Public mass transit systems are part of the everyday landscape of most major cities around the world. From the ultra-efficient train network of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area to the congested rail lines of Sao Paulo, metro systems move millions of people daily, making inter-city mobility more efficient and reducing travel times within cities and metropolitan regions. Sao Paulo Metro. Source: US News Since the opening of the first underground network in London in 1863, more than 200 metro systems have been built around the world. Beijing currently has the largest metro network in terms of length and daily ridership (807 km in length and 10.5 million trips per day). Other major metro systems are located in New York, Shanghai, Seoul, Moscow and Guangzhou. Despite the accelerated construction of metro systems since the mid-20th century, there are large urban areas in the world that are not currently served by metro services. Some of them have implemented alternative systems such as BRT (Bus R
The urban image of Detroit since the end of the 20th century had become the archetypal example of decadence and abandonment: Ruined buildings, vacant lots, and uninhabited streets recreated a dystopian panorama that some defined as the great failure of capitalism and the "Dream American". Detroit at sunset. Photo: Nic Redhead Such a statement was not - to some extent - an exaggeration. From the 1950s (population peak) to 2010, Detroit had lost more than one million inhabitants in its urban area, as the product of the closure of the automobile industries. It generated empty districts and a serious problem of insecurity and violence that turned the Motor City into one of the most dangerous urban areas in the United States and the world . In 2013, Detroit seemed to hit rock bottom, becoming the first major U.S. city to declare bankruptcy and with a future that did not look promising. However, despite its severe economic crisis and with the effects of the Pandemic still present