Reporting the world's cities, for the people who plan them.
THE FIRST EDITION · 5 OCTOBER 2026
New evidence, research agendas, and funding calls.
5 ARTICLESFrom The Journals
Chinese researchers analysed roughly 4.2 million cases of bacillary dysentery recorded between 2005 and 2020 to ask whether the sponge-city programme - wetlands, permeable pavements and green space designed to absorb and filter stormwater - delivers…
From The Journals
UN-Habitat's World Cities Report 2026 tallies the global housing deficit at 288 million units in 2023, up from 251 million in 2010, and estimates 64 million people were displaced from informal settlements by urban development processes…
From The Journals
Brookings finds the early-2020s US immigration surge pushed metropolitan rents up by about 1.4-1.6%, but native-born renters' wages rose at least 1.6% net of the increase - so native-born residents on average came out ahead. For…
Open Calls - Apply Now
Horizon Europe Cities Mission (HORIZON-MISS-2026-04-CIT): EUR 85.5 million across three topics - energy-efficient public transport and shared mobility; low-temperature heating and AI-based urban planning; circular construction. Deadline October 8 - this week. CINEA
Research Agenda
Threads running through this quarter's calls and papers: adaptation delivery rather than risk mapping (Hamburg, Page 1); health co-benefits of blue-green infrastructure (Nature Cities, above); AI-based planning tools entering mainstream funding lines (the Horizon call's urban-planning…