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If you have the wrong ingredients… the curse of the Manel
Imagine cooking an important meal. What matters most – the ingredients or the recipe? Sure, a skilled cook can sometimes work wonders with poor quality ingredients or even come up with a new recipe on the spot if the wrong ingredients are to hand or some are missing. But better surely to have the best… Read more
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5 thoughts for the future of transport planning
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… Read more
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The Nutmeg’s Curse
The humble nutmeg precipitated a colonial atrocity in the 1600s. A massacre that forms part of the dirty rapacious history of appropriating nature as a resource for exploitation that bred capitalism and modernity and trampled over indigenous peoples. I’ve just finished reading Amitav Ghosh’s ‘The Nutmeg’s Curse – Parables for a Planet in Crisis’. It’s… Read more
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Make Earth Great Again!
For my CIHT presidential year I am focusing on the importance for all of us of authentically being sustainable, professional and inclusive. We need to walk the walk on climate action, on equality diversity and inclusion, and on professionalism. As part of my journey I have got a green cap to accompany me that has… Read more
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Free Your Mind – The Matrix meets Levelling Up
The Matrix meets levelling up in Manchester as Danny Boyle’s ‘Free Your Mind’ is the show to mark the opening of Aviva Studios – the £242m new home of Factory International. It’s the biggest capital investment in live arts since the Sydney Opera House. Frankly Rishi Sunak and Elon Musk in London can keep their… Read more
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How to stop fascism
Are you ready for some insights into #fascism? I didn’t imagine as a younger man I’d be reading books like this. But the world is not the airbrushed one I once knew. As Derek Halden recently said to me – & it struck a chord – reading & writing is our way of coping. This book… Read more
What the hell is going on? 