Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2026
10:17
Cities As Interfaces of Zoonotic Hazard Emergence: Development of the New York City Tick and Wildlife Urban Surveillance System
Published on: March 10, 2026
Why cities cannot learn.
1Zaheer Allam is a senior researcher at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia and an adjunct associate professor at the School of Architecture, Design and Planning, the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|July 9, 2026
Summary
Urban policy changes historically followed disasters, enabling adaptation. However, this adaptive process is degrading, leading to volatile urbanism that threatens city resilience.
Area of Science:
- Urban planning
- Disaster risk reduction
- Environmental policy
Background:
- Historically, urban policy changes and hazard responses occurred on a timescale allowing for adaptation, even if slow or contested.
- Major events like the Great Fire of London (1666) and repeated European river floods led to improved building regulations, zoning rules, and hazard mapping.
- The traditional pathway involved disruption leading to evidence, which generated pressure, forcing governing agencies to implement modifications.
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