염소가 도시농업의 미래가 될 수 있을까

Goats in Washington head out to clean up brush, eliminate weeds and fertilise the ground. Photograph: Charles Dharapak/AP

Our best city stories this week include eco-friendly urban goats for hire, abandoned islands on New York's periphery, "monotowns" in Russia and a city in China that has been creating new buildings to appear more ancient.

We'd love to hear your responses to these stories and any others you've read recently, both at Guardian Cities and elsewhere: share your thoughts in the comments below.

Bring in the goats

What are the tools to revitalise a neighbourhood? Community centres, greenery... and goats? A billionaire in Detroit recently tried to implement his vision to raise 18 goats on the abandoned lots of Detroit, employing local people in the process. After only two days, however, the goats were kicked out due to legal restrictions on farm animals in the city.

This npr blog post explains that goats are in fact an eco-friendly landscaping option, clearing overgrown land and rendering it ideal for crop-growing. In San Francisco, this has even turned in to a business,City Grazing, that rents out goats as "environmentally friendly weed eaters on hooves." Could this be the future of urban agriculture?

China's faux 'ancient city'

Datong, a city in China's Shanxi province, is a place in suspension: in the midst of being turned in to a form of historic theme park, work halted.This article from CityLab explains how the city's former mayor, Geng Yanbo, put in motion a plan to demolish parts of the old city and replace them with buildings in an "ancient style." In the process, homes and factories were torn down; real life negated at the expense of tourist spectacle.

But after widespread protestations, Geng Yanbo departed Datong. He left behind him a city half in rubble, "with residents living along garbage-strewn streets, next to the massive new temples and pagodas."

Abandoned islands in the Bronx

Just within the borders of Bronx County, in New York, lie a group of 20 islands known as the "Devil’s Stepping Stones." As Untapped Cities tells us, these islands have been nautical landmarks, lunatic asylum homes and the location for radio towers - but many of them are now totally abandoned. It seems that Venice is not alone in having deserted islands on the city's peripheries.

Russia's 'monotowns'

We can always rely on The Calvert Journal for a dose of excellent photography. Our recent gallery on the "brutalist suburbs" of St Petersburg showcased some of the best. This week, as part of their Invisible Cities project, they immerse us in the world of Russia's "monotowns", provincial towns built to service enormous - and now closed - factory complexes. Many years after their creation, the towns lie largely forgotten - but these photographs take a close and fascinating look at their unique identity.

For more great reporting on Russia, check out our recently launchedNew East network.

Pedestrian Istanbul

One issue that last year's Gezi Park protests drew urgent attention to was the importance and value of truly public spaces in our cities. Sonews of Gehl Architects' efforts to sensitively pedestrianise Istanbul form a positive step in the right direction. Jan Gehl and his practice have always prioritised the human urban experience and our desire for social interaction in inclusive spaces. An accessible and pedestrian Istanbul could demonstrate to many other cities the importance of valuing citizens and their public places.