Cities emerged as the epicentres of the COVID-19 pandemic: roughly 90 per cent of COVID-19 infections worldwide were reported in urban settings. And poor urban neighbourhoods were hit especially hard.

A new report raises concerns about the proliferation of Airbnb and other short-term letting platforms (STLs) in the city and its effects on local residents. The report ( full version here ), written by academics, journalists and members of Greater Manchester Tenants Union and Greater Manchester Housing Action, finds a year on year growth rate of over 300% in Airbnb listings in Manchester between 2016 and 2020, and of nearly 400% for entire properties.

The lives of people living with dementia in Greater Manchester, alongside carers and loved ones, can be improved through better access to housing that reflects the changing needs and diversity of the population, according to the finding of a new report published today (Friday 10 December) .

Carnegie Mellon University Modern architecture is unique for what it is lacking. The clean lines, hard right angles and boxy silhouettes leave little room for detail. Despite the cost-saving benefits of this minimalist approach, it may be having a negative effect on the psyche of urban populations.

Boasting an intricate, doubly curved concrete roof, lightweight funicular floors, and self-learning building technology, the latest addition to Empa and Eawag's NEST research building in Duebendorf, Switzerland officially opened today. The innovative unit illustrates nearly a decade of formative ETH Zurich research in architecture and sustainable technologies.

Scientists have studied the unique features of the decorative vaulting known as muqarnas in Spain's Alhambra palace and fortress complex. Muqarnas are commonly found in Islamic architecture, yet they are poorly understood by the architectural community and the little data that exist on them have been simplified over time. The EPFL study firmly anchors the Alhambra's wonders in our world heritage.

Three EPFL studies on the effects of Switzerland's first COVID-19 lockdown have just been published. The research was based on a survey of Swiss residents carried out during the confinement, and illustrate how the restrictions caused higher stress levels and changed the way people view housing.

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The Artificial Swissness exhibit - a larger than life-sized "design brain" developed by EPFL's Media x Design Lab (LDM) - is currently on display at the Seoul Biennale for Architecture and Urbanism, which runs until 31 October 2021. This high-tech machine can generate a virtually infinite number of architectural images of Swiss Alpine cabins.

It is a digital map, unique in the world and developed as part of the #MosquitoAlertBCN project, which reports in real time and on a 20-meter scale the likelihood of a mosquito and a person meeting or interacting that day.