The latest issue of Wired UK, "Rebooting Britain", has a piece by me on how cities can help us to save the planet.

It's based on research I'm doing for my next book which explores the past, present and future of cities. Here's a taster:

"For the first time in history, more than half the world's population live in cities: by 2030, three out of five people will be city dwellers. But the British are bucking this trend. The 2001 census revealed an "exodus from the cities". Since 1981, Greater London and the six former metropolitan counties of Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands and West Yorkshire have lost some 2.25 million people in net migration exchanges with the rest of the UK; in recent years this trend has accelerated. This is not sustainable. British people need to be cured of the insidious fantasy of leaving the city and owning a house in the country: their romantic dream will become a nightmare for people elsewhere on the planet."

There's also a great piece by science fiction author Paul McAuley on the technological changes that could make cities carbon neutral:

"From the air, the ideal green city should resemble Mayan ruins poking out of a lush forest. Under the canopy, there'll be densely populated but diverse and vibrant streets humming with every kind of human life. Utopian? You bet."

Read my article here and Paul's here.