The week, I’m bringing you a special edition of my Friday 5. The award-winning magazine Scientific American has recently public a special edition on cities. The magazine believes that the city is a solution to the problems of our age. With this in mind, this issue of topical articles focuses on how cities can become better, greener and smarter.

While you will need to buy a hard copy from your favorite magazine dealer to get the full content, the magazine has published several web exclusives. Here are 5 of my favourite:

• The Smartest Cities Will Use People as Their Sensors: [Video Essay] By networking people and their gadgets, urban apps will tell inhabitants what is happening all around them, in real-time.

• Case Studies on Urban Revitalization: Economist Edward Glaeser explains why some U.S. metropolises have bounced back from adversity–and why others will not.

• Bold Solutions Make Real Cities More Efficient: [Interactive] Municipalities worldwide are introducing a host of creative solutions to cut energy consumption, water use, waste and emissions, while also making it easier for people to get around.

• Making Cities Better: Answers from The Scientific American Survey: Walkable metropolises and health clubs would improve the experience of living in urban areas.

• Cities in Fact and Fiction: An Interview with William Gibson: Author of the cyberpunk novel Neuromancer, William Gibson talks about the relationship between his fiction and the contemporary urban landscape.