@drrobrichardson.bsky.social
Lecturer in Urban Planning & Placemaking at University of @Manchester.ac.uk Department of Planning, Property & Environmental Management | MRTPI | Urban design, planning, place & policy | Own views
Wait, we’re afraid of walkable distances now?
#UrbanTruth
Now exhibiting in the Samuel Alexander Glass Corridor: MossWorlds – Re-Storying Urban Lives
📅 Until 2 March 2026
📍Sam Alex Glass Corridor
The exhibition is based on an interdisciplinary research project undertaken at The University of Manchester during 2024-5, supported by Creative Manchester.
Meanwhile bus fares to the excellent interchange/many other town centre stops remain frozen at £2, for those put off by the extra 40p/hour.
Town's parking charges increase 'defies belief' www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
There’s one month left to enter the RTPI North West Awards for Planning Excellence. If you have a project, plan, or team that deserves recognition, do consider a submission:
www.rtpi.org.uk/find-my-rtpi...
Top 100 in ten subject graphic
✨ Big news!
We have been recognised again in the @timeshighered.bsky.social World University Rankings by Subject 2026 with ten subjects in the global top 100 and four in the world’s top 50.
Huge thanks to our amazing community who make this possible 💜
www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/t...
Paris's Peerless Placemaking: How the City of Light Breaks the Rules to Get Things Right (new article)
www.sociallifeproject.org/how-paris-br... by Fred Kent and @drtpanova.bsky.social
@carlosmorenofr.bsky.social, @placemakingx.bsky.social
#PlacemakingParis #PlacemakingEurope
New long form paper published on Scotland’s ‘placemaking’ agenda within planning and urban design policy, with @profjtwhite.bsky.social and Gareth James. We identify a progressive commitment to placemaking at policy level, but implementation needs to catch up
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The best way to create world class streets is to start with world class sidewalks. Sidewalks are the foundation of what make cities affordable, accessible, and loved.
Our resource guide: www.sociallifeproject.org/sidewalk_res... by Fred Kent & @drtpanova.bsky.social
#UrbanDesign #Placemaking
These are both train stations.
13.01.2026 10:18 — 👍 9 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 1
Photo shows the campus of Manchester University dusted with snow
🎉Happy New Year Everybody! 🎉
As we return to a snow-dusted campus, we hope you’ve had a wonderful festive break filled with rest, celebration and time to recharge. We're looking forward to seeing all our students and staff back on campus soon. Here’s to new opportunities and achievements in 2026!
📰"Is a post-growth future for the New Urban Design possible? A response to Cuthbert and Suartika’s ‘Ideology, science and the New Urban Design – critique and evolution’" by James T. White in The Journal of Urban Design 🛋️ doi.org/10.1080/1357... #postgrowth
11.12.2025 14:40 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
The onus should not rest on individuals with reduced mobility to keep pace in a fast-moving world. We urge cities to prioritise urban design that puts pedestrians first – creating environments that enable physical activity, especially among vulnerable groups.
theconversation.com/cities-arent...
This time of year can be difficult for some.
Spending time in nature, including street trees, can make a huge difference to our mental health, giving us a much-needed boost during the colder, darker months of the year. Have you tried soothing your worries by surrounding yourself with greenery? 🌲🌳
RTPI commends the significant funding announced in today’s #budget but urges that long-term investment is key to building capacity.
The chancellor has pledged an extra £48m to boost capacity in the planning system.
Read reaction from @victoriartpi.bsky.social:
www.rtpi.org.uk/new-from-the...
Pleased to share the recording of the 3rd Brian Robson Lecture, delivered by Professor John Goddard OBE. His talk 'High Hopes, Hard Realities: Civic Universities at the crossroads' examines how UK civic universities can reconnect with their places.
📺 Full lecture: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uevw...
Count me in
23.11.2025 12:50 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Aideen is sitting in a wheelchair with one of her sons on her knee, the other child standing behind her. They are on a residential street.
Woman with dark hair in a wheelchair, positioned in front of a black SUV parked on the pavement of a residential street.
“As a mum and a wheelchair user, pavement parking puts me and my children in danger every day. I don’t understand why drivers think they can block pavements — they’re for pedestrians.” - Aideen, campaigner
Join our campaign against pavement parking https://bit.ly/4hWpLxM
Most politicians ignore the massive costs of car-centric mobility and still pretend pushing cars is somehow a win for society. Meanwhile, the proven benefits of active mobility get dismissed and every cent invested is scrutinized. Feels like a severe case of #CarBrain gripping our collective mindset
19.11.2025 08:11 — 👍 24 🔁 7 💬 1 📌 0
Valuing What Matters: From Tick-Box to Stewardship – Reclaiming Social Value as a Driver of Trust, Equity, and Lasting Change
Mark Swift, LPIP Hub Place Fellow, argues that social value in public spending must move beyond compliance and tick-box exercises.
https://ow.ly/mp9x50Xtqok
Coming up in a couple of weeks!
12.11.2025 15:10 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Fascinating discussion on New Towns Taskforce Report to Government with @uomseed.bsky.social @alliancembs.bsky.social. Loads to digest from locations and community engagement to infrastructure and delivery. Glad to see placemaking a key part, with new ‘towns’ debate moving beyond housing numbers
10.11.2025 19:25 — 👍 6 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Join the RTPI's #WorldTownPlanningDay 2025 online programme, which brings together case studies from the UK and around the world, fostering the exchange of ideas globally.
👉Register for the free webinars at:
www.rtpi.org.uk/wtpd
This year's theme is 'With Planning We Can'
New paper on the interactions between housing and digital inequalities. It highlights how the built environment shapes experiences of digital exclusion, and that housing can be an important focus for improving connectivity. Particularly salient at a time of increasing digitalisation in planning🏠💻
29.10.2025 11:00 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
The design of your city can help make you healthier, study finds.
(That should be ANOTHER study)
“A new study in Nature found when people moved from less walkable U.S. cities to more walkable ones, they increased their levels of physical activity & saw health benefits.”
www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
Five years on from the Government’s consultation on pavement parking in England and there is still no action.
Meanwhile, Susanne and her son Joseph, a wheelchair user, found freedom in Scotland, where there pavement parking is restricted. Read about their story here 👇 http://bit.ly/4hicmQe
This looks good, and definitely needed. This part of the city always feels chaotic to me, so a more pleasant and calm space like the plans suggest would really help
18.10.2025 08:13 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
A promotional graphic advertising the 'Data and Decision Making: Shaping UK Housing Policy' event on 26th November 13:30 - 16:30. Branding for The University of Manchester, Policy@Manchester and UKRI Natural Environment Research Council and the Digital Solutions Hub is included.
Do you work in planning, a housing association or housing policy in local or national government? 🏘️
Join us for this event on 26 Nov by emailing digital-solutions@manchester.ac.uk with your name, role, organisation and any dietary/access requirements.
⏰ Deadline approaching for our Heritage and Placemaking survey! This is your chance to share your experiences and influence our upcoming report and #HeritageDebate2025! Complete the survey and submit your case studies by Friday 17 October ⭐️ forms.office.com/Pages/Respon...
06.10.2025 09:01 — 👍 0 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Broadway between Union Square and the Flatiron.
Some of the urbanism happening in New York City…is stunning.
12.10.2025 05:21 — 👍 531 🔁 52 💬 13 📌 9