Streetcar, bus, and metro systems have been ignoring one lesson for 100 years: Service drives demand. — By Jonathan English One hundred years ago, the United States had a public transportation system that was the envy of the world. Today, outside a few major urban centers, it is barely on life support. Even in New York City, subway ridership is well below its 1946 peak. Annual per…

It’s time to end the tyranny of open-concept interior design — By Kate Wagner If someone asked me five years ago whether or not I thought the open floor plan would still be popular, I would have said no. Domestic architecture seemed to be taking a turn toward the rustic. …

If it isn’t already there, augmented reality is coming to a device near you. Cities need to work to ensure that AR makes the leap from “cool experience,” to a technology that improves residents’ lives — By Stephen Goldsmith and Chris Bousquet As today’s cities look for better ways to use the troves of new data at their disposal, augmented reality (AR) offers a new way of bringing this data to life. …

The nation’s famed mastery of rail travel has been aided by some subtle behavioral tricks — By Allan Richarz It is a scene that plays out each weekday morning across Tokyo. Suit-clad office workers, gaggles of schoolchildren, and other travelers gamely wend their way through the city’s sprawling rail stations. To the casual observer, it is chaos; commuters packed shoulder-to-shoulder amid the constant clatter of arriving…

“We’re starting to realize they’re just as powerful as a park or plaza” — By Lynn Freehill-Maye In the early aughts, a former skateboard kid named Daniel Toole was chafing at his slick corporate job in Seattle. To feel more like his rulebreaking teenage self, he cut through back alleys on his way to work. He liked their grittiness and started taking pictures. Sometimes…

The HGTV show highlights more than just open kitchens and bickering couples — By Natalie Y. Moore Confession: Until I started watching “House Hunters” on HGTV, I had no idea what a “Craftsman-style” house was. I also didn’t know that white kitchens were all the rage, or that “en suite” was a phrase that normal people might use. Indeed, until I picked up…

Flush with venture capital, the startup Katerra wants to revolutionize the construction industry. But as history shows, it’s harder than it looks. — By Amanda Kolson Hurley From the end of the Second World War until a few years ago, when it cooled off, productivity surged across the U.S. economy, giving rise to what’s often called the “productivity miracle.” …

America’s laws against lingering have roots in Medieval and Elizabethan England. Since 1342, the goal has always been to keep anyone “out of place” away. — By Ariel Aberg-Riger Editor’s note: A series of racially charged incidents of “loitering” have triggered national outrage recently. This month, CityLab’s visual storyteller Ariel Aberg-Riger dives into the long history of laws against being somewhere you’re not wanted.