Urbanization News

March 27, 2025

Top Headlines

How Changing L.A.'s Tree Rules Could Cool More Neighborhoods

Mar. 26, 2025 — Los Angeles has some of the strictest tree planting rules in the nation. These policies limit tree growth, worsen shade disparities and don't improve safety, researchers found. When researchers modeled looser planting restrictions in a lower-income ...

Adopting Zero-Emission Trucks and Buses Could Save Lives, Prevent Asthma

Mar. 18, 2025 — Researchers used community input to design Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) air-quality model experiments. Community asked for ACT policy simulations that convert 48% of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles into zero tailpipe emission versions. Researchers ...

Social Media Can Help Track Species as Climate Changes

Mar. 13, 2025 — Social media can help scientists track animal species as they relocate in response to climate change, new research ...

As Next Hurricane Season Nears, Study Explores Impacts of 2024's Storms

Mar. 13, 2025 — When major storms hit Houston last spring and summer, losing power was a nightmare for residents, but for many, the financial fallout was just as devastating. A new report finds that more than half of Houston-area workers lost income due to these ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:25pm EDT

Want to Preserve Biodiversity? Go Big

Mar. 12, 2025 — Large, undisturbed forests are better for harboring biodiversity than fragmented landscapes, according to recent research. Ecologists agree that habitat loss and the fragmentation of forests reduces ...

PIK PR: Little Potential for 'Climate Plantations' Within Planetary Boundaries

Feb. 12, 2025 — Planting fast-growing crops, burning them, capturing the released CO2 and storing it: this is being discussed as a way to remove greenhouse gases ...

Generating International Testing Standards for Large Outdoor Fires

Feb. 10, 2025 — The recent LA fires drove home how dangerous wildfires can be when they encroach on urban areas. So-called 'wildland-urban interface' fires are on the rise. However, building codes and standards have ...

New Study Assesses Impact of Agricultural Research Investments on Biodiversity, Land Use

Feb. 4, 2025 — New, groundbreaking research shows how, at a local scale, agricultural research and development led to improved crop varieties that resulted in ...

Scientific Approach Can Optimize Bike Lane Planning

Jan. 27, 2025 — develop a model that can help municipalities choose optimal locations as they expand their cycling lane networks in response to growing ...

Dense Human Population Is Linked to Longer Urban Coyote Survival

Jan. 9, 2025 — Tracking coyote movement in metropolitan areas shows the animals spend lots of time in natural settings, but a study suggests the human element of city life has a bigger impact than the environment ...

Acoustic Sensors Find Frequent Gunfire on School Walking Routes

Jan. 6, 2025 — A new study used acoustic sensors that detect the sound of gunfire to show how often children in one Chicago neighborhood are exposed to gunshots while walking to and from school. Results showed that ...

Adoption of 'Hospital-at-Home' Programs Remains Concentrated Among Larger, Urban, Not-for-Profit and Academic Hospitals

Dec. 23, 2024 — Hospitals that have adopted the Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) 'hospital-at-home' program, which serves as an alternative to admission to ...

How Loss of Urban Trees Affects Educational Outcomes

Dec. 17, 2024 — Economists looked at test scores and school attendance for Chicago-area kids before and after a bug infestation wiped out the city's ash trees. Education outcomes for low-income students went down, ...

Regional, Racial, and Economic Disparities in Cancer Risk from Air Pollution Exposure Persist, but Improving, New Research Suggests

Dec. 3, 2024 — A nationwide U.S. assessment of estimated cancer risk from airborne toxics shows that risk is concentrated in urban communities, those with lower ...

Urban Highways Cut Opportunities for Social Relationships

Mar. 6, 2025 — Urban highways promise to get people to their destinations faster -- and bring them together. But at the same time, they reduce social connections between people within the city, especially at ...

Underlying Rules of Evolutionary Urban Systems in Africa

Feb. 24, 2025 — From the perspective of complex systems, the study reveals the universality, specificity, and explanatory power of underlying rules governing urban system ...

Efforts to Reduce Kids' Screen Time Weakened by Unequal Access to Green Space

Jan. 6, 2025 — When children have a place to play outside, programs aimed at reducing their screen time use are more ...

More People Living Without Running Water in U.S. Cities Since the Global Financial Crisis, Study Reveals

Dec. 19, 2024 — More American cities -- even those seen as affluent -- are home to people living without running water as people are being 'squeezed' by unaffordable housing and the cost-of-living crisis, ...

Water and Forests in Southern US

Dec. 12, 2024 — Climate and land use change have and will continue to alter streamflow regimes and water quality through the 21st century, with consequences for drinking water treatment costs, flood protection, and ...

These Are Now the Smokiest Cities in America

Dec. 10, 2024 — Normally, America's smokiest cities lie out west. But Canada's unusually intense 2023 wildfire season smothered American cities in smoke farther east than is usual, according to new ...

AI Predicts That Most of the World Will See Temperatures Rise to 3°C Much Faster Than Previously Expected

Dec. 10, 2024 — AI predicts that most of the world will see temperatures rise to 3C much faster than previously ...

Overlooked Emissions in California's Salton Sea Air Basin

Dec. 3, 2024 — Nitrogen oxide emissions from soil in California's Salton Sea air basin are 10 times larger than state estimates, finds a new study of rural Imperial and Coachella ...

Two-Way Water Transfers Can Ensure Reliability, Save Money for Urban and Agricultural Users During Drought in Western U.S.

Nov. 26, 2024 — A study offers a solution to water scarcity during droughts amid the tug of economic development, population growth and climate uncertainty for water users in Western U.S. states. The proposed ...

'Biodiversity Is Not a Luxury': Connection Between Wealth and Ecosystem Health

Nov. 25, 2024 — This study examines the positive correlation between an area's wealth and biodiversity, known as the 'luxury effect.' The authors present an alternative framework for understanding ...

Smarter City Planning: Researchers Use Brain Activity to Predict Visits to Urban Areas

Nov. 21, 2024 — Researchers have measured the brain activity of people who had never been to a specific city and then use this brain activity to predict other people's actual visits to places around that city. ...

Climate-Driven Hazards Increases Risk for Millions of Coastal Residents, Study Finds

Nov. 21, 2024 — A new study estimates that a 1-meter sea level rise by 2100 would affect over 14 million people and $1 trillion worth of property along the Southeast Atlantic ...

Revitalizing Neighborhoods in the Wake of Aging Populations

Nov. 19, 2024 — Researchers examined the Senboku Hottokenai Network Project through a combination of case study and action research methodologies. The results of this study shed new light on the importance of ...

Populations Overheat as Major Cities Fail Canopy Goals

Nov. 19, 2024 — A new study measuring access to nature for eight major global cities found most still have inadequate canopy cover, despite access to an abundance of ...

Land-Use Policy Rethink Vital to Hit Net Zero

Nov. 14, 2024 — Changing how land-use subsidies are implemented would give UK taxpayers better value for money and improve chances of meeting environmental targets such as Net ...

Power of Aesthetic Species on Social Media Boosts Wildlife Conservation Efforts, Say Experts

Nov. 8, 2024 — Facebook and Instagram can boost wildlife conservation efforts through public awareness and engagement, according to a new ...

Soil Sampling in Houston's Greater Fifth Ward Reveals Toxic Levels of Lead in Yards, Play Areas

Nov. 7, 2024 — Study results showed the highest detectable concentrations of heavy metals were lead, barium and chromium. All samples except for lead had less than or the same levels expected for an urban area. The ...

GPS System for Microorganisms Could Revolutionize Police Work

Nov. 7, 2024 — A research team developed an AI tool that traces back the most recent places you have been to. The tool acts like a satellite navigation system, but instead of guiding you to your hotel, it ...

Sewage Surveillance Proves Powerful in Combating Antimicrobial Resistance

Nov. 6, 2024 — Sewage surveillance is emerging as a powerful tool in the fight against antimicrobial resistance with the potential to protect vulnerable communities more ...

Locally Optimized Urban Form Reduces Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Nov. 6, 2024 — While atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels are higher than ever before, an estimated 2.5 billion additional people are expected to integrate into urban areas worldwide by 2050, making reduced ...