Back in early 2020, TrendWatching launched ‘Covid Innovations’ to inspire entrepreneurs and marketers to serve their customers better in dire covid times.
With covid no longer deeply impacting daily life, we’re fully focused again on all innovations that make the world a little bit better - check out MakeShift, our free weekly publication to stay on top of the latest trends, insights and innovations.
Arup collaborated with the Liverpool city council and design-led greening consultancy Meristem Design to develop 'Liverpool Without Walls' scheme. The modular elements slot together to create outdoor seating areas made from hardwood, screened from each other with plants and perspex glass.
Read MoreThe campaign asks people who are about to share social media content to pause. The idea is for people to 'take care before you share", to try stop the spread of misinformation by enabling a personal behaviour change. The UN is working with social media platforms and technology companies on the campaign.
Read MoreSince May 11, Paris has been partnering with advertising company JCDecaux to add hand sanitizer dispensers to the walls of 1,500 bus stations and 435 public restrooms, which represents three-quarters of bus shelters and all public toilets.
Read MoreThe Administrator says the city needs to be creative and take risks by creating a pedestrian promenade on State Street in favour of pedestrians to accommodate restaurants that will need to place tables at least 6 feet apart to meet social distancing rules.
Read MoreThe state of New York has doubled testing capacity to reach 40,000 COVID diagnostic tests per day as more states and the U.S. government work with retailers, including CVS Health. The drugstore chain and other pharmacies have highlighted they have health professionals and real estate places like parking lots to safely conduct tests for Americans.
Read MoreWith summer coming up and plans underway to reopen beaches, local councils in Spain are thinking of ways to make beaches COVID safe: the idea would be to make beachgoers book their space in advance via a mobile phone app, allowing only a certain number of people to enter the beach per day.
Read MoreThe robot 'dog' is used in the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio park in Singapore to encourage social distancing. 'For your own safety, and those around you, please stand at least one meter apart. Thank you', sounds a recording from the robot as it walks by two people relaxing on a park bench.
Read MoreHelsinki hosted a virtual gathering and concert to celebrate May Day in a virtual version of the city made by Zoan that anyone could access. 700,000 viewers tuned into the virtual concert, meaning that nearly 12% (!) of Finland's population tuned in.
Read MoreIn May, at least three couples will say yes to each other on the cinema stage of the drive-in cinema in Düsseldorf, Germany, while their guests watch the wedding ceremony from their cars.
Read MoreThe government has given jobs to more than 60,000 virus-idled labourers to help plant millions of trees across the country to deal with climate change threats, as part of the Pakistan’s 10 Billion Tree Tsunami programme.
Read MoreResidents will be able to collect these masks at community centres and residents’ committee centres, or could get them from vending machines.
Read MoreThe 'Maseczkomat ' appeared in the communities of Metropolis over the last week. By using the vending machine, locals get a cashless opportunity to purchase protective masks, gloves and hand sanitiser.
Read MoreFor the first time ever, a Finnish prime minister held a press conference in which the journalists asking the questions were children. Questions like ’When can we go back to school?’, ‘Will we be able to go to the amusement park this summer?’ or ‘When can we visit our grandparents?’ were asked.
Read MoreColombian police officers have been filmed giving Zumba classes to entertain residents stuck at home in different neighbourhoods in Bogota. They also gave concerts in streets.
Read MoreTwo spaces in the European Parliament of Brussels will be created, one for the homeless, and another for those who leave the hospital but still cannot return home. The kitchens will also work at full capacity. In the French city of Strasbourg, another EU building will accept COVID patients.
Read MoreCotecmar and Indumil will support the Colombian government by manufacturing robust hospital beds that can be produced quickly, at reasonable costs and easy to transport.
Read MoreBogota opened nearly 72 miles (117 kilometers) of new bike routes in March in hopes of reducing congestion and person-to-person contact on the perpetually crowded TransMilenio bus system.
Read MoreFrance said it would pay for hotel rooms for victims of domestic violence and open pop-up counselling centres after figures showed the number of abuse cases had soared during lockdown. About 20 centres would open in stores around the country so women could drop in for help while getting groceries, and an extra one million euro will be given to anti-domestic abuse organisations.
Read MoreTo connect with the communities in Burlington County the police departments are holding Xbox live tournaments, buying hundreds of pizzas to deliver to the community’s children in need and much more.
Read MoreThe Tamil Nadu government approved and is sending out drones of Indian startup Garuda Aerospace which, among others, has disinfected the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.
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