The story of cities
Story of cities #46: the gated Buenos Aires community which left its poor neighbours under water
The richest and poorest residents of Argentina’s capital are separated by the walls of gated communities. When heavy rains in 2013 left those outside the barriers vulnerable to severe flooding, their only hope was to tear them down
Story of cities #45: the death of Richard Nickel, guardian of Chicago's heritage
Photographer and activist Richard Nickel spent much of his life battling to preserve Chicago’s diverse architecture. His death, while trying to save remnants of its Stock Exchange building, gave him ‘an almost mythic status’ in the city
Story of cities #44: will Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp, really close?
Twenty-five years after it opened, Kenya has announced its third biggest ‘city’, the Dadaab refugee complex, is to be shut down. But for many residents, this sprawling slum in an inhospitable desert is the only home they know
Story of cities #42: Medellín escapes grip of drug lord to embrace radical urbanism
Twenty-five years ago, Medellín was the most dangerous city on earth. Yet its most infamous criminal, Pablo Escobar, also helped create the conditions that sparked an extraordinary revival – by taking the city to the brink of collapse
Story of cities #41: Soul City's failed bid to build a black-run suburbia for America
Civil rights activist Floyd McKissick dreamed of a southern utopia where the racially integrated community would be planned and managed by African Americans. Although the city was never completed, some traces remain
Story of cities #40: how a village had to die so Hamburg's port could survive
In the 60s Hamburg officials planned to demolish a fishing village to make space for a new container terminal. As port cities struggle to keep up with an ever-changing industry, how will Hamburg face the challenges of the next generation?
Story of cities #39: Shenzhen – from rural village to the world's largest megalopolis
When Leo Houng arrived in Shenzhen in 1974, it was an unremarkable Chinese settlement that ‘smelled of countryside’. Since then, he has witnessed the city rise up at a bewildering rate – with little regard for the families caught in its path
Story of cities #38: Vancouver dumps its freeway plan for a more beautiful future
In the 1960s, Vancouver’s historic downtown was at risk of being razed for modern road projects – only for an extraordinary protest movement to turn the tide, helping transform it into one of North America’s most ‘liveable’ cities
Story of cities #33: how Santiago tackled its housing crisis with 'Operation Chalk'
In 1965, Chile launched a bold new policy which became infamous for officials’ use of white chalk to mark out plots of land for Santiago’s poorest families. Half a century on, did it really help those in need – or simply deepen social divisions?
