MARK BURRY

“For years Sydney had earned a reputation as an anti-cycling city. Long-running disagreements between the City of Sydney council and the NSW government slowed cycleway construction, and in 2015 the separated bike path along College Street in the city centre was ripped up. But now attitudes are changing and the pace of building has rapidly increased, hastened by the Covid lockdown in 2020. Ambitious plans for a striking new path down the middle of Oxford Street highlight how the city is embracing the increased demand for cycling and mark a hopeful new era for cycling in the harbour city”

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jan/09/sydney-cycling-has-the-city-that-hates-bikes-finally-turned-the-corner?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

“Human populations are set to decline in countries from Asia to Europe – and an unusual form of rewilding is taking place”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/24/as-birth-rates-fall-animals-prowl-in-our-abandoned-ghost-villages

“It is a trend that could reshape regional economies for decades to come. Record numbers of Australians are turning their backs on pandemic-hit big cities, taking advantage of being able to work from home, and relocating to commutable country towns and their lure of open space, fresh air and cheaper housing. This, in turn, is creating new jobs and business opportunities.”

http://www.afr.com/real-estate/commercial/the-boom-in-country-towns-is-no-flash-in-the-pan-20210120-p56vnl?btis

San Francisco office market in collapse as tech workers stay home | San Francisco | The Guardian

“As Silicon Valley businesses shutter offices, the city looks very different. But will the change outlast the coronavirus?”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/14/san-francisco-office-leases-tech-industry-covid

“Authors including Nnedi Okorafor, Kim Stanley Robinson and Alastair Reynolds reveal what does, and doesn’t, go into creating their worlds.”

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jan/05/if-the-aliens-lay-eggs-how-does-that-affect-architecture-sci-fi-writers-on-how-they-build-their-worlds