David Carey

We tend to think of cities as monuments to human ambition - the steel, the glass, the fiber optics, the finance. But ask an ecologist or an agricultural historian where modern mega cities like New York, Tokyo, or London came from and they won’t point to a construction crane. They’ll point to a tractor and a fertiliser plant. For 99% of human history, the size of a city was capped by the length of an oxcart’s journey. You couldn’t have a London of 9 million people if you neede

The growth of desert mega cities over the last 20+ years has been nothing short of explosive. Unlike traditional cities that grew organically around resources like water or trade routes, modern desert mega cities are often artificial constructs, built on the back of desalination technology, air conditioning, and massive government investment. Here is a breakdown of how these cities (primarily in the Middle East and the Southwestern United States) have grown recently, the tren

The Garden City Movement emerged from the toxic cradle of the Industrial Revolution in late 19th-century Britain. As factories multiplied, cities like London, Manchester, and Birmingham swelled with migrant workers living in unimaginable squalor—overcrowded slums with no sanitation, polluted air, and virtually no green space. The average life expectancy in some industrial cities fell to under 30 years. This urban crisis sparked numerous reform movements. Visionaries like John

Charles-Édouard Jeanneret known as Le Corusier was an architect, painter, urban planner and writer born in 1887. Dedicated to providing better living conditions for the residents of crowded cities, Le Corbusier was influential in urban planning . His ideas on urbanism were published in " Ville Radieuse" or "The Radiant City" in 1930. This was one of the most influential, and controversial, urban planning concepts of the 20th century. It was not just a design for a city but a

While it is hard to know precisely, the largest world cities in 1525 were probably something like: 1525 Beijing, China. Estimated...

Throughout history, cities have been both engines of progress and extractive parasites, depending on how they interact with their rural...

Every morning, as city dwellers sip their coffee and scroll through news feeds, an army of trucks is already at work - delivering the...

Cities do not develop by accident - their locations are often the result of geographical advantages that facilitate trade, defence,...

The Nutsubidze Skybridge is part of an experimental Soviet-era housing complex in Saburtalo district of Tbilisi, Georgia. It consists of...

Ports are critical nodes in the global economy, serving as hubs for trade, transportation, and industrial activity. They facilitate the...

Airports have become defining features of modern cities, serving as gateways to the world and catalysts for economic, social, and urban...

This article discusses how the management of storm water in urban areas has evolved over time and possible approaches for the future in...

The primary purpose of the street is a thoroughfare for transport within a city. It is necessary for a public space, accessible to all,...

This article discusses roads and motorways and their influence on geography and human development. For most of human history, walking by...

This article discusses how the railway has influenced geography and human development. The railway is a form of transport using wheeled...

This article discusses how rivers have influenced human development and civilisation. Shifts from hunter-gatherer society (the vast...

The image above shows a fountain in Campbelltown. It was installed as a bequest from a controversial former local solicitor, who...

This article discusses the main factors behind the growth of our cities and how energy has driven the growth of and layout of our built...

The last post in this blog discussed state government led changes to introduce more medium density housing across the state. While...

The NSW Government has released further details of a policy intended to create low and mid-rise housing. The link can be found here. The...