Judy Chang

At least, according to the city's urban planners. The two-mile elevated highway is a hindrance, reports Juan Forero, to the city's modernization.

While some may be disappointed by how cities aren't yet swarming with robots and automated cars, Frank Swain writes that it's a matter of when we humans can tailor our landscapes to enable the new technology.

Today's war on drugs isn't all that different from Prohibition, writes Stephen Smith, at least in terms of the urban-suburban divide that underlies policy. As cities' reputations clean up, maybe drug policy will evolve accordingly, too.

From a penthouse dwelling above an air-raid bunker to an "inside-out" building where plants grow on the walls through rainwater irrigation, Wendy Goodman and Justin Davidson have asked design experts to compile their favorite urban ideas.

On Tuesday, the UK announced the creation of a green infrastructure program, intended to press planners and deveopers to infuse spaces with greenery. Writes Peter Walker, the benefits are beyond aesthetic--they're economic as well.