#World Cities Report

[worldhabitatday]

Tackling urban poverty and inequality have become an urgent global priority.

The pandemic and recent conflicts have reversed years of progress made in the fight against poverty, resulting in the emergence of newly poor people — those who would have exited poverty in the absence of the pandemic but remain poor, and those who have fallen into poverty on account of the pandemic. According to the UN-Habitat’s World Cities Report, the number of people affected was between 119 and 124 million in 2020, and between 143 and 163 million in 2021. Tackling urban poverty and inequality have become an urgent global priority.

[worldcitiesday]

Urban Economies of Cities in Developed Countries.

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 created a temporary crisis of confidence in the future of cities. However, a broad consensus is that urbanization remains a powerful twenty-first century mega-trend; and that well-planned towns and cities remain central to the sustainable development trajectory. There is a sense of optimism that the crisis may provide us with the opportunity to build back differently, more inclusively, greener and safer. 

[hijinxinprogress]

12 year old tim realizing robin’s not coming back to gotham and deciding that it’s Batman’s fault so he has to ruin the little bit of sanity and peace of mind Bruce has managed (read: struggled) to keep in his grasp:

[nelkcats]

Suspicious Toxic Waste

Danny wouldn't say that the ghosts were cheating to visit the human world because technically they weren't, they were just hiding in plain sight, using the portals near or within the sea.

None of them needed to breathe and hardly anyone questioned the glowing things that appeared in the sea anyway. Of course, he didn't think he'd find a whole underwater city down there, with a government and a king, but thanks to invisibility he was sure they hadn't noticed them.

Well, he was almost sure, because a bat-shaped yacht was cruising the docks and the Atlanteans were strangely on guard. Danny wondered what was wrong with them.

Of course, Bruce and Arthur were investigating the sudden increase of toxins in the sea. Many locals (Atlanteans and Gothamites) had claimed to see something constantly glowing green floating near the shore, too far away to confirm what it was, and both feared it was Kryptonite.

[kyouka-supremacy]

One thing I keep thinking about is how the pm's front company is literally called “Mori Corporation”. Like yeah sure, let's put the actual name of our evil boss, most likely the most wanted person in the entire Yokohama, as the title of our not-shady-at-all perfectly-subtle black-themed industry. What could ever go wrong

[cowardlybean]

How many Esper-related laws do you think Mob sparked into existence just by being Mob

like what the hell did worldwide governments do when a middle school kid got into a fight with the guy claiming he’s gonna take over the world ending in a giant fucking broccoli appearing in seasoning city japan. like what do you do about that.

[danandfuckingjonlmao]

dan and phil are like jesus in that they’re dramatic ass fruity men in their 30s always going like “i am making this SACRIFICE for THE PEOPLE” and everyone is like “no one asked you to do this in fact we’d all rather you just did not do this” and they’re like “IT IS TOO LATE NOW YOU HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE CONSEQUENCES THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED” and we’re like “no no we didn’t want this actually and you made this decision with your whole ass adult brain you truly could have just not done this and we’d all be better off for it but now we all have to suffer because YOU refuse to say no to shit” and i think that’s ridiculous stupid annoying awful beautiful

[frownyalfred]

Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent, AKA two men with infinite accents, dialects and code shifts between their secret identities who cannot consistently use the same accent for more than 2 hours at one time

[actualnymph]

Robin/Nancy is such a ?? ship like why would Robin date her best friends ex…

[emilykaldwen]

we are definitely not doing well emotionally today and it's hard to tell if Depression, or if 'the period is late so your hormones are feeling wacky wacky still'.

Probably both.

[jupparo]

i know im still pretty young but sometimes i think that feeling of "its to late" also is connected to seeing constant news of how the world is crumbling faster and faster each year. yes i can do anything i want till the moment im put in the ground. but how will i do anything if theres no livable planet in few years?

[fungi-maestro]

The Question #5 (1987)

[worldcitiesday]

Envisaging the Future of Cities.

World Cities Report 2022: Envisaging the Future of Cities seeks to provide greater clarity and insights into the future of cities based on existing trends, challenges and opportunities, as well as disruptive conditions, including the valuable lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, and suggests ways that cities can be better prepared to address a wide range of shocks and transition to sustainable urban futures. The Report proposes a state of informed preparedness that provides us with the opportunity to anticipate change, correct the course of action and become more knowledgeable of the different scenarios or possibilities that the future of cities offers.

[semiotomatics]

freaking fires man

[supurman]

❝ it’s been a long time since someone stuck their neck out for me like that. ❞ vaneshu !

❝    sticking    my    neck    out  ?    huh,    this    is    just    what    i    do. ❞

  his    tone    was    somewhat        tense. it    wasn't    as    if    this    was    his    normal    over    the    cup    of    coffee    conversation. accounting    for    the    fact    he    stood    before    this    helmeted    onlooker    like    a    widely    stanced    pillar. just    beyond    his    back    a    volley    of    bullets    cracked    upon    impenetrable    skin. [    pop,    pop,    pop    !    ]    as    bullet    casing    sounded    as    if    they    were    shot    directly    into    titanium. the    super    took    a    moment    to    glance    over    his    shoulders. wow. these    people    had    crazy    bodies...and    faces?    all    these    cybernetic    prosthetics    yet    still    appeared    like    thugs. it    seemed    like    their    color    of    choice    was    red    too... he    turned    back    to    the    other    before    him. ❝    now    what    did    you    do    to    get    these    guys    this    mad. hold    on.  ❞

  clarks    arms    went    from    a    defensive    wide    form    to    suddenly    wrapping    his    arms    around    the    other. FWOOSH ! a    gust    of    wind    sent    anyone    else    around    right    off    their    feet. and    now    the    duo    weaved    through    buildings    until    a    gentle    landing    at    a    empty    parking    lot. ❝    something    tells    me    staying    out    of    trouble    is    not    your    thing. and    something    else    tells    me    this    city    is    more    batman's    thing. well,    you    seem    unharmed    to    me    at    least. ❞   

   the    super    took    a    few    steps    back    from    the the    recently    rescued. looking    into    the    not    so    distant    shine    of    a    foreign    city. ads    soar    through    the    air    into    the    sky    hiding    the    stars. if    clark    even    tuned    up    his    hearing    by    a    bit    he    could    hear    some    sort    of    peril    or    crime    happening    by    the    street.

   ❝    mind    telling    me    where    am    i    ?    ❞

@savorre

[thethief1996]

I can't stop thinking about the news out of Palestine. Israel is sieging al Shifa hospital. Videos of people's limbs being severed off are haunting (graphic video tw). The hospital has ran out of fuel and 39 babies in incubators are fending for their lives by themselves, because Israel has stationed snipers around the hospital and is shooting all medical crew that walks into their sight.

First, the narrative was Israel would never bomb hospitals. Now, the hospitals are Hamas bases. Then, we respect journalists. Now, we have a fucking kill list of journalists because they are Hamas collaborators. First, we are not letting fuel in until the hostages are released. Now, we are not accepting the hostages back because that would stop our ground invasion and let Hamas win. And I could go on about every single lie they're making up. If you look up "Hamas rape" on google, the first link leads to Times of Israel saying Israel has found no forensic evidence of sexual violence, and only one eyewitness testimony out of 3.5k people attending the rave. If you Google "Hamas beheaded babies" the top links say they have no evidence for the claim besides word of mouth from extremist soldiers. Israeli extremists think about the ugliest goriest scene they can make out in their sick heads, tell that to a international journalist and they run away with it like it's gospel.

And children are being killed in the name of these lies. Thousands are being displaced in images that remind me of the pictures of Tantura 75 years ago, with their hands up so the tanks don't shoot them. Amputees are leaving the hospitals in wheelchairs hours after their surgeries because they are being shot at. Elders who survived the Nakba on 48 are having to walk towards Southern Gaza on foot (imagine walking from one end of your city to the other on foot), displaced again. People are cheering for the haunting images of white phosphorus bombs being dropped over Gaza. Gazan workers who were arrested in the West Bank are being thrust back into the bombings wearing numbered labels.

This is not normal. We are seeing the early stages of the settler colonial genocide of an indigenous population. Native leaders who have visited Gaza say its refugee camps look eerily like reservations. We can stop this. For the first time we are able to see wide scale accounts from the hands of the people suffering the genocide, and Israel is so scared of it they have cut all communications in Gaza.

This is our litmus test. I think we have never seen more clearly, with Palestine, Armenia, Congo and Sudan how colonialism has made our world a rotten place to live in.

The South African apartheid collapsed due to boycotts. We have to do everything in our power to stop Israel's hegemony. Even talking to a group of friends about Palestine changes the status quo. There's no world where we can live peacefully if Israel accomplishes their goals.

Keep yourself updated and share Palestinian voices. Muna El-Kurd said every tweet is like a treasure to them, because their voices are repressed on social media and even on this very app. Make it your action item to share something about the Palestinian plight everyday. Here are some resources:

Al Jazeera, Anadolu Agency, Mondoweiss

Boycott Divest Sanction Movement

Palestinian Youth Movement is organizing protests and direct action against weapons factories across the US

Mohammed El-Kurd (twitter / instagram)

Muhammad Shehada (twitter)

Motaz Azaiza (instagram) - reporting directly from Gaza.

Hind Khudary - reporting directly from Gaza. Her husband and daughter moved South to run from the tanks but she stayed behind to record the genocide. The least we can do is not let her calls fall on deaf ears.

You can participate in boycotts wherever you are in the world, through BDS guidelines. Don't be overwhelmed by gigantic boycott lists. BDS explicitly targets only a few brands which have bigger impact. You can stop consuming from as many brands as you want, though, and by all means feel free to give a 1 star review to McDonalds, Papa John, Pizza Hut, Burger King and Starbucks. Right now, they are focusing on boycotting the following:

Carrefour, HP, Puma, Sabra, Sodastream, Ahava cosmetics, Israeli fruits and vegetables

Push for a cultural boycott - pressure your favorite artist to speak out on Palestine and cancel any upcoming performances on occupied territory (Lorde cancelled her gig in Israel because of this. It works.)

If you can, participate in direct action or donate.

Palestine Action works to shut down Israeli weapons factories in the UK and USA, and have successfully shut down one of their firms in London.Some of the activists are going on trial and are calling for mobilizing on court.

Palestinian Youth Movement is organizing direct actions to stop the shipping of wars to Israel. Follow them.

Educate yourself. Read into Palestinian history and the occupation. You can't common sense people out of decades of propaganda. If your arguments crumble when a zionist brings up the "disengagement of Gaza", you have to learn more.

Read Decolonize Palestine. They have 15 minute reads that concisely explain the occupation (and its colonial roots) and debunk popular myths, including pinkwashing.

Read on Palestine. Here's an amazing masterpost.

Verso Book Club is giving out free books on Palestine (I personally downloaded Ten Myths about Israel by Ilan Pappe. If you still believe in the two states solution, this book by an Israeli professor debunks it).

Call your representatives. The Labour Party in the UK had an emergency meeting after several councilors threatened to resign if they didn't condemn Israeli war crimes. Calling to show your complaints works, even more if you live in a country that funds genocide.

FOR PEOPLE IN THE USA: USCPR has developed this toolkit for calls, here's a document that autosends emails to your representatives and here's a toolkit by Ceasefire in Gaza NOW!

FOR PEOPLE IN EUROPE: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace targeting the European Parliament and one specific for almost all countries in Europe, including Germany, Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Greece, Norway, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Finland, Austria, Belgium Romania and Ukraine

FOR PEOPLE IN THE UK: Friends of Al-Aqsa UK and Palestine Solidarity UK have made toolkits for calls and emails

FOR PEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA: Here's a toolkit by Stand With Palestine

FOR PEOPLE IN CANADA: Here's a toolkit by Indepent Jewish Voices for Canada

Join a protest. Here's a constantly updating list of protests:

Global calendar

Another global calendar (go to the instragram of the organizers to confirm your protest)

USA calendar

Australia calendar

Feel free to add more.