Places of Wonders and Wickedness

"What an amazing place London was to me when I saw it in the distance, and how I believed all the adventures of all my favourite heroes to be constantly enacting and re-enacting there, and how I vaguely made it out in my own mind to be fuller of wonders and wickedness than all the cities of the earth."
Charles Dickens, "David Copperfield," Chapter 5 (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/766/766-h/766-h.htm)

The Guardian (http://www.theguardian.com/us) has become one of the most interesting sources of news and information on the web. Recently they've produced an amazing series of articles on world cities. The topics range from urban planning to colonialism to pirates (arrr!) to the Olympics, and it’s wonderful.

1. How Alexandria laid foundations for the modern world http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/14/story-cities-day-1-alexandria-egypt-history-urbanisation-foundations-modern-world
2. Rome wasn't planned in a day … in fact it wasn't planned at all http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/15/story-cities-part-2-secret-ancient-rome
3. The birth of Baghdad was a landmark for world civilisation http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/16/story-cities-day-3-baghdad-iraq-world-civilisation 
4. Beijing and the earliest planning document in history http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/17/story-cities-beijing-earliest-planning-document-history 
5. Benin City, the mighty medieval capital now lost without trace http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/18/story-of-cities-5-benin-city-edo-nigeria-mighty-medieval-capital-lost-without-trace 
6. How silver turned Potosí into 'the first city of capitalism' http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/21/story-of-cities-6-potosi-bolivia-peru-inca-first-city-capitalism 
7. Philadelphia grid marks birth of America's urban dream   http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/22/story-of-cities-7-philadelphia-grid-pennsylvania-william-penn-america-urban-dream 
8. St Petersburg – is the 'city built on bones' starting to crumble? http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/23/story-of-cities-8-st-petersburg-city-built-on-bones-starting-to-crumble 
9. Kingston, Jamaica – a city born of 'wickedness' and disaster http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/24/story-cities-9-kingston-jamaica-richest-wickedest-city-world 
10. How the dirty Old Town became enlightened Edinburgh http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/29/story-of-cities-10-edinburgh-new-town-old-town-scottish-enlightenment-james-craig 
11. The reclamation of Mumbai – from the sea, and its people? http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/30/story-cities-11-reclamation-mumbai-bombay-megacity-population-density-flood-risk 
12. Haussmann rips up Paris – and divides France to this day http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/31/story-cities-12-paris-baron-haussmann-france-urban-planner-napoleon 
13. Barcelona's unloved planner invents science of 'urbanisation' http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/apr/01/story-cities-13-eixample-barcelona-ildefons-cerda-planner-urbanisation 
14. London's Great Stink heralds a wonder of the industrial world http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/apr/04/story-cities-14-london-great-stink-river-thames-joseph-bazalgette-sewage-system 
15. The rise and ruin of Rio de Janeiro's first favela http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/apr/05/story-cities-15-rio-de-janeiro-first-favela-providencia-2016-olympic-games 

I don’t know how many of these they are intending to produce, but they’ve done 15 so far. Seriously, this is amazing stuff. I think you’ll like it.