Weekly Urban News Update
August 17 th, 2018
In This Update
A Hot Issue
Scales and Shapes
Global Urban Equity
A Hot Issue

Urban Heat
Temperatures continue to reach record highs, and many of the hottest places on earth are man-made environments. The Guardian-Cities, asks its readers to imagine   a city at 50 degrees celsius, and the image is sweltering and bleak. Beyond measures to reduce carbon emissions, and attempts at sustainable architecture and design, the changing climate, as it impacts cities, is a changing global society. However, the current modern city is an air conditioned city, and for the last century or so, city life has been a battle against the elements, especially heat and humidity, as you consider the hot future, take a look at the air conditioned past. Read more  here.

The New Urban Animals
Find out about how a fisher-cat stealing goldfish from an office building's decorative pond may indicate the future of biodiversity on our rapidly urbanizing planet. Concerns for the integrity of wildlife are concerns for the integrity of human life and scientists and experts in various fields are beginning to notice the effects of urbanization on animals. Read more about wildlife and the constant struggle of adaptation in the cities of today  here.
Scales and Shapes

Where is the Boom?
As cities across the world continue to grow at unprecedented rates to unprecedented sizes, the idea of the "Mega-City" garners more and more attention. Axios used UN data to visualize the growth of the world's major urban areas, and so provides us with an interactive map charting the rise of the next Mega cities. Take a look at the dynamism of global urbanization here.

A Matter of Data and Definitions
As cities across the world grow and change, so does our understandings of them. As urbanization gains more attention in the international development sphere, and as technologies for data gathering, and processing allow for higher resolution models of urban life than ever before, it is imperative that policy makers and citizens stay informed as to the changing meaning of urbanization- as the term has to cover more ground than ever. Read more about  here.

The Logic of the City
Different cities have different patterns and planning concerns. Some cities appear to have very neat grid patterns, while others seem to be more organic with winding streets and comparative irregularity. Geoff Boeing of the University of California at Berkeley has worked on a way to visualize the "logic" of the city by mapping data about a city's layout into a model that resembles a compass rose. Read more about this ground breaking tool for understanding urban spaces  here.


Global Urban Equity 

Mapping Dialogues
Chicago is often referenced as one the U.S.' most racially and economically segregated cities. The Folded Map Project seeks to use spatial understandings to bring Chicago residents together by putting names, places, and faces, together on  a platform designed to facilitate dialogue and understanding as the city faces forward, Read more here.

An Island of Opporunity
Beginning in the 1990s, the City of Amsterdam has considered the long standing Dutch tradition of civil engineering and land reclamation as a means to create affordable housing. The result, still in progress, is a man made archipelago that would not only provide much needed residential space, but also showcase cutting edge sustainable design techniques. Read more about the plans for a new island for Amsterdam  here.
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