How Will the Future Remember COVID-19?
Three visions for a hypothetical pandemic memorial
Metropolis Now
METROPOLIS NOW
Technology is transforming city life, for better and worse
The YouTuber Who Treats the Inner City Like a Safari
Charlie Moore turned the aesthetics of beat policing into a full-time job.
The Pandemic Could End Waiting in Line
Theme-park designers, architects, and engineers have been fighting against queues for decades. COVID-19 could finally kill them for good.
America Will Sacrifice Anything for the College Experience
The pandemic has revealed that higher education was never about education.
Trees Are Time Machines
Arborists are planting trees today that must survive decades of global warming. The health, comfort, and happiness of city dwellers hang in the balance.
The Pandemic Has Remade Friendship
Every relationship is long-distance now—and that’s a good thing.
Why Every City Feels the Same Now
Glass-and-steel monoliths replaced local architecture. It’s not too late to go back.
The End of the Fictional Cop
Television and film helped naturalize police violence. Noir offers a way out.
The Struggle for the Urban Soundscape
The quiet of lockdown and the noise of protest restage the political conflicts of sonic life in the city.
How a Feel-Good AI Story Went Wrong in Flint
A machine-learning model showed promising results, but city officials and their engineering contractor abandoned it.