Category Archives: Urban

Governments of most cities in Western Europe have been trying over the last thirty (or more) years to reduce the role of the automobile in urban transportation. They’ve built new rail lines and renovated old ones. They’ve created elaborate bicycle … Continue reading →

I’ve been in Istanbul twice in the last few weeks, first in early May, then in mid-June. Except for a couple of stops at the enormous new airport, I had last been in Istanbul in 2014. Between 1969 and 2014, … Continue reading →

I spent several days in Seville last month. I had previously been less familiar with Seville than with any of Spain’s larger cities (I did spend a few hours walking around there in 2010). Like just about every other city … Continue reading →

I’ve been in Mexico City twice in the last couple of months, first in mid-January and then in late February. Except for a very brief visit in 2013, these were my first trips to Mexico City in something like twenty-five … Continue reading →

I spent several days in Nice in late November. I’d been there twice before, in 2008 and in 2014. Like many other people, I find Nice an agreeable place. Its dense central city, its extraordinarily diverse population (which includes visitors … Continue reading →

I spent several days in Quito last week. I particularly wanted to ride the Metro, the city’s brand-new subway. Quito’s Metro had opened commercially a week earlier, on December 1. It had been a long time coming. Construction started in … Continue reading →