In this final episode on transit and public space, the New York Times’ Vivian Nereim shares the accelerated transformation of Riyadh as Saudi Arabia attempts to make its capital more livable and attractive to investors and visitors.

When Johannesburg was awarded the 2010 World Cup, the race was on—literally—for the city’s leadership to figure out how to transport large numbers of international fans all across the city. They even took part in an ‘Amazing Race’ style challenge. But, did the investment pay off? Dhashen Moodley finds out.

After being appointed Medellin’s Director of Urban Projects in 2004, Alejandro Echeverri Restrepo and his team quickly realised that a better, more integrated and accessible transport system would be vital. Then a Medellin resident, academic/activist Catalina Ortiz, had just graduated from university. Like many, she was inspired by the momentum she saw in the city. However, she was equally skeptical and was concerned about the many changes she saw in her adopted city and some of their impacts on poor communities.

In 2009, Raul Cardenas Osuna enlisted a motley crew of artists, researchers, designers and scientists to tackle a violence and crime epidemic that plagued Camino Verde, a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Tijuana

Olamide Udoma-Ejorh says Lagos' Eko Atlantic development offers a misplaced narrative that refuses to embrace the realities of life in that city. Edgar Pieterse sees it as one of many projects that provide politicians with irresistible, often unrealistic promises of desperately needed revenues and taxes for their cities

Fashion designer George Azzi and Urbanist Mona Harb love Beirut. They have lived through the city's multiple crises and survived its tragedies. Both are optimistic and willing to fight for its survival. It's worth it; hope lives in Beirut, they say.