Editor Tom Pattinson introduces the brand new difficulty of Constructive Information journal, which is out now
What makes a metropolis linger within the thoughts? Maybe the glimmering skyline that comes into view by way of a prepare window. Possibly the smells and sounds of an unfamiliar avenue at nightfall, or the reassuring stroll house by way of a well-known neighbourhood. Cities are formed as a lot by tradition and neighborhood as by bricks and buildings. They’re locations the place concepts collide, traditions take root and tens of millions of lives overlap, day after day.
In the Jan-Mar difficulty of Constructive Information journal, we take a detailed have a look at city dwelling, not as an summary idea however as a lived expertise. We think about what a metropolis designed from scratch in the present day may seem like tomorrow, and discover how new applied sciences are already reshaping streets and buildings in older cities, making them extra environment friendly, simpler to navigate, extra sustainable and, crucially, extra humane.
We additionally flip our consideration to the individuals shaping their cities from the bottom up. From native teams taking up key companies to organisations working to make city life extra welcoming and purposeful, these tales present how cities evolve by way of collective effort, not simply grand plans.
Public debate typically paints a bleak image of city life, however after we appeared intently on the knowledge and spoke to these engaged on the entrance line, a extra balanced story emerged. Whereas some financial crimes are growing, violent crime, together with knife crime, is falling in lots of locations. In actual fact, throughout a lot of the world, murder charges proceed to say no. It’s a reminder that headlines hardly ever inform the entire story.
Elsewhere, we communicate to writer Ian McEwan about how he imagines the long run, go to a theatre firm opening inventive doorways for individuals with expertise of the jail system and meet older activists who’ve traded slippers for spray cans. We journey to France to a care house created for the LGBTQIA+ neighborhood, and to Denmark to discover what an offline vacation can provide.
Collectively, they present that the way forward for our cities rests much less of their structure than within the decisions, care and creativity of the individuals who inhabit them.
Cowl illustration: Andrea Manzati
