Nobody who has been reading about politics on Twitter or Facebook in the last five years could say that technology has fulfilled its potential to bring people together. Wasn’t that what we had hoped back in the early days of social networking? It represented the chance to keep in touch with distant friends and family members as well as making new connections across the world, but instead descended to bickering, bullying and belligerence.

It’s no surprise that in these unusual times, we’re turning to streaming media for comfort while we’re behind closed doors. And it’s equally no surprise that one of the forms we’re turning to en masse is the humble podcast.

Whether you’re a new freelancer or one of many workers now housebound by Coronavirus (like myself), setting up a healthy environment to work from home has become a huge priority across the globe.

They say a week is a long time in politics and its quite staggering to think that last Wednesday we were digesting news of the Budget, thinking that £30bn seems like an awful lot of money to fight coronavirus.

As the number of people infected with COVID-19 continues to grow in the UK, and with directions from government, companies are now rapidly reassessing policies and frantically trying to support home working as an alternative to keep as close to ‘business as usual as possible.

There’s no doubt that we’re well into an era of ‘90s nostalgia at the moment. As a Jim Carrey-starring Sonic the Hedgehog film tears up the box office, shows like Saved by the Bell and Friends are producing revivals or reunions, and the most talked-about podcast episode of the year is a mystery story based around a song that could only have come from “between 1997 and 1999”.

When Rishi Sunak was appointed Chancellor a few weeks ago people said that Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings would end up writing this Budget.

The Coronavirus Budget shouldn’t lose sight of the huge community challenges that need addressing.

Promoting the ‘value’ of development has been a standard approach for major projects for many years. But I’m getting the sense that its impact is on the wane, in the face of rising scepticism and changing views around what ‘value’ is.

Last week saw the new Housing Minister Chris Pincher answer questions in the House of Commons for the first time since his appointment in the recent reshuffle. It was interesting in that it gave us an early indication that the new Government is keen to move the debate from meeting yearly housing targets, to a focus on ensuring high quality development.

“Be Kind”. Two small words with a huge message – one which will surely become Caroline Flack’s most powerful legacy.

What makes a successful place? A high quality physical environment is a good start; well-designed buildings sitting within plentiful green spaces, and streets laid out sympathetically for mixed use. But it is the community too; the people and the culture, that can give an area a distinct identity and consequently make it a place where people want to call home.