Need to Know
13 : 07 : 22

Mumbai – While the Indian metropolis is largely reliant on its sprawling highways, architecture studio MVRDV is putting a community-centric spin on an elevated section of the Senapati Bapat Marg roadway. With the roadway stretching nearly seven miles through the heart of the city, the studio’s One Green Mile project promotes safer travel zones for pedestrians, with bike paths, zebra crossings and enhanced lighting.

Meanwhile, its biophilic design promotes biodiversity, provides a cool break from the city’s high temperatures and dampens noise pollution. Facilities range from play equipment and seating areas to a performance space and reading room. Through this project, MVRDV transforms the ‘necessary evil’ of highways into a space that benefits residents and the surrounding environment.

‘What if we expected highways to give something back to the places they cut through?’ asks the studio. ‘A flyover can provide some shade in a hot city, and creates a small area of land that can’t be developed with tall buildings. It’s not such a crazy idea to make that into a public space.’ In future, more urban environments are likely to build such spaces to mitigate the negative impact of city infrastructures.

Europe – In a bid to amplify women in sports, the sportswear giant is partnering with storytelling platform Rebel Girls to produce a limited-edition book in celebration of the UEFA European Women’s Championship. The book, Rebel Girls: Game-Changing Footballers, presents 12 stories of women athletes, coaches and community leaders. To inspire young women and girls, Nike will distribute 20,000 free copies of the book to children at Nike stores, as well as in various schools across the UK.

As part of the initiative, the two brands will also promote original stories and illustrations within their digital eco-systems. Here, Nike and Rebel Girls showcase the ways in which. the Women’s Football Revolution is evolving in line with Generation Alpha. ‘As we celebrate 12 women footballers from 10 countries with Nike in Rebel Girls: Game-Changing Footballers, we empower girls to see themselves as champions as we amplify the barrier-breaking achievements of women athletes around the world,’ said Jes Wolfe, CEO at Rebel Girls.

Elsewhere, we previously covered a video campaign and nostalgic sticker book that similarly flips the script on the rigid gender associations that are still common in football.

While pandemic lockdown periods exacerbated feelings of social isolation, Gallup’s 2022 Global Emotions Report reveals that feelings of sadness and loneliness are still on the rise. According to the report, 330m adults go at least two weeks without talking to a single friend or family member.

Meanwhile, one‐fifth of all adults do not have a single person they can count on for help. The study also reveals that loneliness is one of the significant factors in global unhappiness levels, which also include poverty, bad communities, hunger and the scarcity of good work. These insights point to a significant and growing need for collective communities that champion sharing and caring.

Beyond care-driven groups in society, brands and organisations also have an opportunity to facilitate collective health through Synchronised Care strategies that align human needs and lifestyles with the world around us.