Cities and Communities

As part of the Smart Nation initiative, the government has been pushing for Singapore to go fully cashless within the next few years. Soh Kian Peng lays out the benefits and drawbacks of this move and explains why a complete switch away from cash might not be desirable.

BY LUIS CARLOS RAMIREZ MARTINEZ In the last two decades, the United States has fought at least two trade wars. Both times, the key battleground has been steel, and lobbyists have been in the thick of it. However, one would have to go back almost four decades, to 1981 in fact, to find another example […]

Golden Mile Complex is a Brutalist building facing potential demolition after its owners agreed to a collective sale attempt – much to the dismay of many in Singapore. Most news coverage, however, focuses on its architectural importance to Singapore’s heritage. But it plays an important social role, too, for Thai migrants. In this long-form research paper, Al Lim explores Golden Mile, and investigates the effect of its potential destruction on the Thai migrant community in Singapore.

Imagine a modern city of sleek infrastructure offering the latest technological amenities for its citizens such as sensor crosswalks, free internet, electric traffic monitors, and other futuristic features. This vision of utopia is slowly, but steadily, coming into fruition in several urban cities, most notably in Singapore, Seoul, and New York. Plans to integrate smart […]

Regardless of ethnicity, religion, or sex, homelessness is a persistent issue. The gloomy and humiliating truth for our federal government is that some reports estimate there are five vacant properties for every homeless person. Whether it be the Hoovervilles from the 1930s, Khayelitsha slums in Cape Town, South Africa, or the Dharavi shanty towns in […]

BY ALYSSA DAVIS THE additional unit in Raneta Pomeroy’s backyard had always been a problem. When the Santa Cruz, California, resident bought her house in 1993, she knew that its converted garage apartment—or “flat,” as she calls it—was technically illegal. But it was also typical for this growing coastal community. For several years, her teenagers […]

BY JULIUS LIM Videos of the arrest of a 21-year-old black Harvard University student on April 13 have once again drawn attention to the discussion of police brutality. The student, identified as Selorm Ohene, a Ghanaian, was arrested by the Cambridge Police Department (CPD) after the CPD had received reports about a naked man on […]

BY SASHA RAMANI President Trump’s long-promised trade war against China has begun. In March, President Trump unveiled tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, and later targeted China directly with tariffs on $60 billion worth of imports on technology and energy industry components. In April, he launched a further 25 percent tariff on Chinese industrial technology, […]

BY ANGELICA QUICKSEY and EMILY BROAS An internet connection is a gateway to the modern world: communication, education, economic opportunity, entertainment, and more. Yet, 19 percent of U.S. households lack a home broadband subscription and are excluded from these benefits. The digital divide – the gulf between those who have ready access to the internet […]

BY QUINTON MAYNE For many Americans, cities have become a beacon of hope. The can-do, eye-level politics of our city halls is increasingly viewed as an antidote to what seems like a culture of top-down, self-serving, and polarizing party politics inside the Beltway. An important question then is whether city leaders will live up to […]

BY FRANCISCA VILLALOBOS Pamela, the community leader of La Isla, had worked ten years towards this moment. Last November, La Isla shantytown celebrated the foundation stone-laying ceremony to kick off the construction of one hundred houses for La Isla’s families. To the crowd of community dwellers, representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and local government officials […]

BY LAURA MERRYFIELD and PRANAV REDDY Black Panther begins with T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) grappling with the dilemma presented by his new role as king of Wakanda. His country is rich in vibranium, a valuable metal that has allowed Wakanda to develop advanced technology and quiet prosperity for its citizens. The previous king, T’Challa’s father, disguised […]