Sophie Grove
How to mend a city
Detroit is set to witness its first population growth since the 1950s. This is how the city used urbanism to press restart.
Light up
Neon has been big business in Geneva since the 1930s; we find out why the city has been going with the glow ever since.
Cities
The mayor of St Tropez is on a mission to reshape it, what smaller Chinese cities can offer young residents and taking a river dip in Portland, Oregon.
Man about town
We visit the home of writer, broadcaster and raconteur Jonathan Meades to discuss his new cookbook, career as a critic and why food culture today makes him wince.
Europe
Finland’s public saunas, peace on the streets of Paris and a long-overdue opening in Rome.
City saviours
It takes just one passionate patron or business owner to start turning round a city’s fortunes. From encouraging back rare birds to battling poverty, meet our crack squad of urban fixers.
Social climbers
Staircases can trigger conversations, provide a sense of arrival and dazzle with ingenuity. So why are they neglected in the design of so many new projects?
Faith in the future
As resilient and storied as the city she calls home, Marianne Faithfull is far from your average grande rock’n’roll dame.
Diplomacy
We’re on the 26th floor of Hong Kong’s Admiralty Centre to meet France’s consul-general.
Dips at dusk
A long, languorous swim is tranquil, but a dip at nightfall is more soothing still. We visit Iceland, Australia and France to take starlit swims in some of the world’s finest pools.
