At this time of year, high streets and shops across the country are bustling, decked out with lights and colourful decorations, and of course, the familiar Christmas tunes. For many, this is part and parcel of the exciting run up […]
The historic Royal Mile in the centre of Edinburgh was the suitably attractive setting for a conference last week on liveable cities. As Paul Lawrence, Executive Director of Place at Edinburgh City Council, observed, Edinburgh has been grappling with liveability […]
This long, hot summer has certainly been one to remember. But while many of us have enjoyed the sunshine, the soaring temperatures have had a critical effect on air quality, particularly in urban areas. In London and some other UK […]
By Steven McGinty “The role of smart cities is not to create a society of automation and alienation, but to bring communities together”. (Iain Stewart MP) In June, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smart Cities published a report outlining […]
By Steven McGinty Too often, debates on smart cities revolve around terms such as “Internet of things”, “big data”, and “sensors”. However, there is a growing realisation that truly smart cities take a more person-centric approach, which focuses on the […]
This guest blog was written by Mateja Kovacic, Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield. Before I started working on real-world robots, I wrote about their fictional and historical ancestors. This isn’t so far removed from what I do […]
Air pollution is a bigger killer in Europe than obesity or alcohol: nearly half a million Europeans die each year from its effects. Particulate matter (a complex mixture of extremely small dust particles and liquid droplets) and nitrogen dioxide (an […]
By Steven McGinty In cities across the world, there is growing unease at the impact of tech firms on local communities. In San Francisco’s Silicon Valley, “Google Buses” – the corporate commuter buses for Google staff – have been the […]
“In a quality city, a person should be able to live their entire life without a car, and not feel deprived” – Paul Bedford, City of Toronto Planning Director (2014) Improvements to the design and layouts of streets and cities […]
Suicide is the biggest killer of men under the age of 45. Yet people still experience stigma when seeking help for mental illness, despite high-profile discussions of mental health issues such as those by members of the royal family and […]
