Urban living can pressure flora and fauna to adapt in intriguing ways. Biologists are starting to take advantage of this convenient laboratory of evolution. Every student of evolution knows the story of the peppered moth. The species comes in two colors: one a peppered white, the other black. During Britain’s industrial revolution, hungry birds spotted […]

As ride-hailing apps begin to control scooters and bike shares, they’re making it harder for people to make the best decisions about how to move around their cities If you’re not a techie, you may not have come across the term “walled garden” before. But it’s a critical concept these days in technology business strategy–and it […]

New York’s empty storefronts are a dark omen for the future of cities These days, walking through parts of Manhattan feels like occupying two worlds at the same time. In a theoretical universe, you are standing in the nation’s capital of business, commerce, and culture. In the physical universe, the stores are closed, the lights are […]

There’s a device called the Mosquito that emits an annoying sound at a very high frequency—so high that only young people can hear it. It’s marketed by its manufacturers as a means of discouraging kids from loitering in streets and other public spaces. (Shopkeepers have blasted Barry Manilow, to similar effect.) The UK’s first children’s commissioner, Sir Al […]