Julia Thrift

Letter of the day (in the Times)

Wow!
#GreenInfrastructure

Socialised medicine: prevention is better than cure.

Capitalised medicine: there’s no money in prevention. Or in cure, for that matter. Bring on really uncomfortable chronic conditions that can be mitigated with expensive medications.

Cities for cycling: what is needed beyond good will and cycle paths?

Creating a 'cycling city' requires more than just cycle lanes, according to new research into 15-minute cities from Oxford's Transport Studies Unit. Its five recommendations include secure storage, community engagement, and long-term funding.

www.ox.ac.uk/news/feature...

building for people cover

relatedly, i now have a one-pager for my book

www.larchlab.com/wp-content/u...

Which is a bit like the apocryphal restaurant review: 'The food is bad and the portions very small.'

No child should have to grow up surrounded by air pollution. But 12 million children in Britain are living in areas where they breathe toxic air. 🔴

It’s not fair. But change is possible.

Find out how we can #MakeHealthEqual here. 👉https://bit.ly/4kWQ72L

Translation:
What's the point of the EHRC Chair if she insists on upholding the 2010 Equality Act as it pertains to all groups with protected characteristics?
Including women.
If she will not prioritise males with trans identities in women's services, provisions & sports?

I prosecute and defend the most serious sexual offences in our courts.

The overwhelming majority of offenders are British-born. Overwhelmingly the victim is someone known to them, either a partner or relative.

Anybody purporting to care about protecting women might start there.

Amendment 179 to Planning and Infrastructure Bill to Planning and Infrastructure Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle's amendment After Clause 52 (179) to Planning and Infrastructure Bill, proposed during Committee stage

Thank you @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social ‪and @playengland.bsky.social for reintroducing this play sufficiency amendment. This is much more than (important) designated play provision, it's about making neighbourhoods and town centres play friendly
bills.parliament.uk/bills/3946/s...

“And Breathe Normally”: Impacts of low emission zones on sick leave and mental well-being Air pollution poses a global concern due to its detrimental effects on climate, healthcare, and human capital accumulation. However, there is limited …

Really interesting air quality study from University of Bath which finds London's LEZ in 2008 reduced instances of sick leave by nearly a fifth, while the ULEZ has contributed to improved life satisfaction and wellbeing. Vindication for London's approach. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Right to buy in England ‘fuelled housing crisis and cost taxpayers £200bn’ Common Wealth report calls discounted sales of council homes one of the ‘largest giveaways in UK history’

'Right to Buy' has fueled the housing crisis and cost us, the tax payer, at least £200bn, according to @Cmmonwealth

Kwajo Tweneboa, a social housing campaigner, said right to buy had “gutted council housing and transferred public wealth into private hands”.

theguardian.com/society/2025...

Paris said au revoir to cars. Air pollution maps reveal a dramatic change. Air pollution fell substantially as the city restricted car traffic and made way for parks and bike lanes.

“Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic and made way for parks, people-streets and bike-lanes.”

Better for the climate, better for health, better for livability & quality of life.

Common sense.

Such a no-brainer, it’s remarkable that more cities HAVEN’T done the same.

This iconic Fabian Todorovic cartoon is still one of the best I’ve seen at illustrating the remarkable amount of space we surrender to cars, leaving little space left for everyone and everything else. The text added later makes the bonus point that many drivers still manage to complain about it.

The higher the bonnet, the bigger the blind spot. Diagram showing how drivers can't see children in high fronted cars.

NEW RESEARCH: new car bonnets are trending higher every year and drivers of high fronted cars unable to see children as old as nine 😱🚙🚸❗

#Carspreading is out of control. What’s the latest? 🧵1/8

@transenv.bsky.social @cleancitiescampaign.org

Infographic of a woman in a wheelchair and text reading 'MISSING 375,000 accessible and adaptable homes that could have been built since July 2022'

Since July 2022, over 375,000 new homes have been built without meeting accessible or adaptable standards.

For disabled and older people with changing mobility, this isn't just about housing — it's about basic rights, health and independence.

Connect with our leading team: go.bsky.app/UX4T67L

WASPInomics and the magic avocado tree Why boomers struggle to make sense of the millennial world.

My latest, exploring with numbers how the millennial household budget is basically incomprehensible to retired boomers.

What screen time really does to children's brains Screen time has become synonymous with bad news - but the science may not be as straightforward as it seems

The science on screen time is not as straightforward as media coverage on the issue may suggest @zsk.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The UK’s flagship health research programme promises breakthroughs, but beneath an NHS branded facade, critics are asking who really benefits from this vast database, heavily backed by industry and government.

@mgtmccartney.bsky.social and I investigate

www.bmj.com/content/390/...

This is powerful stuff, do read 🔻🔻

Up to £200,000 for up to 24 months. Apply by 9 September.

I would be more worried that near 100% of sex offenders are men. Maybe that's the thing we should be concerned about.

Lucky Plumstead!

Ooh - where?

I agree. Councils can't afford to maintain #parks - and people, everywhere, really care about them.

Despite the photo and blurb above, the report doesn't mention local green spaces...

Do you live in Newham, Bracknell Forest or Glasgow?

Great news! You can now sponsor a street tree outside your home! Find out more, or start your tree sponsorship journey by visiting our website 👉 sponsor.treesforstreets.org/start

Parks don't close - they just deteriorate until people avoid them; they then attract anti-social behaviour. (Facilities such as pools or libraries have to close if they fall below a minimum standard, eg no staff, but there's no minimum standard for parks). Many green spaces are sold for development.

Very interesting paper from the IPPR - but despite the text above, it says very little about #parks. The government is framing nature as a 'blocker' to progress, but research consistently shows that people are passionate about their local green spaces. Good parks build communities and local pride...

Everything you've been told about the 'unpopularity' of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods is a lie.