Charlotte Morphet, MRTPI, FRSA, AoU

UK’s largest local authority declares major incident over bin strike Birmingham City Council is concerned about the health risk of 17,000 tonnes of rubbish going uncollected

UK’s largest local authority declares major incident over bin strike - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @FT

Marine Le Pen barred from running for French presidency in 2027 Far-right leader found guilty of embezzlement of European funds and immediately barred from running for office

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...

Tell me car storage is more important than safe and green streets without telling me car storage is more important than safe and green streets!

Het Polder Hofje in the Netherlands

Instead of senior care being in an institutionalized, hospital-like setting, what if we created far more walkable and outdoor spaces that were monitored and gave our elders dignity? I don’t believe that seniors should live in a hospital-like setting just because they can’t drive and/or need help.

Exploring Planners’ and Developers’ Perspectives on
Young Adults’ Attitudes Towards Car Dependency and
Emerging Impacts on Housebuilding and Planning
Policy pure-oai.bham.ac.uk/ws/portalfil...

The Promise of Planning by Philip Harrison & Alison Todes is one of the latest books in our @rtpiplanners.bsky.social RTPI Library series for Routledge, discussing recent changes to South African planning. As series editor, I’m always open to ideas for new titles www.routledge.com/RTPI-Library...

Our report came out ahead of the Planning and Infrastucture Bill. Some of our recomendations such as strategic planning made it in. However, it remains unclear how public transport is going to be funded even in the new towns where it has been promised. bsky.app/profile/tran...

Time for rural areas to have better transport and infrastructure It leads to a brain drain to the UK’s larger cities that is having a real impact on rural economies, like those in Wiltshire

Rural counties like Wiltshire are also seeing a lot of new homes built. Although sadly often not in patterns that make public transport more viable. www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/ec...

Under fascism, no one is safe.

Universities stayed quiet as the admin targeted DEI & foreign aid, censored research, etc.

Now, they face devastating cuts to indirect cost rates, threatening research & operations.

Silence won’t protect institutions. It won’t protect people; it never does.

Flossing your teeth once a week ‘cuts risk of stroke by one fifth’ Research suggests the dental habit stops the build-up of harmful bacteria and plaque, which are linked to inflammation, blood clots and heart disease

Health is so holistic: research suggests flossing #teeth 'cuts risk of #stroke by one fifth’.

This is huge. Should some of the ££ the #NHS spends on heart disease be transferred to dentistry? If Dept of #Health is serious about #prevention then maybe yes?

www.thetimes.com/article/1294...

“No one GAF about Columbia. We can grow our own coffee beans. Problem solved”

You literally cannot grow coffee in most of America

Schedule | Times Radio | The Times and The Sunday Times Listen to Times Radio live for the latest breaking news, expert analysis and well-informed discussion covering the biggest stories of the day.

BREAKING NEWS: @victoriartpi.bsky.social is appearing live with Ayesha Hazarika on Weekend Drive Times Radio from 6pm tomorrow (Saturday 25 Jan).

Victoria will discuss Keir Starmer's growth push alongside Ellie Chowns Green MP.

🎙️ Listen from 6pm tomorrow
www.thetimes.com/radio/schedule

Mortgage rules could be eased in quest for growth Embrace of ‘responsible risk’ would let first-time buyers borrow more

Government considering relaxing some of the restrictions on lenders to allow borrowers with small deposits to borrow more www.thetimes.com/article/6a9e...

mural of a mishibizhiw under a starry sky surrounded by her babies.

another mural, some flowers and a man.

another mural, flowers and pictograph style animals,

Another mural, flowers, pictograph style animals and a feelings wheel.

I finished a mural last night!

Do reach out if you want to discuss.

Nathaniel Lichfield Lecture on prefigurative planning. 6 February 2025, 5.30pm-8.30pm Hybrid/London, free for members Westminster Business School, 35 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5LS

Join us in-person or online for the Nathaniel Lichfield Lecture on prefigurative planning next month.

The annual event is free for members and will run in a hybrid format. Book your place now:
www.rtpi.org.uk/events/2025/...

Solar panels are becoming so cheap the Swiss are looking at installing them *between train tracks* !!!

www.pv-magazine.com/2024/10/04/s...

Nice way to end first week back. Will be looking at digital skills.

Congrats to Hannah and Meadhbh too. Chuffed to see all female recipients.

RTPI Early Career Research Grants to fund three new projects In August 2024, the RTPI issued a call to early career researchers to submit research proposals for an ECR Grant to fund a year-long planning projects

RTPI Early Career Research Grants are funding three new projects in 2024-25.

Congratulations to
⭐ @hannah-grove.bsky.social
⭐ Dr Meadhbh Maguire
⭐ @morphetminor.bsky.social

Read more about the projects here:
www.rtpi.org.uk/news/2025/ja...

One of the most important team-ups badly needed for a better future involves those of us working on better cities, & those of us who understand the science of the #ClimateCrisis. So @katharinehayhoe.com & I teamed up on this special Starter Park! If you havent yet, please share. go.bsky.app/7Wh2uvp

High-speed Paris-Berlin daily train service debuts The route is the first directly linking the two capitals' city centres.

It’s over 1,000km from Berlin to Paris

There’s now a direct daytime train between them, that takes 8 hours and costs just €59. Leave at 10am, arrive 6pm.

And… it’s just 1% the carbon emissions of the equivalent flight

www.euronews.com/travel/2024/...

Population Density Map for Europe.| [Made with Blender and Data from Kontur Population Density for 400m H3 Hexagons 2023]
(HT Via Reddit u/importanceNo1464)

Fragmentation is going to be a big theme of British politics in 2025, I think.

Photo comparing the space needed for 50 people in cars, a bus or half of a single train car.

A friendly reminder that if you’re in traffic, you ARE traffic.

And mobility is about space.

HT @happy_roman for graphic

How are South East trains affected by the timetable change? Services on Southeastern, Govia Thameslink Railway and South Western Railway will all have changes.

Restoration of more pandemic cut services. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

We should see more lines financed this way (and not just reopenings).

Campbell’s witty response to this homophobe makes me want to enjoy some of their delicious chicken noodle soup right now! 🍜 🏳️‍🌈

Logical conclusion: abolish local government and just have prefects and garrisons. All this mayor stuff is surely about getting chaps who will play the game.

2014 art piece with “politicians discussing global warming” while almost entirely under water, and 2021 similar looking photo of people struggling to stay above water during flooding.

Life imitating art warning about death. And it’s going to get worse every year.

Still think #ClimateAction is “too expensive?” #ClimateCrisis

District councils face scrapping in major overhaul of English local government Devolution white paper aims to create larger authorities and more elected mayors

The start of devolution announcements including more planning powers for metro mayor

on.ft.com/4iA807d