London Air Pollution ‘dangerously High’

Quite the opposite, claims Hill. A lot of clients, theyre struggling for meeting space in Central London. Theyre really happy to come to us. Weve got a huge space. Weve got a Muay Thai boxing gym in here, so we have two boxing rings in the office people find it quite quirky. If were going to meet clients, then the fact that we can show them an interesting space that isnt just four desks in a really expensive Shoreditch office gives us some more credibility, Hill says. And The Downsides If Hill and other West London startups have the classic advantages of the gentrification pioneer big, character filled spaces in which to create he also faces some of the same challenges. The biggest one? Imminent interest in the transforming neighborhood that will shift the real estate market once again. FIGs warehouse home is slated for demolition in the next few years to make way for an expansion of the shopping center that also serves as its landlord, so the incubator is already making plans for a move. Were already looking for where might the next big warehouse project is that we can take over and bring in even more exciting businesses, Hill says. That might be a hassle for the companies in FIG Village, but its good news for the city, Hill feels. I certainly think West London is changing. The Chelsea/Kensington area is trying to make a push for having some level of tech presence as well, as is Notting Hill, he reports.

Local environment groups placed 36 diffusion monitoring tubes on structures close to parks, bus stops, busy roads and in residential areas, to measure emissions in more than 30 streets. They were left for four weeks and only four were removed or stolen.Analysis by a laboratory used by government found that concentrations of the toxic exhaust pipe gas nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exceeded EU levels by over 50 per cent in some areas, and was over the safety limit in 15 out of 32 places tested. The results are alarming, say the groups, because colourless, odourless NO2 pollution is cumulative and the 15 sites surpassed the annual safety limit after only four weeks. The experiment suggests that official testing of roadside air pollution is limited and insufficient. Many of the tubes measured emissions in streets that are never monitored, and those placed near official monitors mostly recorded levels above those published by government. Air pollution from traffic in east London is considered by health experts to be some of the worst in Britain, mostly affecting the old and young and linked to respiratory and heart diseases. It is estimated that air pollution kills over 4,000 people in the city each year. The Green party assembly member Darren Johnson said on Friday that Londonas air pollution was an aabsolute crisis.a Environment groups expect air pollution to deteriorate further in east London if two major infrastructure developments are permitted. City airport has submitted plans which could allow it to add 50,000 more flights a year. The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, also wants a new Thames road crossing that could massively increase traffic. aOur sampling showed that in key public locations readings are breaching EU guidelines. We are being asked to believe that the massive expansion of London city airport will have only a negligible impact on air quality. This shows it is simply not the case,a said Alan Haughton of Stop City Airport. By arrangement with the Guardian

Premiership: London Irish 18-13 Harlequins

Irish were dealt a setback early on when Kieran Low was taken off with a shoulder injury, but Geragthy soon booted his side in front. Evans levelled things up, before Quins suffered their own injury disappointment as Tom Casson was forced to make way. Geraghty and Evans were once again successful from the tee, but the Irish fly-half missed the opportunity to give his side a half-time lead, opting for a quick tap when presented with a penalty 20 metres out. After Evans and Botica failed to fire between the posts and put the visitors in front, Irish grew in confidence in the pack and Cowan took advantage to drive over for his first try for the club, with Geragthy kicking the extras. And shortly after the restart Quins surrendered possession and Topsy Ojo kicked Lewington through for a well-finished score. England scrum-half Care stepped off the bench and coasted in from 25 metres to bring Quins back into the game and although Evans converted to put Quins into bonus-point territory, Irish, who tackled brilliantly all game, were resolute enough to see it through. London Irish director of rugby Brian Smith: “It was by no means a perfect performance but we found a way to get over the line. “Every time we had a hurdle we found a way to get over it and I am very proud of the squad. “It was a really courageous performance, especially after we lost Kieran Low after three minutes. We knew that they would throw the kitchen sink at us but you don’t beat Quins by surprise or chance so we deserve a lot of credit.” Harlequins director of rugby Conor O’Shea: “In the first half we had nearly all the territory and possession but we had inaccuracies all over the place. “I’m really frustrated by our performance as you can’t go out and play with such lack of precision and control.” SATURDAY’S SQUADS London Irish: Ojo, Yarde, Mulchrone, Sheridan, Lewington, Geraghty, O’Leary, Yapp, Paice, Halavatau, Skivington, Gough, Low, Cowan, Treviranus. Replacements: Tagicakibau for Mulchrone (61), Dorrian for Geraghty (78), Allinson for O’Leary (66), Parr for Yapp (70), Hagan for Halavatau (63), Evans for Gough (61), Sinclair for Low (2). Not Used: Stevens.

London steals title of best city in the world from Paris

But the City of Light, one of the most visited cities in the world, has been knocked off its perch as best city in the world by London and Sydney in a new index released this week. According to the latest edition of the Anholt-GfK City Brands Index which measures a citys brand image, power and appeal, Londons stock has gone up in the world as it took the top spot in the biennial ranking. Possible reasons could include the fact that the city continues to bask in the afterglow of a successful Summer Olympic Games and has maintained a presence in the international spotlight with a string of historic milestones that include the Queens Coronation ceremony and the highly anticipated birth of a new royal with the arrival of Prince George. London also took the top spot as the city where individual cultures are appreciated and where foreigners can “easily fit in.” The Aussie capital of Sydney, meanwhile, enjoys a stellar reputation around the world for being the safest and friendliest city. The City Brands index measures the value of a citys international reputation across six dimensions: its international status and standing; esthetic; a category called pre-requisites such as affordable accommodations and the standard of public amenities; people; pulse (interesting things to do) and its economic and educational potential. More than 5,140 interviews were conducted in Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Russia, South Korea, the US and the UK for the index. And while Paris was able to take the top spot in the category of Pulse, where the city failed to crack the top 10 ranking was in categories such as Friendly People and Safety. This summer, in a bid to shed their longstanding image of being rude and surly, the citys chamber of commerce published an etiquette manual for Parisian restaurateurs, taxi drivers and sales staff on how to welcome international tourists. …despite its indisputable charm, the capital has work to do when it comes to welcoming visitors, the chamber admits. And earlier this year, high-profile muggings of Chinese tourists robbed of their passports, plane tickets and cash shortly after landing in Paris tarnished the citys image, as did footage broadcast worldwide of soccer-related riots which broke out not far from the Eiffel Tower. Meanwhile, other notable movements on the index include Tokyo, which suffered a 7-spot drop from tenth place in 2011 to 17th place in 2013. Amsterdam, meanwhile, shot up the ranks from 17th spot to 11th position this year. And while Rio de Janeiro was ranked the third friendliest city on the list, the city fell to the bottom of the heap when it comes to safety (47 out of 50) — a particular concern given it’s set to host the World Cup and the Summer Olympics, the report points out.