The explosive, transformative growth of Chinese cities over the past 35 years is difficult to overstate. Take the city of Guangzhou, on the Pearl River Delta, just north of Hong Kong and Shenzhen. In 1985, the population was 2.36 million. Ten years later, it had doubled to 5.04 million, and doubled again in another ten…
Author: Maeve Power
Over the past month, as the spread of COVID-19 has upended daily life throughout the United States, cities have been grappling with how to adjust their transit systems and streetscape. As in other nations, US cities face the daunting tasks of keeping people apart, while keeping transit running. In the US, essential workers are disportionately…
We have long known that our cities are in the midst of a global air quality crisis. According to the World Health Organization, 80 percent of urban residents are breathing air that does not meet standards for health, with middle- and low-income nations suffering from the highest exposures. We already knew that exposure to toxic air…
35 years ago, Mexico City was devastated by an 8.1 magnitude earthquake. The 1985 quake killed as many as 30,000 people, damaged 31 percent of the city’s buildings, and razed the homes of up to 700,000 people. Today, Mexico City is one of the most important economic hubs in the region, straddling both North and…
35 years ago, Dar es Salaam was experiencing a surge of informal public transit operators. The transport authority acknowledged it was unable to meet demand with its limited bus system, and legalized the now ubiquitous daladala minibuses. Today, this is still how most Dar es Salaam residents travel: packed into shared minibus taxis that jostle…
Post-Pandemic, Chinese Cities Take Stock of Transport Networks Last week, China reported a milestone: no new infections of COVID-19 for the first time in about three months. Having passed the most serious period of infection, Chinese cities are beginning to open up again, gradually. And gradually, we are seeing what this means for China’s massive…
As the Impacts of Coronavirus Grow, Micromobility Fills in the Gaps At the time of this writing, COVID-19 is disrupting peoples’ daily lives in many ways, including restricting daily travel, from optional work-from-home arrangements to complete shutdowns. While the most common advice remains to limit travel, having reliable, affordable choices for that travel matters now…
In 1985, Rio de Janeiro was coming out of two decades of military rule, and experiencing a surge growth. Older parts of the city were being demolished and rebuilt, and the city as it is today was taking shape. The city had the beginnings of formal a transit system, with the oldest commuter train in…
Transport Solutions for the Air Quality Crisis Our cities are in the midst of an air quality crisis. According to the WHO, 80 percent of urban residents are breathing air that does not meet standards for health, with middle- and low-income nations suffering from the highest exposures. While air quality concerns are far from breaking…