FROM THE EDITOR
There’s a song that epitomises my thoughts about life in the city. It goes “New York, I love you. But you’re bringing me down”. I imagine this sums up the love affair many of us have with the cities we live in, even if it’s not the Big Apple. Life in the city comes at a cost. Not just the obvious one (the money it takes to keep you alive and off the street) but the toll it can take on your physical and mental wellbeing.
The pandemic, which kept us shut in our homes and taught us to work remotely, seems to have shone a harsh light on that trade-off. The air pollution, congestion, lack of green space, noise and everything in between, now seems like too high a price to pay for many. Realising this, people have started quitting their jobs and leaving the city – and in such great numbers that some are calling it the Great Resignation.
We’re perhaps still too close to the pandemic to see the effect all this will have, but the powers that be seem to have taken note and, like the rest of us, are viewing this moment as an opportunity for change. Now, urban planners around the world are dreaming up new ways to improve our ageing cities, and tempt some of us to stay in them. Across the channel, Paris is planning to transform the Champs-Élysées into one enormous garden, and the city’s Mayor intends to turn Parisian rooftops green and build the world’s largest urban farm. Clearly, there’s an appetite for change. So head to over to Future Cities to find out some of the best ways we could transform our urban landscapes.
Enjoy the issue!
Daniel Bennett, Editor
CONTRIBUTORS
DR DONNA KEAN
They might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but we’re besotted with the hero rats who are being trained to find people buried under earthquake rubble.
DR HELEN PILCHER
Helen explores the world of animal vision and reveals how different ocular arrangements can help them catch their dinner or avoid becoming a meal themselves.
DR STUART CLARK
This month, astronomy writer Stu stays a little closer to home and takes a look at how close we’re getting to achieving nuclear fusion – the very same process that powers the Sun.
PROF DANN MITCHELL
Pakistan saw the mercury rise to 51⁰C in June. Dann explains whether extraordinary heat like this will become more common as the planet’s climate changes.
ON THE BBC THIS MONTH…
Seven Days on Mars
Brian Cox gets unprecedented access to the control room of the Mars Perseverance Rover and the Ingenuity helicopter as they explore the Martian surface looking for signs of life.
iPlayer
How COVID changed science
The pandemic put a fire under researchers and fast-forwarded traditional scientific processes. Prof Devi Sridhar takes a look at how the last two years have changed medicine for better or worse.
BBC Radio 4, 8 July, 11am. Also available on BBC Sounds
CrowdScience: What is healthy hair?
We love our hair, hence the internet is awash with tips and advice for looking after your locks. But what does it really mean to have healthy hair? The CrowdScience team brushes up to find the most environmentally friendly way to keep your barnet in tip-top condition.
BBC World Service, 1 July, 8:30pm. Also available on BBC Sounds
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