All posts in united kingdom
Plan B: personal carbon trading
<!--break--> It's only three years to go to the end of the first period of the Kyoto Protocol, and countries are fishing around for ways to achieve what they have so far failed to do: reduce carbon emissions. The UK might make it personal:Proposals for personal carbon trading aim to cut emissions by giving every person in the country... [read more]
Developing the UK National Ecosystem Assessment
<!--break--> Last week the BES hosted a fascinating workshop on the development of the UK National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA), in conjunction with the UK Biodiversity Reseach Advisory Group (UK-BRAG). A morning of presentations and discussion were followed with lunch and an opportunity for networking, before break-out groups met to... [read more]
What can we learn from this?
<!--break--> News of the UK’s first living wall in Islington, North London which "...died just three years after it was built," has raced across the blogs, as people hover like vultures over what is at least the first visible major failure of a green wall. While it's pretty obvious that the project had some major issues - this is,... [read more]
U.K. Zoo’s Vertical Farming System
<!--break--> The Paignton Zoo in South Devon has implemented a new vertical farming system. According to Greener Buildings, Paignton Zoo is using the VertiCrop system developed by Valcent Products, which is capable of producing 11,000 heads of lettuce every month. ”Eventually the farm will have vertical plots of red... [read more]
New UK high-speed rail plan unveiled
<!--break--> From the BBC New UK high-speed rail plan unveiled The line would serve Birmingham and Manchester, getting passengers from Glasgow to London in just two hours and 16 minutes, the rail firm said. It rejected several alternative routes, including the east of England. Judging from the map (linked below), the architecture... [read more]
The Wire: is Speke really like Baltimore?
<!--break--> Loads of coverage today for Chris Grayling's talk about British inner cities and The Wire. In case you missed it, the Tory shadow home secretary said that our inner cities - like Speke in Liverpool, and Moss Side in Manchester - are now like the most dangerous drug-dealing, gun-toting streets in Baltimore. Here's... [read more]Metro mayors
<!--break--> The Centre for Cities is a big fan of directly-elected, metropolitan mayors. We've been saying for ages that our biggest city-regions like Greater Manchester need directly-elected "metro mayors", with real financial powers - including direct control over transport, housing and training budgets.The Government... [read more]Public sector cities
<!--break--> I was in Sheffield last weekend. The city centre skyline there is very public sector, with lots of buildings adorned with logos like UfI and Sheffield Hallam, alongside the massive DWP and DCSF base at Moorfoot (pictured). Sheffield has seen a 55% increase in public sector employment over the last decade - just... [read more]
I'm sorry, Clay Shirky, nobody knows you around here
<!--break--> No matter how famous you are, it doesn't mean a thing if people haven't heard of you.That sounds like a contradiction in terms. But it isn't: it's just another of those reality checks, and it's closely linked to the last one. Yesterday I was chairing (and speaking at) an event for local government staff in Bradford. It... [read more]Regeneration is unfinished business
<!--break--> The Centre for Cities was quite busy today. We co-produced two reports on regeneration, launched together this morning in London: (1) We wrote Regeneration and the Recession - the latest report from the All Party Urban Development Group; and(2) My colleague, Catherine Glossop, wrote a chapter for Regeneration in a... [read more]
