Showing results for "Urban" in Politics & Social Sciences

From the creator of the wildly popular blog Wait but Why, a fun and fascinating deep dive into what the hell is going on in our strange, unprecedented modern times.

Ours is an urban age. From Uruk and Eridu in ancient Mesopotamia to London and New York City in the 21st century, cities have long supported and sustained what makes us human. But can they survive the next 100 years? If so, they’re going to have to remain livable. In this 10-lecture series, focusing on that livability is at the heart of livable cities, Professor Mark Alan Hughes discusses why we seek out cities and how they create the conditions that allow us to meet our fundamental needs as individuals and as a human community.

This national best-seller chronicles the true story of two brothers coming of age in the Henry Horner public housing complex in Chicago. Lafeyette and Pharoah Rivers are 11 and nine years old when the story begins in the summer of 1987. Living with their mother and six siblings, they struggle against grinding poverty, gun violence, gang influences, overzealous police officers, and overburdened and neglectful bureaucracies. Immersed in their lives for two years, Kotlowitz brings us this classic rendering of growing up poor in America’s cities.

Toshiden is a biweekly show in which horror author and translator Tara A. Devlin explores various urban legends from Japan. From Kuchisake-onna's long history to the hidden meaning behind convenience store toilet signs, we explore it all and look at how they came about and why they became a legend in the first place.

Over the past 10 years, urban planners, technology companies, and governments have promoted smart cities with a somewhat utopian vision of urban life made knowable and manageable through data collection and analysis. Emerging smart cities have become both crucibles and showrooms for the practical application of the Internet of Things, cloud computing, and the integration of big data into everyday life. Are smart cities optimized, sustainable, digitally networked solutions to urban problems? Or are they neoliberal, corporate-controlled, undemocratic non-places?

Luke Mordue examines the historical impact of the stories that haunt our society, tales that have gripped towns and cities worldwide for centuries as actual events - Urban Legends. First, hear the tales retold as short stories before delving into the history of the legend, dissecting its cultural significance, factuality, and origins. Released Fortnightly.

Urban Legends After Dark explores modern myths, folklore, and stories that persist across generations. Each episode begins inside the legend, then examines its origins, spread, and cultural impact through a structured, documentary-style approach. Investigating documented sources, patterns, and variations, the series separates history from rumor and explores why certain stories continue to be believed. Unlock bonus content and full video episodes:https://www.patreon.com/theforbiddenknowledgenetwork

As the world's foremost cycling nation, the Netherlands is the only country where the number of bikes exceeds the number of people, primarily because the Dutch have built a cycling culture accessible to everyone, regardless of age, ability, or economic means. Building the Cycling City examines the triumphs and challenges of the Dutch while also presenting stories of North American cities already implementing lessons from across the Atlantic. 

A Practical Framework for Reliable, Safe, and Efficient Urban Systems Modern cities face rising complexity — more infrastructure, more data, more expectations. Yet, true urban excellence doesn't begin with technology. It begins with discipline, visibility, and flow. In this groundbreaking...

Turkey's greatest living novelist guides us through the monuments and lost paradises, dilapidated Ottoman villas, back streets, and waterways of Istanbul - the city of his birth and the home of his imagination.

A Montreal garbageman’s sharp and funny memoir/exposé, in which he attempts to convince people to “stop imagining that your garbage magically disappears” This fascinating no-bullshit account of twenty years in waste management paints a vivid portrait of the heroic labor, anarchic spirit...

Annawadi is a makeshift settlement in the shadow of luxury hotels near the Mumbai airport, and as India starts to prosper, Annawadians are electric with hope. Abdul, a reflective and enterprising Muslim teenager, sees "a fortune beyond counting" in the recyclable garbage that richer people throw away. Asha, a woman of formidable wit and deep scars from a childhood in rural poverty, has identified an alternate route to the middle class: political corruption.

In the 12 lessons of Notorious London: A City Tour, you will experience a rich sampling of some of the city’s most shocking stories and infamous personalities. Taught by Professor Paul Deslandes of the University of Vermont, Notorious London dips into various regions and eras of London’s past to give you a multifaceted look into this remarkable metropolis.

Jeff Speck has dedicated his career to determining what makes cities thrive. And he has boiled it down to one key factor: walkability. The very idea of a modern metropolis evokes visions of bustling sidewalks, vital mass transit, and a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly urban core. But in the typical American city, the car is still king, and downtown is a place that’s easy to drive to but often not worth arriving at. Making walkability happen is relatively easy and cheap; seeing exactly what needs to be done is the trick.

Adults don’t talk about the business of doing our business. We work on one assumption: The world of public bathrooms is problem - and politics-free. No Place to Go: How Public Toilets Fail Our Private Needs reveals the opposite is true. No Place to Go is a toilet tour from London to San Francisco to Toronto and beyond. From pay potties to deserted alleyways, No Place to Go is a marriage of urbanism, social narrative, and pop culture that shows the ways - momentous and mockable - public bathrooms just don’t work.

Since 2010, Toronto's headlines have been consumed by the outrageous personal foibles and government-slashing, anti-urbanist policies of Mayor Rob Ford. But the heated debate at City Hall has obscured a bigger, decade-long narrative of Toronto's ascendance as a mature global city. Some Great Idea traces how post-amalgamation, and under three very different mayors, Toronto managed to so quickly oscillate from one extreme to another, and how the city might proceed from here.

Stroll celebrates Toronto's details at the speed of walking and, in so doing, helps us to better get to know its many neighbourhoods, taking us from well-known spots like the CN Tower and Pearson Airport to the overlooked corners of Scarborough and all the way to the end of the Leslie Street Spit in Lake Ontario.

The Urban, le podcast de Gecina qui interroge notre rapport à la ville et aux modes de vie urbains est de retour ! La ville est un objet mouvant. Elle se réinvente sans cesse au gré des événements qui la traversent et de ceux qui l’habitent, l’animent, la pensent. Quel horizon aujourd’hui pour notre vie en ville ? Comment penser, vivre et construire les nouvelles urbanités ? Les sociologues Jean Viard et Saskia Sassen, l’économiste Pierre Veltz, mais aussi le professeur d’urban studies, Richard Florida et la géographe Magali Reghezza-Zitt sont aux côtés de la journaliste ...

Why are people like this? Why is life so hard? And why do the worst people always seem to have the loudest opinions? I’m back, and welcome to the new era of my podcast, Still Asking Why. This podcast is about people. It’s about the things we care deeply about but don't always get a chance to talk about. It’s about finding wisdom in ordinary places and hearing perspectives that make you think, laugh, and feel a little less alone. In this era, I’m putting people at the centre. I’ll be chatting with everyone from divorce lawyers to Egyptologists. But don't worry - this won't be a ...

These eight lectures are a celebration of humanity and the rich texture of human experience. They are a fascinating focus on the complex artistic representations of city life from the 18th to the 20th century. Join Professor Weinstein as he reveals the portraits of humanity that came from several of the period's greatest artists, writers, and thinkers.