With six homicides, Saturday August 18th tied with an unseasonably warm February day for the dubious honor of Chicago's deadliest day, bringing the year's death total to over 340. Chicago is now one of the world's deadliest cities, much worse than the more populous NYC, even earning comparisons to Kabul. Possible culprits include failed urban policies, guns, concentrated poverty, and gangs (and counterintuitively, the fact that some are fractured and poorly run).
posted by melissam on Aug 21, 2012 - 39 comments

Copenhagen: Come see "the busiest bicycling street in the Western world", and lots of other you-gotta-see-them-to-believe-them features including bike counters (featuring digital readouts), LEDS, double bike lanes (for passing) and giant hot pink cars. Bicycle Highways may be coming to your town. [more inside]
posted by hortense on Dec 20, 2009 - 44 comments

This year's Shaugnessy Cohen Prize goes to Jane Jacobs, a social critic and commenter on urban planning. She's probably best known for her book, Systems of Survival. [previously here]
posted by warbaby on Apr 14, 2005 - 11 comments