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Urban Map

Map: Earth's urban areas by population density

Data courtesy ORNL LandScan 2004™ /UT-Battelle, LLC

Urban

Urban areas are cultural and technological epicenters ranging from quaint
municipalities to sprawling mega-cities. They have existed for millennia.
But over the past half-century, their size and influence has been expanding
rapidly, particularly in emerging nations like China and India.

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Urban Sprawl

As new home seekers look for breathing room in the burbs and beyond, the dream of space is being displaced by a reality of traffic jams, high taxes, and pollution: the irony of urban sprawl.

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State of the Earth: Population

Can Earth handle 153 people born each minute?

Photo: Ice skaters in Central Park amid the cityscape of New York

Photo Gallery: New York City

Hail a cab and hold on tight as you whiz past the 102-floor Empire State Building, through 843 acres of Central Park, over the East River, and by other sights in the Big Apple.

Earth Topics

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Photo: Reflection on Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone National Park

Photo Contest

Share your shots and you could win a trip to the Grand Canyon!

Photo: Puerto Escondido

Interactive Map

Visit Mexico with this interactive map.

Six Degrees Book and DVD

Image: Six Degrees DVD and book

Get an eye-opening warning of the dangers of climate change, one degree at a time.

Support Conservation

Photo: Two penguins

Help conserve the world's natural resources.