Central and South America

This op-ed from Al Jazeera looks at some of the negative ways preparations for the World Cup and Olympics are affecting the poor in Brazil.

May 12, 2011 - Al Jazeera

As Brazil prepares to host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, renovations to the Maracana, an infamous soccer stadium in Rio de Janeiro, are pricing out the city's poor. Some say the work is killing one of the city's few egalitarian public places.

May 6, 2011 - The New York Times

Michel Martelly is the newly elected president of Haiti. He faces the large challenge of rebuilding much of the country's population center, which was devastated by an earthquake in January 2010.

May 4, 2011 - Architectural Record

Infrastructure projects are lagging in Brazil, which is causing some to worry that the country won't be ready to host the 2014 World Cup.

April 29, 2011 - The National

That was former Medellin, Columbia mayor Sergio Fajardo's plan to rebuild his city, an idea that turned out to be transformational.

April 27, 2011 - Foreign Policy

Port-au-Prince, the devastated capital of Haiti, is far from recovery. But as it and the rest of the country tries to rebound, some are thinking creatively about how best to rebuild the city's center.

March 14, 2011 - Citiwire

Bus rapid transit (BRT) is often the most feasible, quickly implemented and cost-effective way to improve mobility in the United States, concluded a distinguished panel of transport experts at a Brookings Institution event.

March 14, 2011 - TheCityFix.com

As plans to build a major dam on the Amazon River edge closer to breaking ground, locals in nearby communities worry about the inevitable changes to come.

March 12, 2011 - Smithsonian Magazine

A new book of photography compares the legacies of two modernist cities: Brasilia and Chandigarh.

March 10, 2011 - Azure

An event held at The Brookings Institution invited transit experts to discuss the lessons learned from BRT systems in Latin America and their applicability in the United States.

March 9, 2011 - Sustainable Cities Collective

A new gondola cable car system is opening in a Rio de Janeiro slum to improve accessibility.

March 5, 2011 - Wired

As housing costs rise and supplies dwindle in Caracas, more than 2500 squatters have occupied a downtown skyscraper.

March 2, 2011 - The New York Times

As the city of Rio de Janeiro prepares to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, residents there say many of the projects underway are violating their rights.

February 26, 2011 - The Globe and Mail

Ahead of the 2016 Olympics, the host city of Rio de Janeiro is embarking on a massive redevelopment plan in its decaying port area.

February 21, 2011 - Xinhua

Finca Bellavista is a development on the southern coast of Costa Rica with 5 houses and 24 other buildings, all sustainable treehouse structures.

February 20, 2011 - Builder Magazine

While Brazil sits underwater due to heavy rains, an even greater political problem persists.

February 3, 2011 - The Guardian

Many Cubans encounter difficulties in traveling throughout Havana as well as the entire country.

February 3, 2011 - The Huffington Post

Haitian government hires planners who propose a better urban environment than existed prior to the devastating earthquake.

January 27, 2011 - New Urban Network

A floating city has been proposed to help ease some of the problems being faced by earthquake-damaged Haiti. But is this the answer the struggling country needs?

January 9, 2011 - The City Fix

Julio César Pérez is a Cuban architect and urban planner. An art gallery is showing examples of his work, a perfect occasion to reflect back on what matters in architecture and planning, and lay out his vision for the future of Cuba.

January 7, 2011 - Cuban Art News