The US Business Roundtable (BRT) has amended its mission statement to reflect the importance of corporate responsibility over shareholders’ wishes. This move aligns with a growing desire for brands to show greater transparency and adhere to a values-led business approach.

California-based start-up Rent the Backyard builds studio apartments in homeowners’ gardens and helps to rent them out. As the Bay Area grapples with a housing crisis and massive wealth disparity, it's showing how brands can provide affordable housing while boosting people’s incomes.

How are ideas of political participation changing? Is there any way to combat the spread of disinformation? What role can design play in saving the planet? In this part of the 2019 Expert Outlook, we speak to three experts about how the actions of brands and individuals are reshaping society.

A lack of affordable housing means that home-ownership is a pipe dream for many young adults. In the UK, Pocket is helping first-time buyers get a foothold in this hostile market, catering to the teachers, health workers and creatives that make a city. But do people really want to live in tiny homes?