Cities

construction workers building an apartment complex using the Renco system
Construction
A real apartment complex was built like a LEGO set
Renco, a system combining LEGO-like blocks and color-coded building plans, could be the future of construction.
Kristin Houser
A car driving through a flooded street.
Series| Future of Cities
These cities are working alongside nature to become flood-proof
Barriers, floodgates, aqueducts, empty wells — how these cities are adapting to floods and droughts.
A picture of a coffee grinder refining whole coffee beans.
Construction
Researchers brew a stronger concrete using — coffee?
Researchers and engineers from RMIT University made concrete 30% stronger in the lab by incorporating aggregates made from coffee grounds.
Kevin Dickinson
Urban Living
Tokyo wants to build a future-proof city. Here’s how.
Stefan Ellerbeck
flying taxis
Transportation
Startup unveils flying taxis expected to soar over NYC in 2025
Kristin Houser
Urban Living
What can cities do to survive extreme heat?
M. Mitchell Waldrop | Knowable Magazine
Urban Living
Kid-friendly superblocks are a way for residents to reclaim their streets
Trevor Shilton and Jasper Schipperijn and Hayley Christian and Matthew Mclaughlin
Urban Living
New “risky” playground could make kids anti-fragile
Sanné Mestrom
How Dubai is building roads in the sky
In partnership with Dubai Future Foundation
brownfields brightfields
Clean Energy
Former landfills are becoming “brightfields” 
Kristin Houser
Urban Living
Satellites zoom in on cities’ hottest neighborhoods 
Daniel P. Johnson
floating city
Urban Living
See the world’s first floating city: OCEANIX Busan 
Kristin Houser
Series| Future Explored
Sponge cities: a solarpunk future by 2030