Platform

City of Wuhan taken by Flickr user ChaChaWei published under a Creative Commons license

Smart cities and a working week in Wuhan

In Buildings, Economy and Energy on 15.12.2014
Contributed by Steve Connor

Greater Manchester businesses with a possible part to play in ‘smart city solutions’ are being offered the chance to join a partnership project with Manchester’s sister city, Wuhan in Central China.

Neil Swannick at the Committee of the Regions, Brussels

Q&A: Neil Swannick, Greater Manchester Low Carbon Hub Energy Group

In Energy and Health on 01.12.2014
Contributed by Clare Wiley

Neil Swannick is Chair of the Greater Manchester Low Carbon Hub’s Energy Group. Clare Wiley meets him to discuss the future of energy and why we should be taking our cues from Austria.

Ian Wray’s proposed Pennines National Park

Framing the future, with IPPR’s Great North Plan

In Economy, Green & blue spaces and Transport on 01.12.2014
Contributed by Steve Connor

How do we address huge disparities in infrastructure funding between London and the South East and the rest of Britain? Perhaps we need a Great North Plan.

Ashton charity 2nd Generation Furnishings is now powered by the sun thanks to a generous donation

New Charter Housing lands largest-ever UK solar install

In Buildings, Energy and Housing on 25.11.2014
Contributed by Todd Holden

International “first” solar licence deal will cut electricity bills for up to 4,500 homes in Greater Manchester by around £40m

Platform Live: Food, Cities and Urban Behaviour

In Food, Living and Society on 20.11.2014
Contributed by Rachel Whelan

Platform's first live event featured inspiring talks and discussion from speakers from the city, academia and all over the world as they exlored the challenge and opportunity of sustainability.

Safer streets mean healthier people

In Living, Society and Transport on 20.11.2014
Contributed by Rosslyn Colderley

This week Sustrans is supporting Road Safety Week, an annual campaign organised by the charity Brake, to highlight road traffic accidents and encourage everyone to look out for each other on our roads.

Liège-Guillemins station designed by Santiago Calatrava courtesy of Flickr user Stijn Hosdez

On track for agglomeration: learning from Europe on High Speed Rail

In Economy and Transport on 20.11.2014
Contributed by Steve Connor

Steve Connor reports on the Independent Transport Commission’s new report on the spatial effects of High Speed Rail investment schemes across Europe.

Equity, sustainability and the 'viable economy'

In Economy, Nature and Society on 19.11.2014
Contributed by Mark Burton

Mark Burton presents the Steady State Manchester team's 'Viable Economy' pamphlet

Winning Wildflowers

In Green & blue spaces, Nature and Society on 18.11.2014
Contributed by Dave Barlow

‘Tale of Two Cities’ set to receive £120,000 Big Lottery Funding as it’s unveiled as Grow Wild’s England flagship project

Beautiful, healthy cities? We need a dialogue with Denmark

In Buildings, Economy and Transport on 12.11.2014
Contributed by Steve Connor

Danish and British experts are meeting in Manchester to ask a critical question: how do we create beautiful cities with a more resilient economy, healthier residents and a better quality of life for everyone?