Seven people talk about how the Covid pandemic has affected their perspective on travelling to workOffices and schools about to reopen – but will commuters return?Six ways to improve your train journey to workAs September approaches, employers are incr…
Offices and schools about to reopen – but will commuters return?
Service levels and jobs as risk as ministers, rail firms and health officials fret over passenger numbers on the railwaysIn all the change and loss during the pandemic, few have mourned the disappearance of the daily commute. Many rail passengers, batt…
How a ‘lazy’ siesta could transform the UK’s working day | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett
Longer breaks could mitigate some effects of extreme weather due to the climate crisisI will confess that my sleepy heart sang when I read the news that the National Trust would be introducing siestas for its staff. My people, I thought. A French frien…
London’s cafe culture has left a sour taste for stressed residents
Licensing outdoor seats saved countless jobs but brings noise and antisocial behaviourContinental Europe has come to the UK – at least when the sun shines. In towns and cities all over the country, alfresco dining has exploded, with thousands of extra …
How to make London greener: stick up a tower block with a roof garden
The idea may not win the Garden Museum’s competition but, as a parody, it deserves a prizeThe Garden Museum in London is running an architectural competition for the design of a pavilion for St Mary’s Gardens, a leafy enclave next to its premises in a …
New York City, I’ve been taking you for granted | Emma Brockes
It’s the second summer of alternative plans, and the city’s parks, libraries and pools suddenly seem remarkableThe rules of New York City’s public swimming pools are stringent: no flotation aids, no coloured T-shirts, no food, no diving – and, most rem…
Weatherwatch: Cardiff taps into its subterranean heat
Pioneering scheme in Welsh capital uses groundwater boreholes to take advantage of urban warmthThe air in urban areas can be up to 3C (5.4F) warmer than in the surrounding countryside, known as the urban heat island effect. But less well known is that …
The lost history of the electric car – and what it tells us about the future of transport
To every age dogged with pollution, accidents and congestion, the transport solution for the next generation seems obvious – but the same problems keep coming backIn the 1890s, the biggest cities of the western world faced a mounting problem. Horse-dra…
Converted offices pose ‘deadly risk’ in heatwaves, experts warn
Weakened planning rules has resulted in fewer checks on post-Covid urban redevelopment, despite worsening climate crisisThe conversion of offices into flats in urban centres poses a “potentially deadly risk” to occupants as the intensity of heatwaves r…
‘We’re back baby’: how this Australian-first Pride Centre is restoring the hope of a neighbourhood
Once the central artery of Melbourne’s counterculture, Fitzroy Street in St Kilda has been down on its luck for decades – but things might be looking upFitzroy Street St Kilda has a shiny new centrepiece – the Victorian Pride Centre has finally opened …