THE POWER OF PEOPLE, PLACES & FIRMS
Reading Time: 4 minutesCities often look to one another for solutions to challenges ranging from housing shortages and climate risks to infrastructure pressures and social inequalities. How can cities bridge the gap between inspiration and implementation?
Reading Time: 4 minutesIn rural Laos, Laos Buffalo Dairy rents pregnant buffaloes from farmers, supporting rural families while producing milk commercially, sustaining livelihoods without disrupting traditional local farming practices. But can shared value be a lasting business model?
Reading Time: 3 minutesWhat makes a region attractive? Sometimes, it’s the ability to reinvent itself, and Newcastle, Australia, is a powerful example: competitive regions are not just places that grow, they are places that adapt.
Reading Time: 3 minutesFor small businesses, formalisation should not feel like another administrative burden. Done well, it can become a route to trust, finance and growth. In Somalia, informal shops and traders keep economies alive daily; so, are we formalising for paperwork, or to really help entrepreneurs succeed?
Reading Time: < 1 minute過去20年以上、日本では他地域から東京圏への転入者数を、転出者数が毎年平均10万人を上回ってきました。継続的な首都地域への国内純流入として、OECD諸国の中でも最大規模の例です。また、2000年以降、東京圏以外のほとんどの道府県で人口減少が進んでいます。そして、若者、特に若い女性が、より多くの機会を求めて地方都市から大都市圏へと移り住んでいます。
Reading Time: 4 minutesEl sábado 31 de enero de 2026, una sola nube transformó Maipú en menos de una hora – 17 milímetros de lluvia en cuarenta y cinco minutos, inundando calles y destruyendo viviendas. Las imágenes se difundieron por las redes sociales. Muchos afirmaron que eran falsas. No lo eran. La tormenta devastó a más de mil familias. ¿Cómo usó Maipú los datos en tiempo real para llegar a quienes lo necesitaban?
Reading Time: 3 minutesAI is spreading through the UK economy, but not quickly enough. Recent UK evidence shows that around one in three firms with fewer than 50 employees adopted AI, compared with almost two in three larger businesses, while regional adoption ranged from 32% in the North East to 67% in London. What can government do to close these adoption gaps?
Reading Time: 3 minutesWhen people talk about “the cloud”, it sounds weightless, something almost magical floating in the sky. Except that it isn’t. It lives on the ground, in data centres filled with servers that store, process and move staggering amounts of information every second. These data centres consume energy, occupy land, use metals and minerals from global supply chains – and they need vast amounts of water for cooling.