Leading Cities

Latest Updates

Posted at 18:55 16 Dec

Are cities as bad for the environment as we think?

File image from 10 April 2015 of London's Waterloo Bridge, with St Paul's Cathedral visible through smog in the background

Paul Swinney

Centre for Cities

Cities have a bad reputation for pollution but - in terms of climate change - that might be unfair.

Posted at 10:23 25 Nov

The towns and cities least likely to vote

Paul Swinney

Centre for Cities

City dwellers tend to vote differently to the rest of the country and this divide is deepening.

Posted at 10:46 16 Oct

The UK's rapid return to city centre living

Mother and baby looking out of their apartment at city beyond

Paul Swinney

Centre for Cities

How city centres once abandoned by residents became the UK's most desirable areas to live.

Posted at 0:50 9 Oct

Google offers tool for cities to measure emissions

A cyclist wearing a breathing mask in central London

Data from Google Maps could help cities plan to lower emissions.

Posted at 10:20 9 Oct

Could vertical forests improve cities and health?

Two residential towers in Milan have over 900 trees and 11,000 plants

These two residential towers in Milan have over 900 trees and 11,000 plants.

Posted at 4:11 2 Aug

Could psychologists help us build happier cities?

"Concrete, parking lots and long walls don't boost our well being"

Life in big cities can be hectic, loud, and challenging to our well being.

Urban planners have long tried to create environments that make living and working in cities easier. But could psychology and neuroscience hold the answer to creating happier urban centres?

Mitchell Reardon is an urban planner with the Happy City consultancy in Vancouver. He has been working with psychologists to design spaces and infrastructure that could make city life 

(Photo: Central Park in Manhattan, New York. Credit: Getty Images)

Posted at 12:28 11 Jul