Introducing CityLab.com: All Things Urban, from The Atlantic

Washington, D.C. (May 16, 2014) —Today, The Atlantic introduced CityLab.com— a relaunch and expansion of The Atlantic Cities. The re-envisioned destination features a mobile-first, responsive design and expanded editorial mission, meant to bring CityLab's coverage of the biggest new ideas and pressing issues facing today's global cities to a wider audience. Among the new offerings is Navigator, a guide to urban life, and CityFixer, which curates powerful solutions-based stories around a dozen topics, from streets and climate change to aging and mass transit.

Heralded for its sharp reporting on urban issues and concepts, CityLab.com now has an updated platform to allow for growth in audience and ambitions. Launched in the fall of 2011, the site (as The Atlantic Cities) has been the leading source for those who create and influence today's cities. Now, as CityLab.com, it will become a must-read for city-dwellers and those aspiring to live and work there.

"Urbanization is the story of the century," said Sommer Mathis, editor of CityLab.com. "There's never been a greater opportunity and need to make sense of the issues, challenges, and excitement of city life. CityLab will claim this space: explaining the way we live today. Our millions of readers will find the coverage they expect, and we'll reach new audiences in cities all over the world with content that's both relevant and entertaining."

CityLab.com features two new tools, Navigator and CityFixer. Navigator is "the modern urbanist's guide to life," offering tips and strategies for city-living in three sections: Etiquette, How To, and Stuff. Today at Navigator, Jenny Xie has a guide to dating and romance for tiny house enthusiasts, and John Metcalfe takes a hard look at people who pet strangers' dogs. CityFixer offers "solutions for an urbanizing world." The tool collects the best ideas and stories for a dozen of the leading drivers of cities — including schools, civic life, policing, and energy use. A click on "Infrastructure" will surface all past CityLab.com coverage of the topic.

The editorial team is growing to match the expansion of CityLab.com, with twice the number of staff as at launch. The newest addition is staff writer Kriston Capps, a former senior editor at Architect magazine. This year, there is a focus on America's transportation challenges and solutions as part of the ongoing Future of Transportation series supported by The Rockefeller Foundation. Richard Florida, co-founder and editor-at-large of CityLab, continues to be a leading voice on the site.

"This mobile-first, fully responsive, renamed site will better serve our core audience of city builders while helping to further broaden our reach to city dwellers," said James Bennet, president and editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. "It gives our growing CityLab team the showcase their compelling journalism deserves."

With the redesign, CityLab.com is also now responsive across all digital platforms, optimizing for every screen size and built with the mobile user in mind first. The number of mobile unique visitors to the site has grown by nearly 50 percent in the past year. An enhanced story page presents maps, graphs, videos, and photos in a larger and more robust display.

"We launched this site nearly three years ago because we believed our audience would be interested in the rich and revealing stories behind the growth of modern cities," said Bob Cohn, president and COO of The Atlantic. "That experiment has really paid off with readers and advertisers, and also in the events space, with The Atlantic expanding its live business to include conferences on urban issues."

This fall, The Atlantic, the Aspen Institute, and Bloomberg Philanthropies will present the second annual "CityLab: Urban Solutions to Global Challenges," to be held in Los Angeles, on September 28-30. The multiday summit is an extension of CityLab.com and will engage an audience of 400 — including global mayors and urban leaders — in conversations about the bold, scalable ideas and solutions that are transforming metro centers around the world into more livable and sustainable cities.

Siemens, a longtime Atlantic partner, is the exclusive launch sponsor for CityLab.com. Siemens is also the exclusive sponsor of CityFixer.

CityLab.com is part of The Atlantic's digital family, which includes TheAtlantic.com and its socially drive news site The Wire, weekly digital publication The Atlantic Weekly, and a variety of mobile and tablet apps.