Urbanization

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19 Ways We Innovate

Reporting in collaboration with Yadira Gutierrez.

More than 800 staff members in 47 countries cast a vote for their favorite innovation. Which is your favorite?

A simple solution makes a big impact for Ethiopia's farming families. Photo: Erin Gray/Mercy Corps.

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19 Ways We Innovate: Winners Announced

And the winner of Mercy Corps’ internal innovations competition is...(drumroll, please)... Ethiopia! Despite—or very well perhaps because—of the massive drought that's hit the Horn of Africa, community members and Mercy Corps staff have hit on a solution that's both simple and cheap.

Trujillo, Honduras is currently a quiet backwater town, but the Honduran government has grand visions for its future growth. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wanaku/1929533564/sizes/m/in/photostream/">Wanaku (flickr)</a>

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Honduras envisions a Caribbean Hong Kong, but 'charter city' plan meets criticism

Picture this: a nearly independent city-state -- a Hong Kong in one of the western hemisphere’s poorest countries. Sound far-fetched? Maybe so, but one country has high hopes for a changing urban future.

A flourishing economy has enabled many Chinese citizens to climb the socio-economic ranks. Photo:<a href="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3054/2928911826_e8754e82e2_s.jpg">xiaming (flickr)</a>

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As China's middle class rises, so does social discontent

The spirit of 1989’s Tiananmen Square is alive in China, except the swarm of charged students has been replaced by a disgruntled, expanding middle class.

Inadvertently, an economic boom has resounded with cries for change.

China had the most mobile subscribers in the world in 2010 with over 850 million subscriptions. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/triciawang/4108015868/sizes/m/in/photostream/">Tricia Wang 王圣捷 (flickr)</a>

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China's Microblogging Middle Class

As the Chinese government attempts to keep its grip on the web, China’s middle class is pushing back.

Rural residents who stay in the countryside must stand center stage in the next phase of Indian development. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mckaysavage/3975862441/in/set-72157603822434767">mckaysavage (flickr)</a>

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Indian Development: Act II

At long last, the rural poor are stepping into the spotlight of Indian economic development.

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Hangzhou, China Pedals to Number One in Bike Sharing

Washington, D.C.’s bike sharing program has 1,100 bikes. London’s system has 6,000. And Paris has more than 20,000.

This entrepreneur owns a telecentre in Tanzania and is among the small business owners in the unique position to create change for Africa's poor. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iicd/5349103222/lightbox/">IICD (flickr)</a>

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Why Africa's Middle Class Matters

They own apartments instead of huts. They exploit technology to organize revolutions. They are Africa’s new middle class — and they are still living on less than $20 a day.

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Kabul's First Skatepark

In a place ravaged by years of war, there is something new taking place: Afghan youth propelled by a deck on four wheels and armed with an abundance of self confidence and a new pair of skate shoes.

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Hans Rosling Animates Last 200 Years of World History

What do you get when you combine 120,000 data points measuring 200 years of income and life expectancy data for 200 countries with the creative genius of global health expert Hans Rosling? This. Watch.

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Building a Global Empire, The Chinese Way

“The Sleeping Giant is awake,” declares ABC reporter Diane Sawyer, who's reporting from Shanghai this week.

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A Fruitful Endeavor Combats 'Food Desert' in Detroit

It's really hard to get fresh fruits and vegetables if you live in inner-city Detroit. Fast food joins are abundant but until recently, the liquor store was your best bet if you needed a head of lettuce. In fact, there are 26 times more liquor stores than grocery stores in Detroit.

Paul Romer commonly uses Hong Kong as an example of what his charter cities would look like. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/webel/146683720/">Steve Webel (flickr)</a>

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Building Cities by New Rules

Over the last few years, Stanford economist Paul Romer has championed a radical solution for ending world poverty — establishing brand new charter cities across the developing world.

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UTT

When I think of South American slums I can’t help but remember the first time I saw the gritty images of Brazil’s favelas portrayed in the film City of God. The gigantic half-finished mosaics of concrete and plastic that dominate the cityscape would look almost romantic if not f

A picture of a colorful Venezuelan <em>barrio</em>. Photo: <a href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/tecnorrante/2790223934/>El Tecnorrante (flickr)</a>

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Re-thinking the Urban Slum

Living conditions for poor urban city-dwellers across the globe are far below an even basic set of healthy standards. Poverty, violence and poor building practices combine to leave a myriad of both physical and social ailments in their wake.