Showing 1 - 10 of 15
Authoritarians' brave new cities
Oped, Published on 23/09/2025
» Few policy ideas are as radical -- or as misleadingly packaged -- as "freedom cities". Championed by Silicon Valley's techno-libertarian elite and recently embraced by right-wing politicians like Donald Trump, the idea is to create digitally powered, master-planned enclaves of deregulated innovation.
How remote work withers our social networks
News, Published on 05/12/2022
» Since the start of the Covid pandemic more than 2.5 years ago, there have been endless debates about working remotely. At first Zoom and Teams software inspired optimistic futurists to announce that the office was now irrelevant. Then, a militant return-to-the-office demand rose to defy them. The most recent prominent boast came from Tesla founder Elon Musk who told employees: "Anyone who wishes to do remote work must be in the office for a minimum, and I mean minimum of 40 hours per week or depart Tesla."
Where is World Expo 2020 host Dubai leading us?
Oped, Published on 18/03/2022
» 'Connecting minds, creating the future", the slogan of World Expo 2020, is everywhere in Dubai. The ongoing event, which opened a year late in October 2021, is the first of its kind since the beginning of the pandemic. Few other places in the world are as future-oriented as Dubai. But what kind of future does Dubai want? The city has established itself as a model for the emerging urban centres of Asia and the Middle East, so its choices today could have far-reaching consequences in the future.
World cities and the climate-data collection gap
Oped, Published on 21/01/2022
» With cities facing disastrous climate stresses and shocks in the coming years, one would think they would be rushing to implement mitigation and adaptation strategies. Yet most urban residents are only dimly aware of the risks, because their cities' mayors, managers, and councils are not collecting or analysing the right kinds of information.
How Melbourne rescheduled its entire future
Oped, Published on 01/12/2021
» Melbourne is not the most distinctive of Australia's cities. It does not have Sydney's sandy beaches or Brisbane's rugged, Crocodile Dundee appeal. Lying on a flat plain, crossed by a meandering river, it is an urban agglomeration of some 10,000 square kilometres -- six times the size of London -- consisting of a dense urban core surrounded by sprawling suburbs.
Helsinki rises to climate crisis challenge
Oped, Published on 22/10/2021
» Among the many misleading beliefs about climate change, one in particular has too often gone unchallenged. This is the idea that temperature increases will negatively affect only warmer regions, while making polar climates milder and more pleasant. In fact, extreme weather and rising sea levels in colder countries will far outweigh the benefits of warmer winters.
Wrapping of Arc de Triomphe begins in Christo tribute
AFP, Published on 13/09/2021
» PARIS: A first giant sheet of fabric was draped down the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on Sunday as work started to wrap the monument in a tribute to late artist Christo.
Singapore is a laboratory for urban mobility
Oped, Published on 13/08/2021
» Tiziano Terzani was no fan of Singapore. The Florentine writer and journalist explored every corner of Asia. He had witnessed the fall of Saigon to the People's Army of Vietnam, and the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge. When he visited Singapore, he concluded all it had to offer was its airport: "The concentration of everything Singapore has to show: its efficiency, its cleanliness, its order." Otherwise, the wealthy city-state was nothing more to him than "the largest supermarket of consumer goods, futility, and prissiness in Asia".
The death of inner cities is greatly exaggerated
Oped, Published on 23/04/2021
» The end of the office, the end of the university campus, the death of the city. The past months of pandemic doom and gloom have witnessed many dire predictions. A common theme has been that our new-found, battle-hardened ability to live and work remotely will render physical space obsolete. Yet, after countless lockdowns, quarantines and Zoom sessions, I would put forward an opposite proposition: embracing and reimagining the space of our cities will soon be more powerful -- and more necessary -- than ever before.
Boats join self-driving tech race
Business, Associated Press, Published on 15/09/2017
» BOSTON: Self-driving cars may not hit the road in earnest for many years -- but autonomous boats could be just around the pier.