Category Environemental Issues
Behind the Green Curve: Britain’s Missing Housing Revolution
Another article with Jon Bloomfield in Byline Times on how the current UK Government is failing to deliver on Net Zero. This article focuses on the failings in the housing sector.
Birmingham’s Mobility Action Plan – Wow what a Game Changer!
I have waited quite a time for this plan but the wait has been worthwhile. It is perhaps the most fundamental change in thinking this city has proposed in the last 30 years – ever since the city centre regeneration work got under way. So what is so radical about it. Well for once it […]
Smart Smart Smart Cities
I had the pleasure last week of attending the EU Open Days event in Brussels; four days where cities and regions present the latest on how they are investing EU monies to deliver on the EU 2020 objectives of Smart Sustainable and Inclusive Growth. It may be me but I felt that there was really […]
Birmingham’s Green Spaces Living plan: An action plan or a coffee table book
Birmingham’s Green Spaces Living Plan is as usual a thorough document with great analysis; it cross refers to a weight of other strategies documents, partnerships and support groups but its shortest section is on Implementation and Funding; a section which to be honest I don’t understand. It has worthy aims and does show a few […]
Is the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP a Cohesive Partnership?
I had the pleasure of attending the AGM of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP this week at the Villa ground. Despite the poor news unleashed by the Chancellor concerning the relative small size of the Local Growth budget it was generally an upbeat event with a lot of positivity and good news about the […]
A435 Corridor: Connected Communities of Maypole, Kings Heath, Moseley, Balsall Heath and Digbeth #Birmingham
I have been thinking about this corridor as I regularly walk, catch a bus and drive up and down it. I think the time has come for a radical approach to the whole corridor. Moseley is currently working on its local plan but what is needed and has been discussed is a wider vision linking […]
Air pollution: the hidden and neglected killer!
Now this is not my area of expertise but I thought I ought to raise at least the issue of air pollution in our cities, particularly outside of London. I have been following recently the impact of the EU Air Quality directives on the UK and the fact that at many sites in the UK […]
Transportation in Birmingham: The need for a radical rethink?
My thesis in this blog post is that the main thing that is holding back this city is lack of resources, across a number of investment agendas, and the city needs to take the initiative. Does the city and the LEP lack imagination, possibly in part, they have not got triple helix approaches to innovation […]
Congestion Charging
This is a really good TEDx talk about how about Stockholm persuaded its citizens to vote for congestion charging. We may need to revisit such schemes in the future in the UK given the lack of funding for transport improvements in cities and given the step change that is needed in the way we travel. […]
Major China-EU Climate Change Conference at Birmingham’s NEC April 17th
A significant conference focussing on EU China interaction in the low carbon economy is taking place as part of the Sustainability Live Exhibition at the NEC, Birmingham on April 17th 2013. Key speakers on the line up include Connie Hedegaard EU Climate Action Commissioner and Chen Futao from the Chinese Embassy. China is still growing […]
UrbanPivot 