20. How the Shinkansen bullet train made Tokyo into the monster it is today
This year saw the 50th anniversary of the Shinkansen, the world’s first high-speed commercial train line. The so-called bullet train transformed Japan’s capital into the world’s first megalopolis, by turning vast areas of the surrounding countryside into a potential bedroom.
19. Classic paintings of world cities meet Google Street View
Halley Docherty makes us brilliant collages of city images superimposed on their contemporary locations in Google Street View. This instalment featured well-known historical paintings from Istanbul to St Petersburg and Tokyo to New York.
18. The slow death of Silicon Roundabout
The success of Shoreditch’s tech hub in London has priced out the start-ups that gave it its identity – and in some cases seen their offices demolished for luxury housing. Cory Doctorow gave us the inside story on what exactly went wrong with Tech City: “Unless Hackney decides that it wants to preserve Silicon Roundabout’s tech sector, that ridiculous name will soon be the only thing high-tech about the neighbourhood.”
17. If women built cities, what would our urban landscape look like?
Well, we got some interesting comments below the line for this one. Susanna Rustin examined the lack of women in the architecture profession, speaking to an array of wonderful practitioners about how the biggest decisions about urban development are still mainly made by men.
16. The evolution of London: the city’s near-2,000 year history mapped
How did London evolve from a Roman fort to the megacity we see today? This fascinating animation from UCL’s Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis aims to show just that.
15. Underground London: abandoned tube stations and tunnels
Striking images from Subterranean London, a new book from “place hacker” Bradley Garrett, who has spent years exploring the capital’s hidden depths.
14. ‘Mumbai is on the verge of imploding’
In November, Guardian Cities set up shop in Mumbai for a very exciting week of live events and reporting. We kicked things off with this powerful piece from esteemed journalist Bachi Karkaria, who explained how the city’s politician-builder nexus allows rampant development to fuel its descent into urban hell.
13. Watch London’s historic skylines change
As the debate rages around the 230 new high-rise buildings planned for London, these addictive photo sliders show us how London’s skyline might transform.
12. The world’s most beautiful metro stations
From rainbow arches in Stockholm to chandeliers in St Petersburg, we hunted down the most eye-openingly ornate metro stations around the world.
11. Helsinki’s ambitious plan to make car ownership pointless in 10 years
Finland is taking a stand against the 21st century’s latest urban villain, with a “mobility on demand” system for all forms of shared and public transport in the capital. The idea? To essentially render private cars obsolete.
10. London life – mapped
Which borough is the happiest? Where’s the busiest tube station? These fun “maps” from James Cheshire and Oliver Uberti answer some questions about the UK capital – and might surprise you.
9. Where do atheists live? Maps show the ‘godless’ cities of England and Wales
Who doesn’t love a good map? These maps from UCL’s Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis are based on census responses.
8. Inside Beijing’s airpocalypse – a city made ‘almost uninhabitable’ by pollution
Oliver Wainwright headed to Beijing to find out just how polluted the city air really is. “A grey blanket hangs in the sky, swamping the surroundings in a de-saturated haze and almost obscuring the buildings across the street.”
7. Second world war in Google Street View
Another series of fantastic Street View collages, this time taking historic images from the second world war and superimposing them on modern-day street scenes, from Paris to New York to Hiroshima.
6. Earthquakes, hurricanes, cyclones and tsunamis: the world’s 10 riskiest cities
Understanding what places are most vulnerable to natural disasters can be vital to focusing efforts on making cities more resilient. Here are the 10 riskiest cities in terms of total population exposed to various types of natural threat.
5. The death of a great American city: why does anyone still live in Detroit?
The Motor City has become the poster city for urban decay, declaring bankruptcy and singlehandedly inspiring the photography genre of “ruin porn”. Now the locals who’ve been trying to turn the city around are wondering if they’re just wasting their time. A classic feature from David Uberti.
4. The death of the American mall
More urban death in America. This time David looked at the physical and cultural decline of shopping malls, while Seph Lawless contributed a visual tour of the abandoned Rolling Acres mall in Akron, Ohio – a “retail graveyard”.
3. The 10 world cities with the highest murder rates
According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the city where you’re most likely to get murdered is a place many haven’t even heard of. This might sound like an anti-travel guide, but the stats reveal how urban crime around the world is changing.
2. The weird afterlife of the world’s subterranean ‘ghost stations’
As disused metro stations are beginning to be transformed into new attractions, Drew Reed set out to understand their strange allure – and we dug up some amazing photos.
1. Classic album covers in Google Street View
In top spot, heading up the charts, our No 1 hit (yes, this could go on) is our collection of famous album covers, their locations tracked down in Google Street View – from PJ Harvey to Dylan to the Beatles at a certain crosswalk.
Thanks for your incredible support throughout the year – we read every bit of feedback and are always open to comments and ideas. You can also find us on Twitter @guardiancities. Here’s to 2015!
