The month ahead

Forget fleeing to the countryside: this month, all the beautiful people are keeping it urban. As author Leo Hollis unleashes Cities are Good for You (Bloomsbury), the benefits of “positive urbanisation” will be explored at the Future of Places forum in Stockholm from 24th to 26th June (www.futureofplaces.com). The forum will try to tease out why some cities are sublime and others slum-like. It’s the first of three gatherings leading to a major conference in 2016, Habitat III.

How will science fare in this month’s spending review? The annual outlay of £4.6bn has been ring-fenced but the UK spends only…