Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age

by Annalee Newitz

Today, cities on the coasts and islands are imperiled by chaotic weather that’s becoming more likely due to climate change. In 2019, cities along the Mississippi River were flooded on an unprecedented scale,1 harming communities as well as farms. Meanwhile, heat waves are increasing across the globe;2 in cities they are magnified by the urban heat island effect, where temperatures rise several degrees higher than in greener areas. Sweltering temperatures also mean water infrastructures will be stressed, like Angkor’s were. Wildfires will claim more cities, reducing them to ash as swiftly as Vesuvius wrecked Pompeii in 79. Los Angeles narrowly missed being eaten by the Woolsey Fire in 2018; cities throughout the West spent most of summer and fall 2020 shrouded in wildfire smoke; and across the globe in Australia, fire seasons are growing even more intense. And infectious disease outbreaks are becoming more common across the globe, some exploding into deadly pandemics. Arguably, many people living in cities today are dealing with climate and health crises that will make it more difficult to maintain infrastructure and homes.