Our future in cities (9 talks)

Rural villages worldwide are being deserted, as billions of people flock to cities to live in teeming squatter camps and slums. Stewart Brand says this is a good thing. Why? It’ll take you 3 minutes to find out.

TED2006, Filmed Feb 2006, Posted May 2007

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In an emotionally charged talk, MacArthur-winning activist Majora Carter details her fight for environmental justice in the South Bronx -- and shows how minority neighborhoods suffer most from flawed urban policy.

TED2006, Filmed Feb 2006, Posted Jun 2006

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Jaime Lerner reinvented urban space in his native Curitiba, Brazil. Along the way, he changed the way city planners worldwide see what’s possible in the metropolitan landscape.

TED2007, Filmed Mar 2007, Posted Feb 2008

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Robert Neuwirth, author of "Shadow Cities," finds the world’s squatter sites -- where a billion people now make their homes -- to be thriving centers of ingenuity and innovation. He takes us on a tour.

TEDGlobal 2005, Filmed Jul 2005, Posted Jan 2007

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Green-minded architect and designer William McDonough asks what our buildings and products would look like if designers took into account "all children, all species, for all time."

TED2005, Filmed Feb 2005, Posted Apr 2007

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How can cities help save the future? Alex Steffen shows some cool neighborhood-based green projects that expand our access to things we want and need -- while reducing the time we spend in cars.

TEDGlobal 2011, Filmed Jul 2011, Posted Aug 2011

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How can a struggling country break out of poverty if it's trapped in a system of bad rules? Economist Paul Romer unveils a bold idea: "charter cities," city-scale administrative zones governed by a coalition of nations. (Could Guantánamo Bay become the next Hong Kong?)

TEDGlobal 2009, Filmed Jul 2009, Posted Aug 2009

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How can we fit more people into cities without overcrowding? Kent Larson shows off folding cars, quick-change apartments and other innovations that could make the city of the future work a lot like a small village of the past.

TEDxBoston 2012, Filmed Jun 2012, Posted Sep 2012

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In James Howard Kunstler's view, public spaces should be inspired centers of civic life and the physical manifestation of the common good. Instead, he argues, what we have in America is a nation of places not worth caring about.

TED2004, Filmed Feb 2004, Posted May 2007

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