CATEGORY

Editorial

Train Drain: Why We Shouldn’t (Always) Travel Sustainably

Sustainability needs a warning label. The somewhat tongue in cheek Godwin’s law suggests that in any online discussion going on long enough, someone will make a comparison with the Nazis. In a similar way, it...

From Nero to Zero – The Unspoken Exclusion of Smartphones

A funny thing happened on the way to the forum. During a recent trip, my enquiry into departure times for the shuttle bus connecting sites of Pompeii was met with a bark of, “Check the...

Salary Without a Job: The Dream of Supposedly Work-Shy Gen-Z

Those born between 1997 and 2012 represent the first generation growing up with smartphones – and are considered by some not to be big fans of (hard) work. If true, they’d surely welcome the introduction...

Urban Noise – Nuisance or Necessity?

Proving humans’ unparalleled capability for confounding logic, the daylight hours of 31 December in Graz were punctuated with the whizz-pop of fireworks. The magical glittery hues may have been lost to an unseasonal sunny backdrop,...

Hypocritesmas: The Seasonal Scourge of Light Pollution

Oh joy! It’s that time of year again. For what feels like months already we’ve been wading through the drawn-out build-up to Christmas. Shops are once again subjecting their staff to the saccharin mental torture of...

Just What is the Beef with Meat?

There’s a lot to be said for going vegan. That must be why they drone on about it all the time! Like other drones, don’t you wish they would just fly off? But let’s give...

EVs Only Solve One Problem: the Future Viability of the Vehicle Industry

Let's be completely clear. The only problem that electric vehicles (EVs) resolve is the continued profitability of the vehicle-manufacturing industry. It is a solution created by the industry for the industry, which has no...

A Conundrum of Common Courtesy: How Can Decency Deliver Better Cities?

In 2015, a London cyclist clashed with a pedestrian, knocking her unconscious and leaving her with scars and broken teeth. It sent the media into a frenzy. Front and centre of the story was the...

Colonial Urbanism: Polycrisis Guaranteed by Design

Cities across the Global South remain firmly in the grips of their colonisers’ “innovations”, hosting entrenched centuries-old systems and practices of abuse and exploitation that disrupt health and life across the planet.  Approaches to...

Do the Right Thing: Who’s Responsible for Climate Action?

It’s not always easy being responsible. As the (delayed) train journey home from the Urban Future conference in Stuttgart entered its eleventh hour, a creeping thought formed: had we taken a flight, we could have...

Overpopulation Is No Laughing Matter

One of the rules of comedy, so I've been told, is to talk about what you know. That's why many stand-up routines over the past couple of years are based on personal accounts of COVID-19. I...

Climate What? Choose Your Words Carefully

In the realm of climate change and sustainability, how much do the words we use matter? A lot. As any linguist will tell you, language shapes our relationship with the world around us. Recently, a colleague...

Sharing is Caring – So Why Do Pedestrians Lose the Fight for Space?

As a pedestrian, have you ever crossed the road and waved in appreciation to the driver who stopped to let you go, despite it being you right of way? And how many times have you...

Why Controversy Matters: An Intro to Our Editorials

CityChangers.org has introduced this series of editorials as a chance for our writing team and guests to air personal opinions on the problems, solutions, and lived experiences in our urban spaces. In this first...