All articles tagged with #city living
A family moves from an off‑grid 40‑acre home in northern New Mexico to a dense city neighborhood near a large park, discovering vibrant community, walkable amenities, and fewer cars. Despite initial fears about city life, they thrive on daily park walks, neighborly welcome, and easy access to shops and schools, ultimately saving money and finding a sense of belonging they hadn’t imagined in rural living.
Urban planner Jeff Speck advocates for creating more walkable cities in the U.S. by ensuring that essential amenities such as shops, parks, and schools are within walking or biking distance of homes. As the principal at the urban design firm Speck Dempsey, he has been instrumental in promoting a walkable lifestyle and has authored books on the subject. His work includes overseeing programs aimed at combating suburban sprawl and advocating for downtown revitalization.
A research study conducted by evolutionary biologists at Drexel University is examining how mice living in urban environments, such as New York City, have evolved differently from their country counterparts. The study aims to understand the effects of urbanization on the evolution of house mice by comparing their behavioral traits, fecal tests, and DNA and microbiome sequencing. The researchers are collecting mice from homes in New York, Philadelphia, and Richmond, and expect to see differences in stress levels, size, and immune systems due to the complex urban environment. The project has received a $1.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation and hopes to publish results in about a year.