Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world
Pending the completion of the Jeddah Tower,the Burj Khalifa holds the record, since 2010, for being the tallest building in the world, standing 828 meters tall. It is a marvelous design and engineering achievement. However, its achievements have had their fair share of controversy.
Flatiron, New York’s iconic skyscraper that was expected to blow over
Branded as “monstruous”, the Flatiron building, also known as Fuller, was ridiculed by everyone when it was built in 1902. However, over the years, the Flatiron skyscraper has become one of the most iconic buildings in New York and the United States.
Paraisópolis, Brazil. A city of favelas aiming to be egalitarian, sustainable and accessible
It is not just more humane to integrate the shanty towns into cities’ activities, but it would also be more economically beneficial.
How Vienna became a global reference for multimodal transportation
Author | Elvira Esparza In 2020, Vienna was recognized as the greenest city in the world, mainly for its innovative, smart mobility ideas and the abundance of public parks. In Vienna, public transportation (subway, trains, trams, buses, and bicycles) covers all districts of the city. The principle guiding Vienna’s mobility strategy is that it guarantees […]
Urban investment flows: how smart city projects attract global capital
Author | Raquel C. Pico More than half of the world’s population already lives in cities. By 2050, that figure will be 70%. These are two UN statistics that are always shared, as they help highlight the importance of urban environments in demographic patterns. Cities have become the main population hubs, which in turn creates […]
How AI is influencing the purchase of homes
Author | Lucía Burbano According to the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) in the report “AI Is Changing Home Buying and Renting—But Not Always for the Better”, artificial intelligence is increasingly being integrated into tools such as home search engines, virtual assistants, chatbots, and appraisal instruments, which property buyers and renters are using more […]
How AI mapping of undocumented buildings is transforming urbanism in Africa
Author | Raquel C. Pico The pressure of population growth on cities will increase over the coming decades. People will concentrate in large urban areas, forcing urban planning to be redefined and make the most of new technologies. This will be especially noticeable in Africa, where some estimates suggest that not only will the population […]
Smart Cities and Urban Development: Building Sustainable and Connected Futures
Explore top pedestrian-friendly cities where urban planning, walkability, and people-first urban development create safer, more vibrant pedestrian spaces.
AI in Smart Cities: Transforming Urban Life Through Intelligent Technologies
Author | Lucía Burbano Artificial intelligence is broadly transforming smart cities: it optimizes services, manages resources, and anticipates potential problems in real time. Through data analysis, digital twins, and predictive systems, AI improves mobility, energy, waste management, and citizen participation, turning cities into more efficient, sustainable places focused on the needs of their residents. What […]
The Colosseum, putting on shows for over two thousand years
The Colosseum is an iconic site of Imperial Rome given its status as one of the best preserved buildings of its era. Was it important in its time? What did it mean for the city’s urban landscape?