When the story of why humanity didn't stop climate change is written, it will feature front pages like this. Even as the skies blacken with climate change-induced wildfires, right wing media continue their relentless crusade against measures to tackle it.

Pleased the paper I co-authored with @profjtwhite.bsky.social and Gareth James @uofgussp.bsky.social on placemaking in post-devolution Scotland has been shortlisted for the RTPI Patsy Healey Award for Academic Excellence. Congrats to all finalists! @uomspal.bsky.social @uomseed.bsky.social

Royal Town Planning Institute@rtpiplanners.bsky.social · 2w ago

Congratulations to the 16 finalists announced today for the RTPI Awards for Research Excellence 2026! The winners will be announced on 7 September at the UK-Ireland Planning Research Conference. Discover the full list here: www.rtpi.org.uk/events-train...

What a difference creating places for people rather than cars makes

The University of Manchester@manchester.ac.uk · 4w ago

The University of Manchester campus - then vs now 📸 See more on on our Insta www.instagram.com/p/DakdmO6iNe...

Latest post on the blog, we look at a new model for community-led regeneration and placemaking. www.transportfornewhomes.org.uk/large-scale-...

Large-scale housing site being delivered by the community

A new model for community-led regeneration, placemaking.

transportfornewhomes.org.uk

A new report from @frontiergroup.bsky.social shows how some states have reduced vehicle miles traveled per capita: frontiergroup.org/resources/wh... One key explanation: Land use! ⏬ States with higher population densities have less car travel! And states that grew through density reduced driving!

New separated cycle lanes popping up on Shaftesbury Ave. All it takes is political will + the removal of some unnecessary parking spaces. London is becoming a cycling city, reflecting a generational shift that recognises driving in urban areas as slow, inefficient use of time.

To think I almost didn’t stay up for this. Brilliant game

On the way back from an engaging few days at @gpean-planning.bsky.social World Planning Schools Congress at Aalto University. I presented my recent paper on Placemaking in Scotland in a lively session - much to discuss with other presenters and attendees on discretion, centralisation & more #WPSC26

Super (sunny) day in Morecambe to visit the Eden project site and hear about the Levelling Up Fund process. Exciting time for the town and its regeneration plans.

New paper from Xinyue Dong and Mark Baker examining the constraints facing neighbourhood forums in urban, unparished areas of England: www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/...

Planning in the margins: reflections on forum-led neighbourhood planning in England | Town Planning Review

This article examines the institutional constraints facing neighbourhood forums in urban, unparished areas of England. Although neighbourhood planning aims to empower communities, neighbourhood forums remain non-statutory and rely on local planning ...

liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk

This morning fulfilled my transport-nerd ambition of getting my local ‘parliamentary’ train service from Reddish South. The 5th least used station in the UK last year with 102 passengers in total. Just two trains a week - Stalybridge to Stockport (and back) on Saturday mornings.

It is about recognizing that people experience cities differently based on gender, age, disability, income, and caregiving responsibilities - and ensuring these realities are reflected in how we design and manage urban spaces.

104 matches. 16 cities. One major climate cost. ⚽ Experts warn that the environmental cost of global sport is rising rapidly, and FIFA must change their approach to reduce football’s environmental impact. @manchester.ac.uk #FIFA #Football 🔗 www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/e...

One of the many reasons we take the Urban Design & International Planning students to Vienna. The city does so much on placemaking and urban liveability.

Brent Toderian@brenttoderian.bsky.social · 2mo ago

This is cool — Ever heard of a grätzloase? It means “neighbourhood oasis”– a miniature park replacing a parking space, aka parklets. With the blessing of city hall, more than 100 of them have sprung up across Vienna since 2015. And in theory, anyone in Vienna can build one.

Really interesting to find out about town centre regeneration in Leigh and Ashton with Wigan Council yesterday. Loads of great things going on, and lots to learn about navigating complex national regen funding to shape places locally

This short guide highlights the design & placemaking interventions that local authorities can use to enhance the climate resilience of places. This resource is sponsored by LUC, as part of the TCPA & @rtpiplanners.bsky.social 's Climate Guide: www.tcpa.org.uk/resources/de...

Remember, if you plan cities for cars and traffic, you get cars and traffic. If you plan cities for people and places, you get people and places. Via Fred Kent & @ppsplacemaking.bsky.social. #UrbanTruth

Transport accounts for 3/4 of total UK oil consumption. What people urgently need is: • Good, affordable public transport • Safe walking & cycling • 'Mobility hubs' which bring together public transport, shared cars, bikes & e-scooters road.cc/news/16-orga...

“The UK deserves real transport choice for everyday journeys”: 16 organisations call PM to invest in active travel to combat rising fuel prices

Sixteen organisations are calling on the PM to set a national mode shift target, invest in buses, rail and active travel to give people affordable alternatives to driving, and reduce reliance on volat...

road.cc

And a missed opportunity to encourage people to drive less instead

Jonathan Portes@jdportes.bsky.social · 3mo ago

- Subsidising consumption in the face of a supply shock - reducing incentives to drive less/switch to EVs - using up limited fiscal space to help better-off drivers rather than the most vulnerable. Hard to think of a worse policy right now.

#UKCarCulture has well established that collaborating with nasty regimes is preferable to taking the chance that a car owner might encounter inconvenience. No surprises here.

UK loosens Russian oil sanctions as fuel prices rise

The waiver reflects increasing supply concerns over certain fuels due to the effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

bbc.co.uk

#ClimateAdaptation As in so many areas of security, the UK is terribly under-prepared www.theguardian.com/environment/...

UK ‘built for climate that no longer exists’ and needs urgent changes to survive global heating, report warns

Landmark report calls for widespread air conditioning and says UK temperatures forecast to exceed 40C by 2050

theguardian.com

Popped into the Inspiration exhibition, part of the @railway200.bsky.social celebrations, at Stockport station earlier this week. A great initiative and it was fun to take part in the occasion!

What an empty car park tells us about the UK's debt problem www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Also that people are happy to pay £1000s/year to General Motors and Shell, but not a few £s to the council to fund public services. Which would otherwise be collected through higher taxes if not parking fees

What an empty car park says about one of the UK's poorest areas

The BBC has been speaking to people living in one of England's poorest communities.

bbc.co.uk

Calling all planning practitioners, researchers, students & academics: There's only 1 month left to enter the 2026 Awards for Research Excellence, which recognise & promote high-quality spatial planning research from RTPI-accredited planning schools. Enter today: www.rtpi.org.uk/researchawards

Notwithstanding some really important issues, the ‘high street’ is becoming an increasingly mythical construct. The high street from say the 1970s, before out of town shopping centres and retail parks, and well before online retail, is long gone www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Don't ignore plight of High Streets, voters say, as local elections approach

Failing High Streets fuel a wider sense of political discontent which could prove crucial in the upcoming elections for English councils in May.

bbc.co.uk

As predictable as night following day

Oil giant BP sees profits more than double as Iran war pushes oil prices up

BP have announced huge profits for the first quarter of the year thanks to the spike in oil prices caused by the Iran war.

thelondoneconomic.com

Amazing job by www.urbantruthcollective.com 🙌 👍🏼 The real “urban conspiracy” isn’t proximity, it’s distance. The “One-Hour City” traps millions in long commutes, car dependence and lost time. We need cities of proximity, time, and quality of life 🙏🏻 @brenttoderian.bsky.social @urbantruth.bsky.social

It's happening! 📢 On Tuesday, MPs will consider an amendment to enable local leaders to ban pavement parking in their area. We need you to help us get this amendment on to the Bill. Ask your MP to agree to Amendment 265 when it's considered on Tuesday: https://bitly.livingstreets.org.uk/4tMU2Uq

Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed a new way to measure how traffic contributes to rising urban temperatures, revealing that everyday vehicle use can play a measurable role in making cities warmer. doi.org/10.1029/2025...

New paper with @profjtwhite.bsky.social & Gareth James has been finalised in Progress in Planning. We explore Scotland’s placemaking agenda compared to rest of the UK, identify several implementation challenges, and consider how best to deliver placemaking through planning doi.org/10.1016/j.pr...