Michael Dudley

<p>More Chinese are abandoning their bicycles -- not because they now own cars but because the dramatic increase in automobile use is making city streets too dangerous for cycling. But cyclists are fighting back.</p>

<p>In an effort to put a modern face on Calcutta, the Indian state of West Bengal has outlawed rickshaw pulling.</p>

<p>Was pre-Katrina New Orleans unable to support its former population, and thus now -- as a smaller city -- better-positioned economically? Or is it in danger of losing its cultural identity without that population?</p>

<p>The only way to meet the challenges of the 21st Century is to address poverty, pollution and environmental sustainability in the world's cities, writes Worldwatch Institute president Christopher Flavin.</p>

<p>A shantytown set up to protest Miami's housing crisis is winning over neighbors and has become a "warm community."</p>