Thoughts, insights and rants about futures, climate change, system change, transport, wicked problems, EDI, and heavy metal

By Professor Glenn Lyons

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  • Is Mastodon the David to topple the Goliath of Musk-owned Twitter?

    Is Mastodon the David to topple the Goliath of Musk-owned Twitter?

    Is Mastodon the David to topple the Goliath of Musk-owned Twitter? I know not everyone on LinkedIn is on Twitter but I guess you may have heard Musk paid $44bn to buy Twitter with the deal going through on October 27th. He’s the man in charge now. What could go wrong? Well it’s not clear Read more

  • Rosie has her say for Black History Month

    Rosie has her say for Black History Month

    It’s Black History Month. Imagine having the chance to talk to the Prime Minister about ethnicity and racism. Some of you will recall we have had rare opportunities in the past to interview Rosie Lyons (aged 11) when she is ‘Prime Minister for a Day’. I have to say, this is quite remarkable. It came Read more

  • Jet Zero – what to make of it – is it jam tomorrow?

    Jet Zero – what to make of it – is it jam tomorrow?

    Jet Zero is the UK Government’s 2022 strategy “delivering net zero aviation by 2050”. Jet Zero is ‘a high ambition scenario’ which would ‘only’ leave 19.3 MtCO2e/year still being emitted (domestic + international) in 2050. Pre-COVID annual emissions were 38.2 MtCO2e/year. “That doesn’t seem so impressive and doesn’t sound like zero” you may be thinking. Read more

  • Crowdsurfing, diversity and inclusion – ‘weirdo, mosher, freak’

    Crowdsurfing, diversity and inclusion – ‘weirdo, mosher, freak’

    You know I love metal, right? And you know how excited people get when they see themselves on TV? Well I’m excited to say that I’m the pink shirt crowd surfer in this official Bloodstock festival photo from August this year. That’s all! 🤘. In fact NO, that’s not all. One of the main stages Read more

  • Dear Transport Secretary…good luck with the bed of nails

    Dear Transport Secretary…good luck with the bed of nails

    “The PM has decided that we need a national transport policy” says the PM’s special advisor, Sir Mark Spencer. “Yes, well, why not?” answers the Minister, Jim Fracker – sorry, Jim Hacker. It’s pointed out to him by Sir Spencer that “We need a policy”. “We did have a policy before” replies Hacker. “Did we?” Read more

  • There will be no driverless cars on a dead planet

    There will be no driverless cars on a dead planet

    Anthropomorphism. One of the biggest words in my vocabulary – one I added right near the beginning of my personal journey deeper and deeper into the world of future mobility. I was delighted when Adam Hill, the Editor of ITS International Magazine asked me this summer whether I would share my thoughts on future mobility in a written Read more

  • 20 years at UWE – in the blink of an eye

    20 years at UWE – in the blink of an eye

    In the blink of an eye, 20 years have flown by. In 2002 I had just become Chair of the Transport Planning Society. I was encouraged to apply for a newly advertised professorship at the University of the West of England. UWE was looking to establish itself as a centre of excellence in transport. At the Read more

  • Outdated parking bay sizes are holding back progress

    Outdated parking bay sizes are holding back progress

    Perhaps it was a slow news day on Saturday. The Times ran an article called ‘Big plans will finally ease parking squeeze’. Apparently “Ministers have supported a plan to increase the size of parking bays to keep up with the growing size of cars”. This is what facepalming on social media was made for, isn’t Read more

  • Are you an egalitarian, hierarchist, individualist or fatalist?

    Are you an egalitarian, hierarchist, individualist or fatalist?

    Are you an egalitarian, hierarchist, individualist or fatalist? And which of these worldviews do we need to save humanity from itself in the face of a climate emergency? Earlier this year, I had the privilege of being the external examiner for Frank Chuang‘s PhD at UCL. His thesis is titled “Exploring the Role of Worldviews in Read more

  • Don’t be a bystander – bring constructive challenge to your role

    Don’t be a bystander – bring constructive challenge to your role

    Be an upstander not a bystander. This is a powerful phrase I was introduced to last year. The challenges we face in society today are enormous – multiple wicked problems. So how can each of us do anything that makes a difference? It is easy to be daunted by that question, but I think there Read more

  • The Matrix is coming…in fact it’s already here

    The Matrix is coming…in fact it’s already here

    I thought in the future we might be living in the Matrix. Now I realise many have been all along. In 1999 one of the most amazing films ever (in my book) was released, ‘The Matrix’. It was written by the Wachowskis, two sisters who are trans women. That alone is probably enough to get Read more

  • Does it feel like we’re in a crisis? Putting road transport in the climate crisis context

    Does it feel like we’re in a crisis? Putting road transport in the climate crisis context

    [Long Read] On Wednesday 20 July 2022 I travelled to an event to discuss roads and future investment in them. I was one of the invited speakers. Luckily I was late preparing my slides and only finished the day before. The news coverage for the preceding 48 hours more or less di`d the job of Read more

  • Transitioning to Net Zero

    I’ve just taken part in the first 2024 webinar from the Association of European Transport’s Transport and Mobility Forum. Hosted by Conall Mac Aongusa, Chaired by Derek Halden and with Susan Krumdieck and Elizabete Arsenio alongside me on the Panel, we got stuck into the wicked matter of the future ahead of us and what…

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  • A New Year’s radio interview, and Jevon’s Paradox

    The transition to electric vehicles is in full swing and in the news, while I’ve been worring about Jevon’s Paradox. I’ve just done my first BBC Radio Bristol interview of 2024 on the topic of the EV transition. Putting aside politics and other matters about addressing the climate emergency, transitions are fascinating – especially as…

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  • Extinction Rebellion – walk in your own shoes in 2123

    Handmade Extinction Rebellion Christmas tree decoration from Robin Lyons and Catt Lyons. An intensely personal gift which I love 💚 As the season that marks the high point of our capitalist year comes to an end, have a think about XR and Just Stop Oil. These are not terrorist eco zealots, they are the voice…

  • Neurodivergent experiences of streets and possible improvements to the built environment

    1 in 7 people are neurodivergent. Their brains are different with differences in social understanding, sensory processing, communication and information processing. This relates to neurological differences such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and dyspraxia. Neurodivergent people think differently and can often excel – at creativity, innovation, specialisation and hyperfocusing. Check out this 2 minute primer on…

  • The black elephant of digital accessibility in the transport sector

    As the year draws to an end I’m now familiar with the term ‘black elephant’ (h/t Anna Rothnie) and realise that it very aptly represents digital accessibility when it comes to transport planning and appraisal. A black elephant is something visible to everyone but no one wants to deal with it so they pretend it’s not…