Tag Archives: Urban Areas

Last year, when Andre Rouhani and Gabriela Reyes toured Culdesac Tempe, a rental development outside of Phoenix, the place looked pretty sweet. It had winsome walkways, boutique shops and low-slung white stucco buildings clustered around shaded courtyards. The only surprise came when Mr. Rouhani, 33, a doctoral student at Arizona State University, asked about resident parking and was told there …

There’s nothing worse than a noisy neighbor when you are trying to have a nice meal — even if that meal consists of liquefying the insides of your prey before sucking them back up. New research shows that some spiders living in cities somehow weave soundproofing designs into the fabric of their webs to manage unwanted noise, which can make …

Early evidence is promising. In 2023, the region added 30,000 foreign-born residents, amounting to a 23.2 percent increase in the immigrant population, according to census data. (The New York City area added 88,000, only a 1.5 percent increase.) That was almost enough to offset the loss of 34,000 native-born residents. “We have no choice but to grow, and the way …

An enduring urban legend has it that blind, albino alligators patrol New York City’s sewers. These mythical crocodilians have become ingrained in the city’s lore, and some New Yorkers even celebrate Alligator in the Sewer Day each February. But in Florida, alligators in the sewers are no myth. The reptiles routinely find their way into municipal drainpipes. In late January, …

Fire and wind are certain to shape the future of Los Angeles as the world warms. Los Angeles had started taking steps to prepare. But there are lessons it can learn from other cities adapting to extreme fire weather: managing yards; taking care of neighbors; making it easier to get out of harm’s way. One big challenge, among many, is …

At the height of the Los Angeles County wildfires, atmospheric concentrations of lead, a neurotoxin, reached 100 times average levels even miles from the flames, according to early detailed measurements obtained by The New York Times. Levels of chlorine, which is also toxic at low concentrations, reached 40 times the average. The spiking levels underscore the added danger from wildfires …