Monthly focus

Sustainable cities

01 August 2019

More than half the world’s population lives in cities, making them focal points for cutting emissions and resource-use. Image credit - Unsplash/ Jurriaan Snikkers, licensed under Unsplash license

In August, Horizon takes a look at the quest to make Europe’s cities environmentally sustainable, while also ensuring a healthy and prosperous population. We speak to geographer Professor Harriet Bulkeley on why cities have such an important role in fighting climate change, what it means for a city to be sustainable and the big challenges that lie ahead. We look at the construction of zero-energy housing, homing in on the case of Nottingham, UK, and find out how scientists are putting nature back into the old Spanish capital of Valladolid. We also talk to the city officials breathing new life into historical buildings in Bologna, Italy, and learn how urban planners and architects are taking emotional feedback into account when designing new public spaces and homes.

Reusing historical buildings for new purposes - an urban planning approach known as adaptive reuse - is breathing new life into cities like Bologna. Image credit - Flickr/ Yuri Virovets, licensed under CC BY 2.0

science in society | environment

28 August 2019

Plants and sensors are being used to help Bologna locals rediscover their city

Lining rundown historic areas of cities with plant life and smart sensors and reusing old buildings for new purposes are helping to breathe new life into Europe’s decaying urban spaces.

Integrating nature into cities can provide citizens with urban cooling, cleaner air, regulated water supplies and flood protection. Image credit - Max Pixel, licensed under CC0

environment

19 August 2019

Mobile forests could help cities cope with climate change

Cities across Europe are trialling schemes such as roof gardens and ‘mobile forests’ to embed more nature into urban areas in an effort to protect their citizens from climate change events like heatwaves, floods and droughts.

Retrofitting of houses on a large scale needs to start now to meet 2050 net zero energy target.Image credit - REMOURBAN

energy | environment

12 August 2019

‘Reverse fridges’ and insulated walls – how to make a house carbon neutral

As the world moves towards a carbon neutral future, many different areas from industry to manufacturing are working to reduce their emissions. But scientists are beginning to look at a different area – houses – to work out if it’s possible to reduce emissions from Europe’s homes to zero by retrofitting on a mass scale. And the early signs are promising.

Neurologists, architects, artists, and epidemiologists are collaborating to design cities that could be used to improve well-being among older people. Image credit - Senior Guidance, licensed under CCby2.0

health | ict | industry

06 August 2019

Emotional response to city design could guide urban planning

Virtual reality and scenario-testing models are being built to help urban planners and architects get real-time feedback about the impact of their designs on mental health, particularly for older people.

Focusing on 'boring emissions' rather than 'sexy' ones could do more to tackle climate change, says Prof. Bulkeley. Image credit - Prof. Harriet Bulkeley

interview | environment | policy

01 August 2019

People in cities hold the key to ensuring a sustainable future

Cities have a critical role to play in fighting climate change but hard conversations lie ahead about the best way to achieve the transition to sustainability, according to Harriet Bulkeley, professor of geography at Durham University, UK.

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Global warming has led to widespread shrinking of the frozen parts of Earth, known as the cryosphere, according to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Image credit - NordForsk, licensed under CC BY 2.0

Cryosphere change

In January, we examine how the cryosphere - ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice and other frozen parts of the planet - is changing and what this means for our planet. Earth’s cryosphere reflects the sun’s heat, regulating climate. But as the cryosphere melts, sea levels are rising and there are other impacts too – such as glacier collapse, which can generate massive avalanches. We speak to glacier expert Professor Andreas Kääb about the current state of the planet’s ice and snow and how better satellite measurements can help us understand the impacts of melting. We look at Earth’s so-called 'third pole’ of the Tibetan plateau and how ice melt will affect the millions who live in the mountains and those who depend on its run-off for water. We look at a project drilling in the Antarctic for what could be the world’s oldest ice (1.5 million years old) to see what it can reveal about climate history. And we speak to sea ice scientist Polona Itkin to get a glimpse into a day in her life aboard German icebreaker Polarstern, currently carrying out the largest Arctic expedition in history.

CRISPR-Cas9 is a versatile gene editing system that exploits the way that bacterial immune systems defend against viruses. Image credit - Flickr/ NIH Image Gallery, image is in the public domain

Catching up with CRISPR

Seven years after scientists successfully managed to adapt a gene editing system used by bacteria into one that can be easily used in labs to edit human genes, we take a look at some of the emerging applications and ethical issues of CRISPR-Cas9. We talk to the head of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies about whether the simplicity and low cost of CRISPR means that there is potential for misuse and what should be done about this. We find out how scientists have used CRISPR to create cows lacking two sugars that trigger the human immune system, leading to hopes of longer-lasting heart valves for transplant patients and healthier red meat. And we speak to researchers who are using CRISPR to improve other gene editing technologies.

Light-activated catalysts that can neutralise airborne pollutants are being embedded in paint with a view to cleaning up city air. Image credit - AM Technology

The paints that eat pollutants and heat homes

Applying a coat of paint on the walls of a house may soon help to heat it, saving energy and reducing CO2 emissions. It could also clean the air that we breathe, breaking down chemicals and pollutants, and eliminating harmful pathogens.

There could be a genetic explanation for why some people are more susceptible to ill health following traumatic life events such as a natural disaster. Image credit - Pfc. Nicholas T. Howes, USMC

Genetics could explain how traumatic events affect people's health

Facing the death of a loved one, being given a life-threatening diagnosis, or living through a natural disaster is difficult enough. But those who get through these traumatic life events often face further ill effects.

Sustainable cities

Republish this content

Plants and sensors are being used to help Bologna locals rediscover their city

Mobile forests could help cities cope with climate change

‘Reverse fridges’ and insulated walls – how to make a house carbon neutral

Emotional response to city design could guide urban planning