Bloomberg (June 3)
“A more comprehensive abdication of leadership could scarcely be imagined. America has now lost more than 105,000 people to a still-uncontrolled virus. Some 40 million are out of work, with the economy in free fall. From coast to coast, cities are burning, protests raging and chaos…. And what is the president of the United States doing amid all this? Tweeting, mostly.”
Tags: Abdication, Burning, Chaos, Cities, COVID-19, Economy, Free fall, Leadership, Protests, Trump, U.S., Uncontrolled
Chicago Tribune (March 6)
“We walk the Earth’s crust, we erect vast cities, we boast of our achievements. We see ourselves as the mistresses and masters of our fate.” With the coronavirus, however, “nature once again reminds us who’s boss.” The “little living form that now roils humanity is a virus” and it does not discriminate “in selecting its victims; great wealth has its privileges, but immunity from epidemics isn’t one of them.”
Tags: Achievements, Boss, Cities, Coronavirus, Earth, Fate, Humanity, Immunity, Nature, Victims, Wealth
BBC (March 24)
“All over the world cities are grappling with apocalyptic air pollution but the capital of Mongolia is suffering from some of the worst in the world. And the problem is intrinsically linked to climate change. The country has already warmed by 2.2 degrees, forcing thousands of people to abandon the countryside and the traditional herding lifestyle every year for the smog-choked city where 90% of children are breathing toxic air every day.”
Tags: Air pollution, Apocalyptic, Cities, Climate change, Countryside., Herding, Lifestyle, Mongolia, Smog, Toxic air
The Economist (March 19)
The Economist Intelligence Unit just announced the most expensive cities in the world. Due to inflation, Tokyo doesn’t rank in the top 10. “Singapore marks its sixth straight year at the top of the rankings, and is joined there by Hong Kong and Paris.” Osaka was the only Japanese city to make the top 10 in “the survey, which compares prices across 160 products and services.”
The Economist (September 3)
“An epic struggle looms. It will transform daily life as profoundly as cars did in the 20th century: reinventing transport and reshaping cities, while also dramatically reducing road deaths and pollution.” Across several industries companies have grasped “the transformative potential of electric, self-driving cars, summoned on demand.” With Uber poised to lead this race, “technology firms including Apple, Google and Tesla are investing heavily in autonomous vehicles; from Ford to Volvo, incumbent carmakers are racing to catch up.”
Tags: Apple, Autonomous vehicles, Carmakers, Cars, Cities, Daily life, Electric, Ford, Google, Pollution, Reinventing, Roads, Self-driving, Struggle, Tesla, Transformative potential, Transport, Uber, Volvo
Financial Times (May 26)
Global cities now “drive the world’s economy. The 600 biggest cities account for more than 60 per cent of global gross domestic product. The top 20 are home to one-third of all large corporations, and almost half of their combined revenues. Tokyo leads the pack — in population size, economic punch and number of corporate headquarters — ahead of New York, London and Paris.”
Tags: Cities, Corporations, Economics, Economy, GDP, London, New York, Paris, Population, Revenues, Tokyo
The Economist (April 4)
“Poor land use in the world’s greatest cities carries a huge cost.” There isn’t much real shortage of land in even the most heavily populated areas. Instead poor regulations stifle efficient land use. “In the West End of London,” these regulations “inflate the price of office space by about 800%; in Milan and Paris the rules push up prices by around 300%.” But the effect on economic growth is even more profound. “Lifting all the barriers to urban growth in America could raise the country’s GDP by between 6.5% and 13.5%, or by about $1 trillion-2 trillion.”
Tags: Barriers, Cities, Economic growth, GDP, Land use, London, Milan, Paris, Regulations, Shortage, U.S., Urban growth
New York Times (August 17)
China is both the world’s largest consumer of coal and the world’s largest producer of CO2 emissions. Encouragingly, that may be set to change. “The wretched air in China’s cities is forcing Chinese officials to change their energy policies. If they do a good job tackling local pollution, they could also have a big impact on climate change.” Details are still scarce, but could include a ban on the use of coal in urban areas by 2020.
Tags: Ban, China, Cities, Climate change, CO2 emissions, Coal, Consumer, Energy policies, Officials, Pollution, Producer, Urban areas
The Financial Times (January 20, 2014)
“At a time when US federal government is largely paralysed, it is in the states–and particularly the cities–where America’s future is being played out.” City leaders are innovating to solve problems they can no longer rely on Washington to solve. This is hardly new. “The abiding lesson of most of US history is that when Washington fails to function, the action moves to the states, cities and municipalities.” This is what “keeps the US moving.”
Tags: Cities, Federal, Government, Leaders, Municipalities, States, U.S., Washington
Bloomberg (July 11)
“Fewer than one percent of the 500 largest cities in China meet the air-quality standards recommended by the World Health Organization. Seven are ranked among the 10 most-polluted cities in the world, according to a 2012 report by the Asian Development Bank.” But increasing protests suggest, change may be in store. “In China, the authorities aren’t deaf to the protests.”
