TED Talks
TED: Stop being a bystander in your own life | Tracy Edwards
Life doesn't go from A to B -- it's messy, says sailing legend Tracy Edwards. In this inspiring talk, she tells how she went from teenage misfit to skipper of the first all-female crew in the toughest race on the seas -- and how she now...
Crash Course
Why are People Moving to Cities? Crash Course Geography
According to the UN, people living in urban places now outnumber those in rural areas — which is a pretty new phenomenon for many parts of the world. So today, we’re going to discuss factors that have led to this shift in populations...
TED Talks
Renzo Vitale: What should electric cars sound like?
Electric cars are extremely quiet, offering some welcome silence in our cities. But they also bring new dangers, since they can easily sneak up on unsuspecting pedestrians. What kind of sounds should they make to keep people safe? Get a...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: A day in the life of a Mongolian queen - Anne F. Broadbridge
As dawn breaks over a moveable city of ten thousand yurts, Queen Boraqchin readies her kingdom for departure to their summer camping grounds. While her husband, the grandson of Genghis Khan, is out raiding, she juggles the duties of...
TED Talks
TED: Why I train grandmothers to treat depression | Dixon Chibanda
Dixon Chibanda is one of 12 psychiatrists in Zimbabwe -- for a population of more than 16 million. Realizing that his country would never be able to scale traditional methods of treating those with mental health issues, Chibanda helped...
TED Talks
TED: A future with fewer cars | Freeman H. Shen
What if your car could drop you off and then find parking by itself? According to electric vehicle entrepreneur Freeman H. Shen, this technology already exists. He shares his vision for a future where AI-powered electric vehicles will...
TED Talks
Carl Honoré: In praise of slowness
Journalist Carl Honore believes the Western world's emphasis on speed erodes health, productivity and quality of life. But there's a backlash brewing, as everyday people start putting the brakes on their all-too-modern lives.
TED Talks
Roman Mars: Why city flags may be the worst-designed thing you've never noticed
Roman Mars is obsessed with flags -- and after you watch this talk, you might be, too. These ubiquitous symbols of civic pride are often designed, well, pretty terribly. But they don't have to be. In this surprising and hilarious talk...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: A day in the life of an ancient Athenian - Robert Garland
It's 427 BCE and the worst internal conflict ever to occur in the ancient Greek world is in its fourth year. Athens is facing a big decision: what to do with the people of Mytilene, a city on the island of Lesbos where a revolt against...
TED Talks
TED: How dirt bikes and STEM ignite ingenuity in Baltimore | Brittany Young
Dirt biking is more than just a pastime -- it's an opportunity to disrupt the cycle of poverty and provide enriching STEM education, says TED Fellow Brittany Young. In this perspective-shifting talk, she shares how her team is working...
TED Talks
Miru Kim: My underground art explorations
At the 2008 EG Conference, artist Miru Kim talks about her work. Kim explores industrial ruins underneath New York and then photographs herself in them, nude -- to bring these massive, dangerous, hidden spaces into sharp focus.
TED Talks
Kent Larson: Brilliant designs to fit more people in every city
How can we fit more people into cities without overcrowding? Kent Larson shows off folding cars, quick-change apartments and other innovations that could make the city of the future work a lot like a small village of the past.
TED Talks
TED: A life-saving invention that prevents human stampedes | Nilay Kulkarni
every three years, more than 30 million Hindu worshippers gather for the Kumbh Mela in India, the world's largest religious gathering, in order to wash away their sins. With massive crowds descending on small cities and towns, stampedes...
TED Talks
TED: A call to men | Tony Porter
At TEDWomen, Tony Porter makes a call to men everywhere: Don't "act like a man." Telling powerful stories from his own life, he shows how this mentality, drummed into so many men and boys, can lead men to disrespect, mistreat and abuse...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Are locust plagues unstoppable? | Jeffrey A. Lockwood
A ravenous swarm stretches as far as the eye can see. It has no leader or strategic plan; its only goals are to eat, breed, and move on. These are desert locusts— infamous for their capacity for destruction. But most of the time desert...
TED Talks
TED: Could a DAO build the next great city? | Scott Fitsimones
Could DAOs, or "decentralized autonomous organizations," be the key to building the next great city? Experimental urbanist Scott Fitsimones shares how these mission-driven, blockchain-governed, collectively owned organizations could...
TED Talks
Jeff Speck: The walkable city
How do we solve the problem of the suburbs? Urbanist Jeff Speck shows how we can free ourselves from dependence on the car -- which he calls "a gas-belching, time-wasting, life-threatening prosthetic device" -- by making our cities more...
TED Talks
Janette Sadik-Khan: New York's streets? Not so mean any more
In this funny and thought-provoking talk, Janette Sadik-Khan, transportation commissioner of New York City, shares projects that have reshaped street life in the 5 boroughs, including pedestrian zones in Times Square, high-performance...
TED Talks
TED: How an old loop of railroads is changing the face of a city Ryan Gravel
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....
TED Talks
TED: How an old loop of railroads is changing the face of a city | Ryan Gravel
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....
TED Talks
TED: Your phone company is watching | Malte Spitz
What kind of data is your cell phone company collecting? Malte Spitz wasn’t too worried when he asked his operator in Germany to share information stored about him. Multiple unanswered requests and a lawsuit later, Spitz received 35,830...
TED Talks
Alejandro Aravena: My architectural philosophy? Bring the community into the process
When asked to build housing for 100 families in Chile ten years ago, Alejandro Aravena looked to an unusual inspiration: the wisdom of favelas and slums. Rather than building a large building with small units, he built flexible...
TED Talks
Alex Steffen: The route to a sustainable future
Worldchanging.com founder Alex Steffen argues that reducing humanity’s ecological footprint is incredibly vital now, as the western consumer lifestyle spreads to developing countries.
TED Talks
Olafur Eliasson: Playing with space and light
In the spectacular large-scale projects he's famous for (such as "Waterfalls" in New York harbor), Olafur Eliasson creates art from a palette of space, distance, color and light. This idea-packed talk begins with an experiment in the...