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Partly because of the crisis, partly for reasons we\\u2019ll come to in a moment, our production schedule on Skylines has got a bit lax. So the first of this week\\u2019s interviews \\u2013 with my pal Claire Cocks in Palermo, about what lockdown, Italian-flavour, looks like \\u2013 is already a little out of date. Italy, unlike the UK, has begun lifting its lockdown. 

But it\\u2019s still a fascinating insight into both what a stricter lockdown looks like, and also into how great Palermo would be if she were allowed to see it at all \\u2013 so I\\u2019ve kept the interview, but added a brief update from Claire about what the situation there is like now.

Our second interview is with Hala El Akl, a senior associate at PLP Architecture and chair of the ULI\\u2019s UK Urban Art Forum. She tells us exactly why cities should be paying more attention to the role of arts and culture, and what she hopes to do with the role.

Before I go \\u2013 the explanation for the lax schedule I mentioned. In case you\\u2019ve missed the announcements on social media: Skylines is coming to an end. I\\u2019ve handed over the reins at CityMetric to the new editorial team, led by the outstanding Sommer Mathis, and the next episode will be number 150. For those and a host of other reasons, this felt like the right time to stop.

But don\\u2019t worry, because our final episode is going to be an absolute monster, in which I speak to all sorts of people who\\u2019ve been involved in the show in some capacity over the last four and a bit years years, about their favourite episodes, what they would have liked to have spoken about but didn\\u2019t, and also, inevitably, the tube. It\\u2019s the messy self-indulgent send off this podcast deserves, and I hope the final product is as much fun to listen to as it was to record.

Incidentally \\u2013 as part of that I\\u2019m going to include some clips from listeners, being nice and/or mocking me in an amusing fashion. If you\\u2019d like to be one of them, email me your clip to jonnelledge at gmail dot com under the subject line \\u201cFinal Skylines\\u201d.

Skylines is the podcast from CityMetric, the New Statesman\\u2019s cities site. It\\u2019s presented by Jonn Elledge and produced by Nick Hilton.

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