#green-belt

#green-belt

"Brooklyn has always been a place where movement is part of daily life. But today, Brooklynites, like all New Yorkers, are moving less, feeling more isolated and dealing with elevated rates of chronic diseases."

In 2025, travel didn't just return to pre-pandemic levels, it surpassed them, highlighting the growing strain on the world's most visited destinations.

Bergs Potter takes the cake for me, closely followed by the majolica-like planters at Williams-Sonoma and a few stylish designs from Ferm Living and Pottery Barn. These planters lean home decor over plastic planters, making them weather-resistant, durable pieces even on a wind-whipped balcony or hurricane-sacked home garden.

Corentin Roudaut, who once felt overwhelmed by Paris's traffic, found renewed confidence in cycling after the establishment of a segregated bike lane on Boulevard Voltaire. He now actively participates in promoting cycling in the city, witnessing a remarkable transformation in urban mobility and safety over the last decade.

The Greenbelt, an over 800,000-hectare ecologically sensitive zone around the Greater Golden Horseshoe, was created in 2005. It provides environmental protection and specifies where development should not occur.

Campaigner Aysha Hawcutt stated that residents were 'not anti-homes', but believed the Adlington plan was 'the wrong proposal in the wrong place'. She expressed pride in the community's resilience against the development threats.

"Why should tubs be relegated to bathrooms?" Poe questions, showcasing his innovative approach to interior design by placing a bathtub in the main living area.

Though they're individually tiny, parking spots quietly play a dominant role in shaping urban landscapes. Most US cities dedicate at least 25% of their developable land to them. Some, even more. That land usage doesn't only determine the way a city looks. It also means covering large swathes of urban areas in heat-absorbing asphalt, which contributes to making summers hotter and heightens the risk of flooding since it prevents drainage during storms and heavy rainfall.

While the data shows 80% of people live within walking distance of green or blue spaces such as a river, park or woodland, it also reveals a disparity between rural and poorer urban areas. In some areas of local authorities, fewer than 20% of residents live close to these spaces, according to data released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on Wednesday.

Jane Jacobs was also one of the voices that challenged this predominantly rationalist logic, arguing that truly vibrant streets are those capable of sustaining the diversity of everyday life, its informal exchanges, and the forms of care and natural surveillance that emerge from them. What these authors share is a fundamental insight: streets are not merely infrastructures for circulation, but social ecosystems, shaped by the relationships, uses, and encounters that take place within them.