Category transportation
How should Birmingham react to a Global Report on Climate Change
Has it happened to you? You realised you have missed an important document in your field? Well it happened to me when I was listening to Albert Bore giving his Brussels speech in October 2014 on how cities and regions can lead in the response to climate change. Now I don’t think this is a […]
Is Greater Birmingham connected and contributing to the debate on the future of English Cities
Today another important report has been published on the role of cities in the English economy by the City Growth Commission. The report titled Connected Cities: The link to growth argues that investment in infrastructure in UK has historically been low compared to our competitor countries and argues that a focussed approach on investment in […]
London’s Transportation Investment is not the Problem
There has been a lot of comment in recent months and years about the imbalance of transport investment between London and the rest of the English cities and regions and undoubtedly it is fair comment – investment is hugely imbalanced as the following graphic from the recent IPPR North report Still on the Wrong Track (May […]
Cycling Copenhagen Style in Birmingham
This title is drawn from the recent press release (here) from Birmingham City Council outlining a new survey and reporting system to document peoples views on cycling in the city and progress in encouraging more of us to cycle on a biennial basis. It wants to emulate an approach put in place in Copenhagen – […]
Closure of the A38 tunnels; the City coped well – so lets think longer term
I don’t avidly look at reports produced by Birmingham City Council but what are interesting sometimes are the reports presented to the Overview and Scrutiny panels. I came across an interesting one today; a report on how well the city’s transportation system had coped with the closure in the summer of the A38 tunnels. Now […]
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 […]
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 […]
Towards Sustainable Transportation: Cooperation and Transport challenges in European Metropolitan Regions
CATCH-MR: An EU Interregional Project Seven metropolitan regions, stretching from the North Sea to the Mediterranean, worked during 2010-2012 to investigate strategic approaches to achieve more sustainable transport. The joint planning office for Berlin and Brandenburg was lead partner, and the final conference was organized by the Province of Rome. The 12 project partners organized their […]
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 […]
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