Lockdowns are loosening in the UK, but tightening up across much of Europe. Researchers meanwhile, have begun thinking about what the long-term impacts of this pandemic might be on societies. Among the leading figures considering this question are Hetan Shah, chief executive of the British Academy, Sir Geoff Mulgan, professor of collective intelligence, public policy and social innovation at UCL, and Deirdre Hennan, professor of social policy at Ulster University. Today they join Jo Adetunji, managing editor of The Conversation in the UK, for a live webinar in partnership with the International Public Policy Observatory. It is free to watch from 2pm BST on Facebook, YouTube and on Twitter. No registration is needed.

One shift seen during the past year in many locked down societies has been towards “active transport” such as walking and cycling. Nearly half of the fall in daily carbon emissions during global lockdowns in 2020 came from reductions in transport emissions, writes Christian Brand, an associate professor of transport at Oxford University. Brand also discovered that bikes were 30 times better on emissions than fossil fuel cars – and ten times better than electric ones. Whereas electric cars are still quite expensive and carry their own carbon baggage, he argues that bikes and other forms of active travel, such as walking and e-biking, are the best bet for leading the first leg in the race to create net-zero cities.

Today, we also bring you a fascinating long read on a Renaissance nose job and a report on the new CCTV technology being deployed in a bid to make Britain’s streets safer.

Contact us here to have your event listed.

For sponsorship opportunities, email us here