Animals are more than just guests or co-habitants in our cities, according to an article in New Scientist—they're a critical component of the infrastructure that keeps cities running.
"When we think of cities, traditionally this brings to mind roads, homes and vehicles," writes Geoff Manaugh. "But animals are as much a functional part of the modern city as subways and skyscrapers."
In fact, declares Manaugh, "[t]his is the age of animals as infrastructure."
Manuagh goes on to provide a few examples of the concept, ranging from the O'Hare Grazing Herd of sheep, llamas, goats, and donkeys, which keep grass and shrubs at bay in difficult to maintain areas, to the insects of New York and the pigs of Cairo, which act as the "unacknowledged garbage disposal" of those cites, to a final, more futuristic take on what the future of animals as infrastructure might become.
Read the full story: New Urbanist: Our infrastructure is expanding to include animals
Learning loss and urban schools, part 2
Did test scores in progressive cities drop more post-COVID than test scores in moderate ones?
Map of Pandemic Real Estate Risk Focuses on New Jersey, Illinois, California
A new study evaluates county-level foreclosure risk, underwater home values, and more real estate market data after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States.
20 Years After 9/11: The 'Age of Skyscrapers' Is Nowhere Near Over
Despite predictions that the events of September 11, 2001 would be the end of skyscrapers, U.S. cities are building more tall buildings than ever.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Malls are becoming the midtowns of the future
Mall and office park redevelopments are a generational opportunity to create new nodes of urbanity.
NYC breaks ground on anti-flooding infrastructure project
New York City's new system will reduce stormwater flows to local sewers by 90%.
One Kentucky town’s secret to affordable housing
The Smoketown Community Land Trust has already built seven affordable homes for community members.
Houston gains petal-shaped cooling infrastructure to make streets more ‘delightful’
The city has installed the pavilions along 15 blocks in Houston.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority