Zoning Out: Exclusive Baghdad District Rejoins Iraq!

Baghdad's Green Zone – which has been off-limits to the public since the 2003 invasion of #Iraq by the Coalition of the Willing – is now completely accessible 'twenty-four hours a day without any exceptions or conditions' #GreenZone

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) June 6, 2019

The Green Zone is a 10-square-kilometre area in the western half of #Iraq's capital which contained the heavily-fortified headquarters of US officials during the calamitous occupation of Western Asia's most war-weary country

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) June 6, 2019

Analysis: the removal of over 12,000 concrete walls from the Green Zone and its reintegration into the urban fabric of #Baghdad represents a genuine milestone along #Iraq's rocky road to normality, but incredible challenges remain

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) June 6, 2019

To watch: feral levels of #corruption, grotesque inequalities and horrifying war-related #pollution will dominate #Iraq's agenda in the coming years as an emerging middle class continues to demand more of its elected officials https://t.co/p2Nl6SxC4B

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) June 6, 2019

Advertisements

Brand New Start: Big Apple Abolishes Alcohol Advertising! #NewYorkCity

New York City: advertisements for #alcohol are now banned on most municipal-owned properties, including bus shelters, newsstands and #LinkNYC kiosks

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) May 6, 2019

#NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio cited his city's commitment to #health equity and well-being in a statement on the Big Apple's #alcohol advertising ban; the relevant executive order went into force on 30/04/2019

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) May 6, 2019

Analysis: the idea that New York City would ban #alcohol advertising would have been almost unthinkable a decade ago, but this legislation is underpinned by enormous cultural shifts #NYC #alcoholadvertising

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) May 6, 2019

To watch: New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority ('MTA') ended alcohol advertising on the city's subway system and bus network as of 01/01/2018; many others may follow suit in the coming years https://t.co/fBNsG3x76R #NewYorkCity

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) May 6, 2019

Red Square, 2.0: Berlin Property Madness Sparks Socialist Legislative Insurrection!

Campaigners in #Berlin are planning a citywide #referendum on the question of 'socialising' around 0.2m apartments, with an estimated 55% of respondents said to be in favour of the proposed expropriation #socialism #capitalism #Germany

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) April 3, 2019

#Berlin – for so long a true bargain basement big city of dirt-cheap rents and excellent public transport – has seen the cost of #housing shoot skywards in the past few years, with a stunning ▲20.5% y-o-y property prices spike in 2017 alone #Germany

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) April 3, 2019

Analysis: Deutsche Wohnen – the real estate behemoth whose flats are in the campaigners' crosshairs – would have to be compensated to the tune of €28.8bn-€36bn for the confiscation of its assets, which suggests that a more gradualist, less confrontational path is favourable

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) April 3, 2019

To watch: understandable frustration with grotesque social #inequalities is going to result in ever-shriller populist responses, but simple and decisive tweaks to fiscal and monetary policies could yet be more effective in the long term #populism #Berlin https://t.co/N9WNli3K2w

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) April 3, 2019

On Top of the World: #Berlin Opens Roof Garden Purse Strings! #ParisAgreement

The Senate of #Berlin has promulgated plans to invest €1.5m in installing green roofs across Germany's capital, allowing homeowners to apply for grants to transform the top level of their residences #environment

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 28, 2019

Numerous German cities have embraced the green roof concept wholeheartedly, but #Berlin's move is significant given the potential for temperature modification in a city with a notoriously binary climate

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 28, 2019

Analysis: some affluent German cities now boast green roofing in the hundreds of thousands of square metres, with urban municipalities generously subsidising their installation #environment #ParisAgreement #Berlin #Dusseldorf

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 28, 2019

To watch: the adoption of simple, easy-to-implement environmental solutions with quality of life augmentation effects is going to be a real litmus test of governmental imagination #ParisAgreement https://t.co/klBmann6Oi

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 28, 2019

Capital Flows: Beijing’s Economic Expansion Smashes All Records! #China

FT: the city of #Beijing saw its economy expand by 1,200% from 1998 to 2017, reflecting one of the most remarkable urban transformations in recorded history #China #economics

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 27, 2019

The Chinese capital's 'economic miracle' meant its 1998–2017 growth rate outpaced that of even traditional international financial centre #Shanghai, which expanded by around 800% during the same period #Beijing #China

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 27, 2019

Analysis: while #GDP is far from being a universally useful measurement, #Beijing's statistics remain unbelievably impressive, with much of the city's development having taken place since the 2008 Summer Olympics

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 27, 2019

To watch: the challenge for city planners in #China's capital is to largely supplant purely quantitative measurements of progress with qualitative ones; just 5% of #Beijing's municipal land is devoted to green space (cf. 20% in #Shanghai) https://t.co/pfJOxJVHEe

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 27, 2019

Ticket to Ride: Luxembourg Makes Public Transport Free!

#Luxembourg is set to make travel on its trams, trains and buses completely free by 03/2020, turning the purportedly anonymous financial services centre into a public transport pioneer overnight #publictransport #publictransit

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 4, 2019

Intriguingly, #Luxembourg's free public transport plan has an international dimension as it includes #rail services arriving in the territory from Belgium, France and Germany #publictransport

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 4, 2019

Analysis: #Luxembourg's abolition of public transport fees aims to dramatically wean the nation of just over 0.6m off its automobile addiction; the Grand Duchy possesses the highest rate of private car ownership (662 passenger vehicles/1,000 people) in the entire #EU

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 4, 2019

To watch: the real significance of #Luxembourg's embrace of zero-cost public transport will be felt in debates far beyond its borders, with intra-city mechanised travel possibly eventually assuming the status of a human right https://t.co/b8sbjj7bJe

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 4, 2019

Off the Rails: HS2 Cycleway Cancellation ‘Highlights Rampant Innumeracy’! #HS2

Both the UK government and HS2 Limited are ruling out funding a national cycleway that would have run parallel to the controversial infrastructure project and delivered a return on investment up to 533% greater than the rail line itself #HS2 #highspeedrail

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) February 3, 2019

The UK authorities have effectively ignored a 2014 #business case report for the national cycleway, leaving the c.11.7m people living within just three miles (4.82km) of the proposed national route both without a new major cycle route and out of pocket #HS2 #cycling #edu

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) February 3, 2019

Analysis: the United Kingdom is rapidly descending into a nation addicted to senseless and mathematically insane austerity; this does not bode well for its chances of retaining any kind of world role post-#Brexit #HS2

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) February 3, 2019

To watch: having declined to provide a major 'no-brainer' cycle path, the UK government is now on track to miss its own 2025 #cycling trips target; gross incompetence of this kind is becoming all too commonplace https://t.co/89VidhSciD #cyclinglife #cyclinglifestyle

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) February 3, 2019