Good day my good friend.

I think that Jonathan Pie summarises my views on the current political situation in the UK right now. Warning: it contains colourful language, and he’s not a fan of Boris Johnson.

If you have any suggestions for interesting news items or bits of research to include in this newsletter, you can email me.

You should also join a lot of like-minded people at Mobility Camp in Bristol in September. Get your tickets now. Seriously, they are starting to really sell now.

James

Principles by which to empower women in transport

This is good by Women Mobilize Women. Very good. So much so I’ve shown in again as an image below. Some very sound principles to work by in order to make transport and our towns and cities more generally more welcoming to women. And some very good actions and data supporting all of it. Take it in. Digest. Act.

Technology is great, technology that co-ordinates is even better

I do love a good economic analysis paper. And if that then aligns with using technology for the greater good then that’s even better. And this exploration of the economic benefits of co-ordinating automated traffic does just this. The results simply state that a wider economic benefit can be realised through different technologies effectively co-ordinating between vehicles and infrastructure, as well as sharing the profit.

A useful difference for any activist pushing for sustainable and just mobility is between economic benefit (or value) and the business case. Economic benefits are more generally realised through co-operation, while business cases aim to internalise that to provide an estimated return on investment for a business or government. But by delivering things for the common good, like standard vehicle technologies, that increases the overall economic value, and thus could boost the business case. This study is a really good example of this.

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.

• How the technology behind ‘Fortnite’ is being used to design IRL buildings (Fast Company)

• Toronto wants to kill the smart city forever (MIT Technology Review)

• Digital Transformation Is Changing Supply Chain Relationships (Harvard Business Review)

• We’re Not Already In a Recession (Real Clear Markets)

• The Infamous 1972 Report That Warned of Civilization’s Collapse (Wired)

Something interesting

You need to read this Twitter thread by Jon Burke, a former councillor who led the introduction of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods in Hackney, London. Its a real insight into the battles that need to be fought by people, often out of the limelight, to make change happen.

If you do nothing else today, then do this.

In amongst the carnage in Westminster this week, the second Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy was published. It promises £4bn in funding for walking and cycling in the UK until 2025. And I like their objectives, I must say:

• increase the percentage of short journeys in towns and cities that are walked or cycled from 41% in 2018 to 2019 to 46% in 2025

• increase walking activity, where walking activity is measured as the total number of walking stages per person per year, to 365 stages per person per year in 2025

• double cycling, where cycling activity is measured as the estimated total number of cycling stages made each year, from 0.8 billion stages in 2013 to 1.6 billion stages in 2025

• increase the percentage of children aged 5 to 10 who usually walk to school from 49% in 2014 to 55% in 2025.