TED Studies, created in collaboration with Wiley, are curated video collections — supplemented by rich educational materials — for students, educators and self-guided learners. In Ecofying Cities, speakers reveal ideas about sustainable development (and redevelopment) that aren't all about setting limits, going without or preparing for the worst...

Thomas Heatherwick brings together design, architecture and urban planning to create soulful and interesting places that spark emotion and celebrate complexity.

Hacking is about more than mischief-making or political subversion. As Catherine Bracy describes in this spirited talk, it can be just as much a force for good as it is for evil. She spins through some inspiring civically-minded projects in Honolulu, Oakland and Mexico City — and makes a compelling case that we all have what it takes to get invo...

Here's a fact: Not a single American working full-time for minimum wage can afford to buy a one-bedroom home. For many, mobile homes offer a way to break into homeownership. But owning a mobile home is risky, because these communities are virtually invisible and have few rights. Sociologist Esther Sullivan lists the reasons why mobile homeowners...

As New York’s chief city planner under the Bloomberg administration, Amanda Burden led revitalization of some of the city's most familiar features -- from the High Line to the Brooklyn waterfront.

Enrique Peñalosa is the mayor of Bogotá, Colombia. He advocates for sustainability and mobility in the cities of the future.

Erik Schlangen is a civil engineer and pioneer of experimental micromechanics, who focuses on making industrial materials more durable.

Traditional homes and living no more! Experience the different ways people exist in harmony with one another and their surroundings.

City planners are already busy designing futures full of bike paths and LEED-certified buildings. But are they designing for our happiness? It's hard to define, and even harder to plan for, but urban planner Thomas Madrecki has a simple solution: Ask the public.

Catherine Bracy is the director of community organizing at Code for America.

Deepen your understanding of Ecofying Cities with these carefully crafted educational exercises that let you get the most out of this TED Studies subject. Activity 1 It's difficult to measure something as complex as sustainability. For example, what's the best way to measure energy and resource use? Think about the problem at different scales. ...

Written by the educators who created Ecofying Cities, a brief look at the key facts, tough questions and big ideas in their field. Begin this TED Study with a fascinating read that gives context and clarity to the material. Right now, our economy operates as Paul Hawken said, "by stealing the future, selling it in the present and calling it GDP....

With more than half of the world population living in cities, one thing is undeniable: we are an urban species. Part game, part urban planning sketching tool, "Cities: Skylines" encourages people to use their creativity and self-expression to rethink the cities of tomorrow. Designer Karoliina Korppoo takes us on a tour through some extraordinary...

Climate action has historically had a gender-neutral lens, but this lack of intentionality allows underlying biases to sneak in and negatively impact women, says gender and climate researcher Zineb Sqalli. Using Vienna, Austria's gender-equal urban planning program as a model for how women can be included in every step of building a green econom...

Through his writing and his realized projects, Peter Calthorpe has spread the vision of New Urbanism, a framework for creating sustainable, human-scaled places.

After watching the collection of talks on Ecofying Cities, read a thoughtful recap of the major points in this TED Study, and learn where experts believe things are headed. The TEDTalks in Ecofying Cities touch on many of the questions which are front-and-center for urban planners, policy makers, environmentalists and others. How can we promote ...

Income inequality is the highest it's been in nearly a century. Wage declines are making home ownership more and more difficult, leading people to become renters. Housing advocate Yale Fox thinks this is a huge problem, since most renters have little power to change fluctuating market prices or the condition of their rentals. In this talk, Fox i...

Kate Orff asks us to rethink “landscape”—to use urban greenspaces and blue spaces in fresh ways to mediate between humankind and nature.

Urban planner Ryan Gravel shares the story of how his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, rallied to build a massive urban park that will transform an abandoned railroad track into 22 miles of public green space called the Atlanta BeltLine. The places we live aren't inevitable, he says -- and if we want something different, we need to speak up.

Noah Wilson-Rich doesn't just want to know why bees are dying off, but what's saving them.

Jeff Speck is a city planner and the author of "Walkable City."

Cities are becoming increasingly privatized: commercial real estate dominates the streets, carving up open space that once belonged to the public and selling it as a commodity to the highest bidder. Architect Elizabeth Diller explores the causes and effects of this growing threat -- and takes us on tour of her groundbreaking projects aimed at cr...

Taking inspiration from nature, architect Ma Yansong designs breathtaking buildings that break free from the boxy symmetry of so many modern cities. His exuberant and graceful work -- from a pair of curvy skyscrapers that "dance" with each other to an opera house that looks like a snow-capped mountain -- shows us the beauty of architecture that ...

Robert Neuwirth’s writings on the street-level reality of the developing world have opened a new dialogue on development and economics.

Soft cars, jet packs and houses made of meat are all in a day's work for urban designer, architect and TED Fellow Mitchell Joachim.

What would a city designed for the blind be like? Chris Downey is an architect who went suddenly blind in 2008; he contrasts life in his beloved San Francisco before and after -- and shows how the thoughtful designs that enhance his life now might actually make everyone's life better, sighted or not.

Can we rebuild our broken suburbs? Ellen Dunham-Jones shares a vision of dying malls rehabilitated, dead "big box" stores re-inhabited, and endless parking lots transformed into thriving wetlands.

Pam Warhurst cofounded Incredible Edible, an initiative in Todmorden, England dedicated to growing food locally by planting on unused land throughout the community.

If you've never heard of a McMansion, get ready for a crash course in gaudy, oversized home design. In this hilarious talk, Kate Wagner, creator of the blog McMansion Hell, roasts a few of these architectural eyesores, and discusses how builders and homebuyers can make better design choices with an eye to both sustainability and aesthetics.

Architect and building tech innovator Doris Sung presents a compelling vision for reimagining building facades as active contributors to urban life and public health. Showcasing innovative technologies — like buildings that filter particulates out of the air and facades that react to heat — Sung demonstrates how modern architecture can evolve be...