-
Roads to Net Zero
“However well we think we are doing, we aren’t doing well enough”. This quote from Stephen Elderkin captures for me the essence of our Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT) national conference yesterday focused on ‘Roads to Net Zero’. Given the political headwinds “don’t shit in your own nest” (a latin phrase Steve assured Read more
-
Remembering the father of transport planning
Paying tribute to the father of transport planning. A remarkable man who stopped flying or cruising because of his care for the environment. His last words, reflecting his approach to work and life, “it’s been a pleasure”. I had the honour last night to attend on behalf of the Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation Read more
-
Are you consciously weighing up the difference around you?
Karen McShane is one of the most inspirational women I know. I am proud to know her as a friend and colleague. It therefore saddens me that she has been given an amplified sense of being othered by a recent supreme court ruling. We have been taking important steps forwards towards a more inclusive society Read more
-
What news following Earth Day 2025?
22 April was Earth Day – so what big news has broken since? Let’s take a look to Scotland, China and the USA. One saddens me, one inspires me, and one defies emotion. We can all relate to the often unbridgeable ‘policy-action gap’ but without having in place a bold policy position in the first Read more
-
Deafening silence is the sound of a thousand silent screams
You hear that? It’s the sound of thousands of silent screams. When news breaks and people who know a thing or two about the subject aren’t saying anything it’s the deafening silence that results. Sometimes we find ourselves between a rock and a hard place. The best we can do to be our authentic selves Read more
-
Trump is now coming for metal – prepare the shield wall metalhead!
⚠️ URGENT calling all metalheads – prepare the shield wall 🤘 Trump is taking the fight to metal. Stand strong warriors of the world, as well all know, metal is a worldwide community around which you cannot build walls. I was shocked this week to see Trump contemplating metal tariffs. Having just got my ticket Read more
-
Tea ladies
No disrespect to tea ladies, but have you been mistaken for one? Our brains can be very quick to judge and form impressions. When you go into a meeting or interview, how conscious are you of being wrongly judged or of being too quick to judge others? Search online for ‘mistaken for the tea lady’. Read more
-
Teaching doublespeak to children using DEI as an example
Imagine trying to educate children on helping create a better world. Would you use doublespeak to do so? Let’s consider an example. Good morning class. We’re going to be talking today about diversity, equity and inclusion. It’s a phrase that has three parts. Let’s look at each one shall we? Diversity is about is all Read more
-
Mother Nature issues Consecutive Disorder prohibiting list of words
In a remarkable turn of events, Mother Nature has issued a Consecutive Disorder in which she has identified a list of words that now appear to be prohibited from being used. The courts are scrambling to establish whether or not this is legally enforcible with many businesses and politicians nonplussed and angry at what this Read more
-
Making difference invisible – an enduring feature of society?
Making difference invisible seems to be an enduring feature of modern society, as does making sure privilege is protected. I remember the posts I’ve put on LinkedIn that get unusually high traction. In March 2021 I posted (https://lnkd.in/edE8p7HR) while I was half-way through reading ‘Invisible Women’: “Half the population hidden in plain sight. Essential reading Read more
-
Digital Genocide
I have been an academic throughout my career. I am shaken to the core by what I have just read. A researcher in the US federal system has just had an opinion piece published in the BMJ (one of the world’s oldest general medical journals – formerly called the British Medical Journal). It has been Read more
-
The Gulf of Fragile Masculinity
It’s like being forced to watch the second series of a poorly produced Netflix drama. I had a look on Google Maps and it currently says ‘Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)’. I found the meme below on Bluesky. And the four-year period is barely underway. Today is a day of love. Whatever your gender Read more
-
10 reasons for the walking renaissance Following some great input from colleagues on Linkedin to my article (https://lnkd.in/e7h_SZ9), I’ve summarised below 10 possible contributing explanations for the 31% increase in walking trip rate in England (for trips under one mile) between 2015 and 2018 as indicated by National Travel Survey data: 1. Misrepresentation of actual…
-
As you may know, I am a big fan of ‘Walking as a Service’ (WaaS). Thanks to Silicon Valley harnessing the power of geography in the form of Google Maps Navigation, three key questions that could stand in the way of choosing to walk can now be answered: How do I get there? How far…
-
12 years ago the UK Chancellor asked Professor Julia King to “examine the vehicle and fuel technologies that, over the next 25 years, could help to decarbonise road transport, particularly cars”. Her report noted that “The global challenge is to support increases in road transport use, in a sustainable, environmentally-responsible way” [emphasis added]. It considered that…
-
Like many, I have felt my awareness and concern over the seriousness of climate change growing in recent times as peaceful protest combines with substantial scientific evidence to strongly suggest we are in big trouble. I awoke this morning to the Tweet below from the BBC which shocked me. I decided today was the day…
-
My colleague Paul Hammond asked me to come up with five thoughts for the future of transport planning as part of a gathering this weekend of c100 bright minds from within Mott MacDonald’s growing population of transport planners. I thought I’d share them on Linkedin and see what other people’s thoughts are. 1 Black swans…
What the hell is going on? 