Abandoned buildings can be an eyesore, a blight on a land- or cityscape, and even an embarrassment to many locals. Yet they are all a part of a place’s history and heritage. While not all are worth saving, many heritage buildings deserve a new lease of life. Here, Angelo Sciacca applies his passion for circular economics and participative planning to the problem.
Valencia aims to be a carbon neutral city by 2025 and has adapted a pioneering sustainable tourism strategy. Part of the commitment was to verify its carbon emissions from tourism-related activities, such as transport, accommodation, restaurants and leisure activities. The study showed that 81 per cent of the carbon footprint in the tourism sector came from travel to the city.
As part of the national Green Plan 2030, Singapore wants to switch from being a garden city to being a green city, with the vision of being a sustainable and innovative urban destination. One of Singapore’s advantages is that it has a government leading the country towards being carbon neutral, instead of relying only on the private sector.
A new sleeper train route linking Prague, Dresden, Berlin, Amsterdam and Brussels adds to the biggest planned extension of the European night train network in years. Concerns about climate change and Covid-19 are changing people’s travel preferences and some train journeys are in fact faster than flying.
On the two-decade anniversary of his travel company, Responsible Travel, Justin Francis reflects on just how far the industry has come and where it’s going next. He suggests nothing is possible unless we first reduce carbon emissions and restore nature and that the only way forward is to consult more closely with local people.
