Some colleges are mammals, others are cities
Higher education in the United States spans five orders of magnitude, from the tiny institutions like the 26-person Deep Springs College in the high desert of eastern California to behemoths, like Arizona State University's city-sized 130,000. A new.....»»
Affirmative action policies to increase diversity are successful, but controversial, around the world
In a landmark judgment in June 2023, the US supreme court ruled against the use of race-conscious admissions in colleges and universities. This decision marked a controversial end to affirmative action in US higher education admissions......»»
Experts call for shift in global decision-making to tackle impact of urban expansion, avoid "planetary catastrophe"
Leading scientists are calling for an urgent step change in global governance to save the future of worldwide cities and the planet at large......»»
From New York to Jakarta, land in many coastal cities is sinking faster than sea levels are rising
Sea level rise has already put coastal cities on notice thanks to increasing storm surges and even sunny day flooding at high tide. These challenges will continue to grow because global projections point to a mean sea level rise of at least one foot.....»»
New tool predicts flood risk from hurricanes in a warming climate
Coastal cities and communities will face more frequent major hurricanes with climate change in the coming years. To help prepare coastal cities against future storms, MIT scientists have developed a method to predict how much flooding a coastal commu.....»»
Delhi smog: India"s cities must look beyond their limits to clean up air pollution
Delhi needs the help of its rural neighbors to finally beat its killer smog problem, concludes a review carried out by the University of Surrey and regional government officials in Delhi, India. The work is published in the journal Sustainable Horizo.....»»
Experiment shows how predator mass mortality events affect food webs
Over the last century, die-offs of animal populations, known as mass mortality events (MMEs), have increased in frequency and magnitude. The scale of these events can be staggering: billions of dead fish, hundreds of thousands of dead mammals and bir.....»»
Despite legislative progress, accessible cities remain elusive
Amid a complex web of disability civil rights legislation in Canada and the United States, one could easily be lulled into thinking that the work is done. Some of this legislation is now several decades old; more recent additions include accessible d.....»»
Climate change and atmospheric dynamics unveil future weather extremes
From late June to mid-July of 2021, the Pacific Northwest was scorched under an unprecedented heat dome, shattering temperature records and igniting a wave of concern over climate extremes. As cities like Portland and Seattle, known for their mild su.....»»
200 US cities will fall short of sustainable energy goals despite pledging to transition by 2050, says study
Two-hundred U.S. communities will fail to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050 despite their pledges to do so, according to a new study published in IOP Publishing's journal Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability......»»
We are losing tetrapod species at a faster rate than we are rediscovering them, researchers say
Lost species are those that have not been observed in the wild for over 10 years, despite searches to find them. Lost tetrapod species (four-limbed vertebrate animals including amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles) are a global phenomenon—there.....»»
How rising sea levels will affect our coastal cities and towns
Sea-level rise—along with increasing temperatures—is one of the clearest signals of man-made global warming. Yet exactly how rising water levels affect the coast is often misunderstood......»»
Thousands of U.S. Cities Could Become Virtual Ghost Towns by 2100
These projected findings about depopulation in U.S. cities are shaped by a multitude of factors, including the decline of industry, lower birth rates and the impacts of climate change.....»»
Ancient Amazon Civilization Developed Unique Form of "Garden Urbanism"
Traces of an ancient civilization that had a unique urban infrastructure with cities set amid fields have been rediscovered in the Amazon.....»»
Archeologists map lost cities in Ecuadorian Amazon, settlements that lasted 1,000 years
Archeologists have uncovered a cluster of lost cities in the Amazon rainforest that was home to at least 10,000 farmers around 2,000 years ago......»»
Compensation can cover for loss of cultural heritage in construction projects, researcher finds
Large construction projects in old cities often involve major interventions in the urban environment. In a new thesis from the University of Gothenburg, two strategies are analyzed for managing the cultural heritage when the excavators roll in: Prese.....»»
Researcher: Healthy cities aren"t a question of boring or exciting buildings but about creating better public space
The US developers of a 300-ft glowing orb, set to be built in the middle of Stratford, east London, and accommodate upwards of 21,500 concert goers, have withdrawn their planning application......»»
Study shows otters, beavers and other semiaquatic mammals keep clean underwater, thanks to their flexible fur
Underwater surfaces can get grimy as they accumulate dirt, algae and bacteria, a process scientists call "fouling." But furry mammals like beavers and otters that spend most of their lives wet manage to avoid getting their fur slimy. These anti-fouli.....»»
Ancient cities provide key datasets for urban planning, policy and predictions in the Anthropocene
Cities play a key role in climate change and biodiversity and are one of the most recognizable features of the Anthropocene. They also accelerate innovation and shape social networks, while perpetuating and intensifying inequalities. Today over half.....»»
New research sheds light on an old fossil, solving an evolutionary mystery
A new research paper published in Biology Letters has revealed that picrodontids—an extinct family of placental mammals that lived several million years after the extinction of the dinosaurs—are not primates as previously believed......»»
College applications rose in states that legalized recreational marijuana
Colleges in states where recreational marijuana became legal over the past decade saw a significant but short-term boost in applications from top-notch students. They also got more applications overall. Those were the key findings of a new study our.....»»