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Britain’s post-war new towns and “garden cities” were built with cars in mind, and expanded outwards not upwards. Milton Keynes, for instance, has about a third the population density of a traditional city.
These days, many planning academics say this was a mistake, arguing that living closer together in walkable neighbourhoods makes people happier and is better for the environment.
As the UK plans its first series of new towns in decades, James White and Hannah Hickman look at the case for creating denser communities – and why the housing industry would rather build low-rise estates.
As the Bayeux Tapestry comes to London, historian Catherine Clarke says it tells only the winner’s side of the story. She says English “guerilla poetry” at the time describes an oppressive conquest and an increasingly militarised landscape engineered by the Normans.
Meanwhile, Nigel Farage’s £5 million gift from a crypto billionaire is coming under further scrutiny. Sam Power, an expert on money in politics, asks five key questions.
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Will de Freitas
Environment + Energy Editor
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Richard Whitcombe / shutterstock
James White, University of Glasgow; Hannah Hickman, University of the West of England
But economic and cultural forces mean dense housing is harder to develop than low-rise sprawl.
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King Harold swearing oath on holy relics to William, Duke of Normandy.
Wikimedia
Catherine Clarke, School of Advanced Study, University of London
The story of the losers is full of meaningful silences and William of Normandy’s terror.
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EPA/ANDY RAIN
Sam Power, University of Bristol
Should voters – and Reform UK – be worried about the size of the gift?
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World
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Laura Wise, University of Edinburgh
The current pattern of short-term ceasefires with fragile extensions is likely to continue.
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Paul Whiteley, University of Essex
Even before the US-Israeli war on Iran this year, many of America’s allies had a lack of confidence in the Trump administration.
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Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham
Russia is clearly now the junior partner in its ‘no-limits friendship’ with China.
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Arts + Culture
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Ed Krčma, University of East Anglia; Jessica Barker, Courtauld Institute of Art
Saint Benedict imagined a life of stability, community and measure; one devoted to the care for souls and, ultimately, to spiritual salvation.
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Victoria-Elliot Bush, Queen Mary University of London
Yoda’s word order mirrors the syntax of British Sign Language.
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Education
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Faith Martin, University of Bath
Young people across different cultures describe self-harm less as a symptom of mental health difficulties, and more as a response to unbearable pressures.
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Environment
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Muhammad Imran, Aston University
The solution is not to eliminate carbon from industry but to change where it comes from.
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Health
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Peter Tennant, Yale University; University of Leeds
Visiting galleries might enrich your life, but the evidence that it slows your ageing is less certain than recent headlines suggest.
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Ahmed Elbediwy, Kingston University; Nadine Wehida, Kingston University
Actor Mel Gibson claims that two deworming drugs taken together can cure people of stage 4 cancer.
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Science + Technology
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Andrew C Marr, Queen's University Belfast; Paul Anastas, Yale University
Chemists have been working on new approaches to reducing waste and finding new functions for existing materials.
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Podcasts
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Louise Gentle, Nottingham Trent University
The female animals that go it alone.
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Gemma Ware, The Conversation
Economist Can Cinar talks to The Conversation Weekly podcast about how Javier Milei’s policies to cut inflation are making Argentinians feel poorer.
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2 March - 30 September 2026
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5 May - 3 June 2026
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