There was also positive news when it came to hope for cleaner air in cities. Private vehicles are being designed out of urban areas with encouraging results for communities and businesses. Announced in January, the draft Birmingham Transport Plan paints a picture of a cleaner, greener city with car-free streets, better public transport, more cycle lanes and a ban on through traffic. Supporters say the plan will address the twin perils of toxic air and obesity – both a major concern in Birmingham – and help the city meet its admittedly ambitious target of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

Brighton, York, Ghent, Oslo, Copenhagen, Madrid, Barcelona, Bogotá are among the other cities doing exciting things in this realm, from a ‘superblocks’ car-free scheme in Barcelona and a cycle lane-drive in Paris, to work to get even more people moving by bike in Copenhagen, which is already a world-leader when it comes to two-wheeled travel. During the pandemic, many cities around the world saw dwindling numbers of fossil-fuel powered cars on their streets during lockdowns, and some plan to try to keep it that way.

Image: cyclist in Copenhagen, Denmark, by Darth Liu