Nottingham 2018?

FA inspectors were in Nottingham today, finding out more about the proposals for new stadium which is at the centre of the bid to bring the 2018 World Cup to the city.

Nottingham is one of 15 cities (together with Birmingham, Bristol, Derby, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Sunderland) bidding to be a host city... Find out more about Nottingham's bid here.

Eco Towns

You might well have heard in the news that the go-ahead has been given for four new "eco-towns" in England. The idea is that the four new towns will provide an extra 10,000 homes by 2016, and will "showcase environmentally-friendly living" - with charging points for electric cars, zero-carbon buildings, new public transport links, and solar and wind energy.

Full story from the Guardian here, with a nice interactive to show the locations of the four new eco-towns (and the other proposed sites that were rejected).

Nottingham Riviera

Fancy a trip to the seaside? Well, as of next Wednesday, you will not have to travel quite so far... Watch the transformation of Nottingham's Market Square below!

Your neighbourhood?

Thanks to Ian Murray for pointing out this really interesting set of "mental maps" created by teenagers in cities around Britain. The maps were part of a research project by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, looking at young people and territoriality.



Click on the picture above to look at the maps properly, and here for the full research report.

What would your map look like? Are there areas of your neighbourhood where you feel particularly safe or unsafe? Why do you think this is?

A day in the life in logos...

Another nice discovery via Twitter... This is part of 'A day in the life in logos...' Click on the image for the full version. Why not have a go at making your own? Who uses the most - or the fewest - "logos" in a day?

SWAN!!

Exciting news!!!

SWAN is our new seismometer, and will be appearing in the Science Block later this week.... Find out more on the new Swanwick Seismology blog...

A mystery for you...

This computer-generated image shows something that could be coming to a city near you in the next few years... What is it? What will it do? And is it a good idea??

A new type of cloud?

Some fantastic images here, with some interesting ideas from the Cloud Appreciation Society about how clouds should be classified...

How fast is your broadband?

You might well have seen reports in the news over the past couple of days about the speed - or lack of - of broadband in various parts of the country. This "heatmap" shows broadband speeds across the UK... Is there a pattern to it?? Surprises?