The 15-minute city lets residents meet their daily needs within 15 minutes on foot

Smart city systems can increase positive feelings toward local government

A 2018 study analyzed 50 global cities to determine whether smart city technologies enhance residents' quality of life. It found that these technologies can decrease the time spent interacting with healthcare and government by 45% to 65%, while also decreasing the disease burden by 8% to 15%.

15 out of 25 major US cities have a lower cost of living than their nearby suburbs

These cities are Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Boston, San Francisco, Detroit, Minneapolis, Denver, Baltimore, St. Louis, Orlando, Charlotte, and San Antonio. This article details the cost of living in major US cities versus their nearby suburbs, according to data from 2023.

45% of Americans have no access to public transit

Most US transit was built on a monocentric design, funneling riders into a downtown center. But today's most common commute is from suburb to suburb, meaning the system is built for a work pattern that no longer exists.

Toronto's downtown has 18 miles of underground pedestrian tunnels

Known as the "Path," these tunnels have helped reduce pedestrian traffic on Toronto's busy downtown streets for over a century. They were first built by local business owners, prompting a network effect of add-on tunnels.

The architect who made the most of a tiny New York apartment

This short documentary explores the 350-square-foot apartment of Ben Riskin, a New York resident looking to make the most of his new home through hidden storage and ingenious design.

The Greek city of Alexandria in Egypt helped form the template for modern cities

It was designed by Dinocrates, who studied under Hippodamus, the father of urban planning. Hippodamus preached that urban planning should take into account function, culture, and politics. Dinocrates' design of Alexandria meant applying Hippodamus' teachings on a scale never before attempted.

Microforests in urban environments may help combat climate change

Areas of densely packed native trees and drought-tolerant plants within cities can pull carbon dioxide from the air, cool surrounding neighborhoods, and support local wildlife. The idea behind microforests traces back over 50 years to Japanese ecologist Dr. Akira Miyawaki, who promoted planting whole ecosystems to restore degraded land.

Critics of concierge medicine argue it's worsening physician shortages and expanding inequity

Some research suggests that the average wait time for a primary care visit in major US cities can be 21 days. Subscription-based medical practices offer faster in-person and virtual appointment options, but the price barrier to this type of service may worsen inequity in healthcare access. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

The origin of shortest-path algorithms and how they became optimized for navigation apps

In 1956, Dutch programmer Edsger Dijkstra spent about 20 minutes developing an algorithm to demonstrate how computers could quickly determine the shortest route between Rotterdam and Groningen. Since then, modified versions of Dijkstra's formulation comprise the processing backbone of systems such as Google Maps and Apple Maps.

Taste 15 of the best sandwiches across the US

It's entirely feasible to enjoy a sandwich at every mealtime. You might kick off your day with a breakfast sandwich featuring fluffy eggs and cheese on a kaiser roll, savor a po'boy filled with crispy shrimp and hot sauce for lunch, and wrap up your...

The fascinating urban planning experiment that birthed Brazil's capital city

In 1960, the country moved its capital from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília, a city in the middle of the country built from scratch in just four years.

Woven City at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan

The Woven City at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan is a ‘living laboratory’ for new technologies. It is being developed by Toyota subsidiary, Woven Planet, and will be the world’s first programmable city.

Modern workplaces were engineered for efficiency, not work-life balance

Modern work organization traces back to 19th-century scientific management, an approach that optimized output by viewing workers as machine components. That logic still persists today and contributes to burnout, stress, and disengagement. Researchers propose a "circular work" model that combines effort with recovery, learning, and renewal, suggesting productivity and well-being should align rather than compete.

Health officials recommend at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week

This official guideline from the CDC defines the baseline recommendation for healthy adult activity. These recommendations also emphasize that any movement is better than no movement, and that even short bursts of activity spread throughout the week benefit the mind and body.

Short-term memory is a temporary space for limited, newly learned information

Short-term memory stores info for 15 to 30 seconds and is managed by the prefrontal cortex. Though they're often confused, short-term memory stores information, while working memory actively uses it to help you reason, learn, and solve problems, such as a math equation.

30 everyday inventions originally created for space

In their pioneering work to develop the technologies necessary for humans to inhabit space, NASA and its counterpart agencies around the world have produced dozens of products millions of people use everyday. Some of these are obvious, like water filtration systems and wireless headsets, while many are surprising, like artificial limbs and insulin pumps. Dive into the list here.

Visualizing the world's population centers

What does population density look like on a global scale? These detailed 3D renders illustrate our biggest urban areas and highlight population trends.

51 must-see attractions in Barcelona

Planning a trip to Barcelona? Check out this comprehensive list of the city’s most iconic sites. It’s organized from most well-known to least, so if you’re pressed for time, the authors recommend concentrating on the top of the list.

Small modular reactors can provide nuclear power with reduced risks and logistics

Their factory-built design allows them to be quickly installed underground, reducing their exposure to future extreme weather. They can provide power to small towns and major cities with much smaller start-up costs and reduced siting requirements.

Processed foods were marketed to busy wives in the 1950s

In the 1950s, they were marketed as time-saving conveniences for young families, especially those living in the rapidly expanding suburbs, who could easily find them in local supermarkets, making them a seemingly sensible alternative to fresh foods.

In defense of the advertisement economy

Advertising is frequently reviled for how it clutters up public spaces and our everyday experiences. Nonetheless, it allows for vast amounts of goods and services to be rendered free to millions of users—and gives users the option to pay with money or time and attention.

The sewage of New York City

Residents of the five boroughs of New York produce 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater everyday. Seventy miles of sewer pipes, first built in the mid-1800s, feed the sewage to 14 wastewater treatment and recovery plants where the waste is treated back to viable, drinkable water. See what shouldn't go down the toilet here.

'Our Towns' offers a portrait of civic life in smaller cities in America

Based on the book of the same name by journalists James and Deborah Fallows, the 2021 documentary follows the pair as they travel across small and mid-sized American cities to show how communities handle economic setbacks and reinvent themselves locally.

How do 'dementia villages' work?

The goal of good dementia care is to preserve a patient's quality of life as the incurable disease progresses, maximizing their ability to lead normal lives and maintain their health and dignity. Dementia villages are small neighborhoods built for people with severe dementia, with typical neighborhood haunts like salons or grocery stores staffed by people trained in dementia care, helping residents maintain a sense of autonomy and connection.

How long it takes to travel by train from various cities

This interactive allows users to see how long it would take to move from one city to another in Europe via trains.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

Some researchers have labeled nomophobia, the fear of being without your phone, as 'the phobia of the 21st century.'

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

In 1915, workers recovered a submarine-like vessel from the Chicago River, prompting fears of German espionage

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

Apollo astronauts left items in the moon's 'toss zone,' including golf balls, family photos, and bags of human waste, to make room for lunar rocks.

'Saturday Night Fever,' the 1977 film that introduced disco to the mainstream, was based on a fabricated magazine story.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.