control of its infrastructure construction, as well as its transportation planning.

As its population declines and homes are taking up more space, home designers in Japan are looking to the self-sufficient designs of space stations to guide the development of environmentally sustainable homes.

In a trend being seen all over the world, planners are looking to the waterfront in Plymouth, England, for redevelopment as a site worthy of international acclaim.

Leading British scientists are warning the country that forecasted high tides could flood many low-lying areas. They caution that the coming devastation could have been prevented by better floodplain planning and more environmental considerations.

Urban areas will be hit harder by climate change as global warming combines with the "urban heat island" effect.

The housing boom that fueled the U.S. ecomony in recent years appears to be slowing down.

A film documenting Portland's success in moving people from cars to public transportation is airing on British television.

A report released by the World Wildlife Fund warns that water shortages are a problem all over the world, including industrialized countries. Repairing and improving water infrastructure is one of the essential steps to take to battle the shortage.

Cambodians frustrated with shoddy trains and inconsistent service have taken transportation into their own hands, constructing and operating trains made primarily out of bamboo. The trains run at nearly 25 mph and are largely meeting transit needs.

The Indian government has demolished a housing slum in Mumbai, displacing thousands. Though the government has promised replacement homes for many of the slum's documented citizens, thousands without documentation are now also without homes.

The general consensus is that urbanization has had a negative effect on the environment, though its extent is difficult to define. Pollution is a common measure, and though some urban areas' air qualities are improving, others are falling far behind.

Ground subsidence near levees is reported to be much more drastic than previously thought, according to a University of Miami study.

A common plant has the potential to become generate enough fuel to supply electricity to a third of India's villages.

It may turn out that the first line of defense for coastal cities isn't the levee in your backyard, but that marsh in your backyard that the city built on top of.

At a U.N. climate conference in Montreal, nations seek to earn carbon credits for projects that avoid deforestation.