Tomos Lewis
The opener
We get sociable with co-working spaces and consider two very different approaches to national pride. First up, a quick fix in Milan, Washington’s explosive exhibition and Portland puts opera on the menu.
Local authority
Be it Brazil or Beirut, effective urban regeneration needs ideas from residents who understand their city’s problems and potential. Here’s a global line-up of innovative citizen initiatives.
The opener
We swig Vienna’s wonderful water and find out why ditching the car has made one writer a joyrider. Plus: Vancouver’s mini libraries, Latin American litter pickers and Berlin’s barbecues.
Architecture
We help Sydney improve the quality of after-life, meet the Vietnamese designers looking to the past for new solutions and venture into the dapper new showroom of an Italian design giant.
Editor’s letter
In stormy times, a crisis presents an opportunity to set a new course. Considering a move to Zürich, Hamburg or Fukuoka? Our editor weighs up the possibilities for a better quality of life.
Shop, read, listen
Folksy plates, charming ceramics and the sharpest of knives, plus a rooftop escape, the best in books and the tastiest tipples for your drinks cabinet.
Travel
From Catskills lodges welcoming creative New Yorkers back to nature, to restored Japanese farmhouses and a eucalyptus-scented Portuguese hideaway — independent hotels are rewriting the rules of escape.
Politics
The unlikely rise of Rob Ford’s brother in Ontario and female representation in the Lebanese parliament.
Plante life
Montréal’s first woman mayor is using the city’s economic upswing to drive socially minded change. But only months into the job she’s found herself in storms of protest – and deep snow.
