CityLab Sold to Bloomberg

A major shakeup of the urbanism media landscape was announced this week.

1 minute read

December 11, 2019, 6:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bloomberg Philanthropies / Flickr

"Bloomberg Media intends to purchase CityLab, a brand from The Atlantic that was created in 2011 as a standalone website devoted to covering cities and how they are innovating for the future," reports Sara Jerde.

The announcement represents the second media shake up in the urbanism realm in recent weeks, after Vox Media closed shop at local Curbed sites in D.C., Seattle, New Orleans, and Philadelphia.

Michael Bloomberg, Bloomberg founder, CEO, and majority owner, recently announced a run for the presidency, prompting Bloomberg media companies to promised to stay out of the Democratic primary. As a further complication, Bloomberg Philanthropies is active in smart city and sustainability philanthropy.

"The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, and financial terms of the arrangement were not made public," according to Jerde.

Tuesday, December 10, 2019 in Adweek

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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