Housing
Land prices, rent and gentrification. Behind every plan lies the question that orders all the others: who gets to stay.
Housing is the urban problem most people suffer from and the one worst explained. The price of a flat is not decided by bricks: it is decided by land, and land is decided by a rule that says what can be built, where, and how high. When that rule changes, the price of everything on top of it changes too.
Here we gather the channel's analyses of who gets to stay in a city and who has to leave: rent and its rises, the gentrification of neighbourhoods that become fashionable, land speculation, the informal housing that grows where the formal kind never arrives, and the policies that have worked somewhere and those that only seemed to. Also the urban economy underneath — why cities concentrate jobs and prices — and the reverse case: cities that empty out.
- Urban economy
Urban evolution in the digital age
How cities adapt to digital changes through collective consumption, social movements, and network society. Learn…
Manuel Castells 3 min read - Housing
Street Science and Urban Planning
Street Science integrates community knowledge with technical expertise to achieve health equity in urban planning.
3 min read - Housing
Urban disaster is shaped by inequality and power
This article explains how urban disasters are shaped by inequality and power, focusing on the social construction…
Mike Davis 3 min read - Urban economy
Capitalist Accumulation in Urban Spaces
This article explains how capitalist accumulation transforms urban spaces through investment, infrastructure, and…
David Harvey 3 min read - Urban economy
Life on Streets Shapes Safe Cities
How everyday interactions on streets create safe and vibrant urban spaces. Learn about Jane Jacobs' theories on…
Jane Jacobs 3 min read - Housing
City as participatory ecology lab
Natalie Jeremijenko explores how participatory technologies make environmental issues visible and actionable in…
3 min read - Urban economy
Who Benefits From Urban Growth?
A crane rises above a neighborhood, and the project is announced as a victory for the entire city. There will be…
3 min read - Shrinking cities
Who Deserves City Space? A Fair Debate for Bogotá
Imagine an avenue where almost all available space belongs to cars. Pedestrians move along a narrow strip. A…
3 min read - Urban economy
Urban informality and state power
How state power and legality shape urban informality and poverty. Understand the relationship between regulation…
Ananya Roy 3 min read - Urban economy
Urban life depends on informal networks
Urban life relies on informal networks to sustain daily activities when formal institutions are insufficient. The…
AbdouMaliq Simone 3 min read - Housing
Rent gap reveals gentrification start
One building ages while another, only a few streets away, receives a complete renovation.
Neil Smith 3 min read - Urban economy
Why Some Cities Innovate While Others Don't
Cities adopt similar technologies but experience different innovation outcomes. Learn how place, organizations, and…
3 min read - Housing
Institutionalized poverty in marginalized neighborhoods
A street ends at an invisible boundary. On one side are homes, shops and people continuing their ordinary lives.
3 min read - Housing
Culture transforms neighborhoods into products
Culture can increase a neighborhood's value while reducing who can live there. Discover how symbolic economy shapes…
3 min read - Urban economy
Closed shutters close businesses and communities
Walk through a new residential development at eight in the evening. The facades are immaculate, the pavement is wide
4 min read - Housing
I understood what a housing bubble is and why it's problematic
A sixty square metre flat in an ordinary neighbourhood. Three people view it the same morning.
4 min read - Housing
Real cost of living away: more than rent
Two families sign on the same day. One rents near work and pays quite a lot more. The other moves to the suburb…
Carlos Moreno 4 min read - Housing
Understanding why people buy buildings to leave them empty and who is to blame
The letter arrives in a proper envelope, on the letterhead of a company nobody in the building has heard of.
4 min read - Urban economy
Who benefits from luxury built with public funds?
Walk down an avenue of pale granite, with young trees perfectly aligned, designer streetlights and a café selling…
4 min read - Housing
Empty homes and price crisis: how does the market react?
A newly finished residential tower at night. Forty floors, hundreds of windows, three lights on.
4 min read - Urban economy
Guggenheim vs. other museums: myths and realities of iconic institutions
A titanium building rises on former port land, beside a river that spent decades as little more than an industrial…
4 min read - Urban economy
The heart beats at the last mile on the outskirts
You press a button and two hours later somebody rings the bell. The operation looks immaterial: a screen, a card,…
4 min read - Urban economy
Who pays when the mega-project fails?
There is one photograph that repeats itself in every city. Officials in white helmets, oversized scissors, a ribbon
4 min read - Housing
Airbnb changes the city; neighbors disappear; rents rise
By the doorway there are eight metal boxes bolted to the wall. They hold keys.
4 min read - Housing
Painted walls: art, investment, and displacement in Spanish and American cities
A grey wall wakes up covered in colour. Neighbours celebrate it. Someone photographs it and shares it.
Neil Smith 4 min read - Urban economy
The house with a yard that is quietly bankrupting your city
Look at an aerial photo of any recent suburb. Thousands of identical houses, each with its yard, its driveway and…
4 min read - Housing
The historic center, a deceptive facade
Walk through the historic centre of a big city and everything looks perfect. Restored facades, clean streets, full…
Henri Lefebvre 4 min read - Urban economy
Siliconized Cities, Who's running your city now?
There's an invisible force rewriting your city right now. It's not the mayor. It's not the traditional real…
4 min read - Housing
Chinese urbanization: three decades of rapid and contradictory change
Picture this: every year, for three straight decades, one country built the equivalent of a city the size of Rome…
4 min read - Urban economy
Neoliberalism from Below: Popular Economies and Urban Life
La Razón Neoliberal by Verónica Gago examines the dynamics of neoliberalism through a perspective centered on…
2 min read - Housing
Social Housing and Participatory Urbanism in Latin America
This article explores social housing and participatory urbanism in Latin America, focusing on urban development…
2 min read - Urban economy
Nik Theodore: Neoliberal Urbanism and Informal Economy
Nik Theodore examines how neoliberalism affects cities, focusing on informal economy and migrant workers' rights.
Nik Theodore 2 min read - Urban economy
Rebel Cities: Urban Struggles for Social Justice
This article explores how cities are battlegrounds for social justice, driven by urban capitalism. It discusses the…
Henri Lefebvre 2 min read - Shrinking cities
Ghost Cities of China: Urbanization Strategy
Ghost cities in China reveal urbanization challenges and long-term planning. Explore the phenomenon and its…
2 min read - Urban economy
Andy Merrifield: Critique of Neoliberalism and the Right to the City
Andy Merrifield critiques neoliberalism's impact on cities and advocates for the right to the city. This article…
Andy Merrifield 2 min read - Shrinking cities
Robert Beauregard: Urban Decline and Its Impact on Postindustrial Cities
Robert Beauregard explores urban decline's effects on postindustrial cities, focusing on economic, social, and…
Robert Beauregard 2 min read - Urban economy
Peter Marcuse: Social Justice and Urbanism in Neoliberal Context
Peter Marcuse, an American architect and urbanist, is one of the most influential voices in debates on social…
Peter Marcuse 3 min read - Housing
Tom Slater: Gentrification and Its Social Consequences
Tom Slater examines gentrification's impact on vulnerable communities, highlighting its role in social exclusion…
Tom Slater 3 min read - Housing
Martha Rosler: Art and Critique of Gentrification
Martha Rosler critiques gentrification and urban capitalism through art. Real estate impacts cities and…
Martha Rosler 2 min read - Urban economy
Tanya Li: Development Policies and Social Exclusion
Tanya Li explores how development policies contribute to social exclusion in rural and urban areas. Focus on power…
Tanya Li 2 min read - Urban economy
Roger Lee Urban Change and Social Conflicts
Roger Lee's book explores urban change and social conflicts, focusing on inequality and power dynamics in cities.
2 min read - Urban economy
Critical Urbanism: Understanding Urban Inequities
Critical urbanism is a school of thought that fundamentally questions the power dynamics and social inequalities…
David Harvey 3 min read - Housing
Housing Rights and Social Justice
Housing rights, understood as fundamental human rights, are a central issue in the debate on social justice and…
Raquel Rolnik 3 min read - Urban economy
Land Policy and Urban Power
Land policy shapes cities and determines power distribution. Focus on spatial inequalities and urban development.
Edward Soja 2 min read - Housing
Sonia Hirt Zoning Policy and Urban Inequality
Zoning policy is a fundamental tool in urban development, shaping how land uses are distributed across the city.
1 min read - Housing
Loretta Lees: Urban Regeneration and Gentrification
Urban regeneration policies often lead to gentrification, displacing communities. Loretta Lees examines the social…
Loretta Lees 2 min read - Shrinking cities
Detroit Chronicle of a Collapse
A look at Detroit's decline through investigative journalism and personal experiences. Deindustrialization,…
2 min read - Urban economy
Mike Davis: Unearthing Inequality in Los Angeles
"City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles" is a seminal work by Mike Davis that offers a profound and…
Mike Davis 3 min read - Urban economy
John Logan and Harvey Molotch: Urban Space Political Economy
In *Urban Fortunes: The Political Economy of Place*, John Logan and Harvey Molotch analyze how economic and…
2 min read - Urban economy
Critical Urban Studies Social Justice
Critical Urban Studies (2012), edited by Jonathan S. Davies and David L.
2 min read - Urban economy
David Harvey: the right to the city under neoliberalism
David Harvey explains how neoliberalism turned housing into a commodity, and why the right to the city means…
Henri Lefebvre 3 min read - Urban economy
Michael Storper and The Regional World
Michael Storper, in his work The Regional World: Territorial Development in a Global Economy
2 min read - Housing
Loïc Wacquant: why the ghetto is not an accident
Wacquant compares American ghettos with French banlieues and shows that advanced marginality is not residual but…
2 min read - Housing
Sharon Zukin's Gentrification Critique in 'Naked City'
Sharon Zukin, in her book *Naked City: The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places*
Jane Jacobs 2 min read - Urban economy
Ananya Roy Critiques Microfinance in 'Poverty Capital'
Ananya Roy critiques microfinance's role in perpetuating poverty, focusing on global capital's impact on urban areas.
Ananya Roy 2 min read - Housing
Neil Smith and Gentrification: Understanding the 'Revanchist City'
Neil Smith's work explores gentrification as a process driven by capital, leading to displacement and urban…
Neil Smith 2 min read - Housing
Santiago Housing Policies and Urban Challenges
Alfredo Rodríguez analyzes Santiago's urban challenges and housing policies, focusing on inequality and fragmentation.
Alfredo Rodríguez 2 min read - Housing
Gentrification and Displacement: Loretta Lees' Critical Perspective
Loretta Lees examines gentrification's impact on urban displacement and social inequality. Learn about her key…
Loretta Lees 2 min read - Urban economy
Spectacle City: Consumption and Exclusion
The spectacle city reflects urban transformation through consumption and exclusion, focusing on mass events and…
Guy Debord 3 min read - Urban economy
Sharon Zukin Cultural Capital Urban Transformation
This article explores Sharon Zukin's analysis of cultural capital's role in urban transformation and its impact on…
3 min read - Shrinking cities
Deindustrialization and Urban Reuse
Deindustrialization and urban reuse reshape cities, offering opportunities and challenges for revitalization and…
Neil Smith 2 min read - Housing
Anna Minton Critiques Privatization and Gentrification in Cities
Anna Minton explores how privatization and gentrification reshape urban spaces, affecting community life and…
Anna Minton 2 min read - Shrinking cities
Postindustrial Cities Economic Shifts
Postindustrial cities face economic restructuring, reshaping urban landscapes and social dynamics. Global…
John Friedmann 2 min read - Shrinking cities
Post Industrial Regeneration: Transformation And Social Challenges
Post-industrial regeneration refers to the transformation of urban areas that have been affected by…
Neil Smith 3 min read - Housing
Cohousing and Coliving: New Ways to Live in Cities
Cohousing and coliving are new forms of living that have emerged in response to the social and economic challenges…
3 min read - Urban economy
Touristification's Impact on Cities and Residents
Touristification is a growing phenomenon in many cities around the world, where urban areas—especially those with…
Saskia Sassen 2 min read - Urban economy
Urban Logistics: Optimizing Freight Distribution in Cities
Urban logistics and freight distribution are essential components of the efficient functioning of modern cities.
Paul Rodrigue 2 min read - Housing
Housing Challenges in Contemporary Cities
Housing policy has been a central theme in the analysis of urban inequalities, particularly in contemporary cities,…
Raquel Rolnik 3 min read - Housing
Urban Warfare: How Financial Capital Is Destroying Our Cities
The book *“Urban Warfare: Housing Under the Empire of Finance”* (2019) by Raquel Rolnik examines how housing…
Raquel Rolnik 2 min read - Housing
Planet of Slums: How to Tackle the Global Urban Crisis
*Planet of Slums* by Mike Davis offers a stark and detailed view of the rapid growth of slums in cities across the…
Mike Davis 2 min read - Housing
Gentrification or Displacement? The Debate on Urban Inequality
Gentrification is an urban process that has generated intense debate among urbanists, sociologists
Loretta Lees 2 min read - Urban economy
Why Cities Are Our Best Hope The Triumph Of The City According To Edward Glaeser
*The Triumph of the City* by Edward Glaeser argues that cities are among humanity’s greatest creations—not only…
Edward Glaeser 2 min read - Housing
Real Estate Speculation: Growth or Crisis in Cities?
Real estate speculation and the financialization of housing have profoundly transformed urban housing markets
David Harvey 2 min read - Urban economy
The New Urban Crisis: Tackling Inequality in Global Cities
*The New Urban Crisis* (2017) by Richard Florida examines the growing inequalities in global cities and the…
Richard Florida 2 min read - Urban economy
Creative Economy: Catalyst for Innovation or Source of Inequality?
The creative economy has become a key topic in the study of economic and urban development
Richard Florida 3 min read - Urban economy
Deborah Cowen Global Logistics And Urban Transformation
Deborah Cowen, a Canadian geographer, has made major contributions to the study of the relationship between global…
Deborah Cowen 2 min read - Housing
Affordable Housing Challenges in Modern Cities
Access to **affordable housing** has become one of the greatest urban challenges in a context of growing inequality…
Raquel Rolnik 3 min read - Urban economy
Feminization of Urban Poverty: Challenges and Realities
The feminization of urban poverty refers to the greater vulnerability of women to poverty in cities due to multiple…
Caroline Moser 2 min read - Urban economy
Ann Markusen: Creative Economy and Urban Development
Ann Markusen, an American economist and scholar, has been a key figure in the study of the creative economy and its…
Ann Markusen 2 min read - Housing
Social Housing and Rent Regulation: Keys to Urban Affordability
Social housing and rent regulation are two key mechanisms in public policy aimed at ensuring affordability and…
Raquel Rolnik 2 min read - Shrinking cities
Reusing Abandoned Spaces: Opportunities and Challenges
The reuse of abandoned spaces in cities has become an increasingly important trend in recent years
Neil Smith 2 min read - Urban economy
Informal Economies and Settlements: Urban Challenges in the Global South
Informal economies and informal settlements are deeply intertwined with the urban structure of cities in the Global…
AbdouMaliq Simone 2 min read - Housing
Raquel Rolnik: Defending the Right to Housing in the Era of Financialization
Raquel Rolnik has established herself as a leading voice in defending the right to housing and criticizing the…
Raquel Rolnik 2 min read - Urban economy
Innovation: Engine of Urban Development
Innovation has become a key factor in the economic development of contemporary cities
Richard Florida 3 min read - Urban economy
Platform Economy and Labor Transformation in Cities
The platform economy, also known as the **gig economy**, has revolutionized the labor and economic landscape of…
Nick Srnicek 3 min read - Urban economy
Creative Urbanism: Revitalizing Cities Through Creativity
Creative urbanism is a contemporary approach to urban planning that highlights the transformative power of…
Richard Florida 2 min read - Urban economy
Capitalism and Urban Transformations: How Does Capital Shape Our Cities?
**The book “Space, Place, and Capitalism: The Political Economy of Urban Spatial Transformations” by David M.
2 min read - Urban economy
Urban Food Security: The Vital Role of Women in Poor Communities
Food security in urban environments is a crucial issue, particularly in low-income communities where access to…
Ana Paula Pires 3 min read - Urban economy
Urban Inequality and Social Justice: Building More Equitable Cities
Urban inequality and social justice are central concerns in contemporary urban studies.
2 min read - Housing
Ruth Glass and Gentrification: Urban Transformations in London: Aspects of Change
En este video, exploramos la obra de Ruth Glass, "London: Aspects of Change", donde acuñó el término "gentrificación".
Ruth Glass 1 min read
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Shorts
Detroit’s Hidden Urban Renewal: The City That Rebuilt Itself… After Losing Thousands of Homes
Brexit and the City of London
Verticalization of Informal Settlements
Paris Is Becoming a Theme Park for Tourists
Japan. Millions of Empty Homes… Where People Still Can’t Find Housing
Housing Crisis in Spain
Does Building MORE Housing Actually Make Cities CHEAPER?
Million dollar park. The financial trick that turns urban trash into gold
The Working-Class District That Became Prague’s Coolest Neighborhood
New York. The Night-Time Economy and the Transformation of the City
Forgotten Millions of square meters lie forgotten
death. The cities that became famous for nightlife are killing it
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