How to Build a Great City

Is a great city one that is thrilling to live in, or one where you never have to lock your bike? Where buildings are tourist attractions, or where everyone rides public transit?  By Nelda Rodger

The Ecstasy of Saint Jane

Toronto, in the midst of becoming, learns to embrace risk, variety and complexity. Jane Jacobs would approve.   By Lisa Rochon

Give Me Shelter

Low income, low cost and low impact is the mantra of a Chicago social housing project by Murphy/Jahn Architects.  By Alex Bozikovic

The U House

Infill housing and warehouse retrofits are two ways of transforming an old site. Montreal architect Natalie Dionne’s U House does a bit of both: a warehouse and vacant lot have become the ultimate urban live/work space  By David Theodore

Keep the Change

Overlaid on London’s history of organic reuse are new inner-city strategies to combat traffic congestion and to integrate affordable housing.  By Deyan Sudjic

Botogá Bound

Cities around the world are looking to Bogotá for public transit inspiration. No wonder – its formidable bus and bike lane networks are worth copying.  By Odile Hénault

Wheel Share

Communal-use cars and bikes aren’t just a financially smart way of getting around. They also cut air pollution and alleviate traffic congestion.  By Rachel Pulfer

Baby, You Can Drive My…

Everyone from artists and designers to MIT scientists and Toyota engineers is striving to sustainably reinvent the wheel.  By Julia Cooke

Happy Rails?

Small cities are jumping on the rail bandwagon by building expensive subways and trams. But are rail links the best transit option for smaller urban centres?  By Allison Milionis

Building a Better Bike Lane

European cyclists have enjoyed dedicated bike lanes for decades. Now North America is catching up.  By Lloyd Alter

The Trim Tab Effect

Richard Florida is the latest urban theorist to redefine what makes a city great. But are his so-called “high bohemians” capable of bringing prosperity to everyone?  By Evan Solomon

C U at Skool

Communication is key at Ørestad College, where a wildly open design by Copenhagen’s 3xn includes spiral staircases and classrooms filled with beanbag chairs.  By John Bentley Mays

Litter of Life

Seventeen photographers contributed to this visual essay that captures the invigorating, emotional pull of urban life.  Edited by Bree Seeley

Work Gets a Life

The best new furniture rolled out at Chicago’s NeoCon worked hard to make the office feel like home.  By Susan Nerberg

New York Unpacked

At ICFF, the designer sport of trendspotting revealed that wider seats are on their way in, and so is colour, colour, colour.  By Catherine Osborne