Good day my good friend.
The one thing that disappointed me yesterday was how Charles did not manage to slip in an announcement that he wanted Government to build 100 Poundbury’s into the state opening of Parliament. Come on, Charles. If you are going to rule us at least do something about planning.
If you have any suggestions for interesting news items or bits of research to include in this newsletter, you can email me.
James
The price of the environmental movement
This article on London’s Lost Ringways got me thinking. For 30 years there have been many big infrastructure battles as the road building programme kicked into high gear in the UK. When I was growing up, the likes of the Battle of Twyford Down and the protests against the Newbury Bypass stirred my interest. But could the victory associated with the Ringways have an unintended consequence: constraining radical changes we need now?
As Michael Dnes states in the article: “the deck was always stacked in favor of doing nothing.” And so if we are thinking about radical changes to streets and our way of life, could this victory for NIMBYs have actually made things harder? Don’t get me wrong, the Ringways were (and are, if you have ever seen the Hammersmith Flyover) utterly monsterous. But there are unintended consequences to everything. Perhaps the opposition to cycle lanes we see now are, in some way, related to our own victories.
Attitudes to driverless futures are nuanced. Who knew?
The Driverless Futures research project published an interesting report summarising research they have done into the attitudes of people in the UK (and some from the US). While the majority are uncomfortable with sharing the road with driverless vehicles, it is the nuance that matters. This includes concerns about such cars ‘lacking common sense’ and how driverless cars tackle people using zebra crossings. For what it’s worth, I also agree with Tom Van Vuren:
Random things
These links are meant to make you think about the things that affect our world in transport, and not just think about transport itself. I hope that you enjoy them.
Smarter cars won’t last you decades (Popular Science)
There are reasons girls don’t study physics – and they don’t include not liking maths (The Conversation)
The Deer in Your Yard Are Here to Stay (CityLab)
How goes the revolution? (Mike Darcy)
Something interesting
This map is far more interesting than it has any right to be. We in Europe think we are densely populated (and we are), but latitudes to the south are a whole different ball game.
If you do nothing else today, then do this
Read this thread on the r/unpopularopinion Sub-Reddit on why cars are the worst inventions in history. 4,700 comments and counting at the time of writing.
Mobility Matters 