Julia Thrift

Always a pleasure to visit #Manchester - but even more so now the #Bee integrated public #transport network is up-and-running.

Easy-peasy to get around, even for tourists like me...

Wot no #UniversityChallenge tonight? 😳

Make Space for Girls launch major donation drive for International Day of the Girl All donations will be matched until 15 October by the Big Give in honour of the International Day of the Girl. Make Space for Girls is fighting for the inclusion of girls in the creation of places

A huge thank you to The Developer for this article on Make Space for Girls and helping raise awareness of the fact all donations to our charity are doubled this week:

www.thedeveloper.live/opinion/make...

#wgmf @biggive.bsky.social

UK’s arm’s length public bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation Seven in ten Britons say it is important for top scientific institutions to be independent in exclusive new polling.

🧵🚨

The UK’s independent scientific bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation - over the past 5 months I've been working with @martinmckee.bsky.social to map out their vulnerabilities and it's not good news.

Today our report is published!
www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...

1/11

No 10 blocks report on impact of rainforest collapse on food prices Downing Street has vetoed release of an assessment that says the loss of the Amazon ecosystem could drive up food inflation as well as lead to mass migration

Well, that's one way of handling global ecosystem collapse

Block publication of research that might raise awkward questions about whether UK govt is doing enough about it

Can't see any flaws in that approach....

www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

Up for helping with #SlowWays this weekend? This map shows 900 routes across Britain that need just one more good review to be verified🐌✅⭐️❤️

Could you check one... or even a trail of routes? And inspire others to follow in your footsteps?

Take look:
beta.slowways.org/user/waylist...

Why designers abandoned their dreams of changing the world Design was once seen as a tool to improve lives — but as modernism has become marketing, that sense of social purpose has drifted away

#Design is facing an existential crisis, as @edwinheathcote.bsky.social explains so eloquently. 🔻🔻

Design thinking could transform lives for the better (eg in #NHS systems; or wayfinding; or products for older people), but many designers' work just fuels excessive consumption...

on.ft.com/46M9mXI

The same in #Edinburgh. It invested in its public realm to increase walking and cycling and Mastercard reported a 20% increase in local spend.

Many other benefits were also evidenced in the multi year study - despite predictions of disaster, the scheme was anything but.

@theasrstein.bsky.social warns that other countries haven't made a shift from hospital to community without investment, and we don't have the infrastructure that is ready for that shift at the moment.

It's a very difficult equation to make it work with current resources.

At this year's TCPA Annual Conference, we'll hear inspiring examples of community planning & nature recovery, learn what the Planning & Infrastructure Bill proposals mean in practice, & consider how local planning authorities should approach the next year.
Tickets: www.tcpa.org.uk/event/tcpa-a...

Safer Parks: Design only goes so far – we need to tackle harassment We must create a community of active bystanders to make our parks safer and more inclusive, writes Dr Anna Barker on the launch of a new campaign. Professionals in the built environment have a vital r...

Parks should be accessible & welcoming to all. Yet in Britain, women are 3x more likely than men to feel unsafe in a park during the day. We must create a community of active bystanders to make our parks safer & more inclusive, writes Dr Anna Barker on the launch of a new campaign.
shorturl.at/kti7o

#theBeeAt3

Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.

# 179

Bumblebees are aware of the size of their bodies relative to the environment around them.
They know how big they are and can judge where they’ll fit!
Knowing one’s body dimensions is a core aspect of self-awareness.
#bees
#nature
#environment

Most areas in the UK were affected by heatwaves this summer, with some areas becoming unbearable. This is likely the future of our British summers ☀️🌡️

One way to make your street cooler is to add some trees. Sponsor a street tree today to make next summer easier 👉 sponsor.treesforstreets.org/start

View looking down on old stone building, canal and new flats in Leeds

#Planners in #Leeds doing a good job of mixing old and new buildings and patching together public spaces...

But still a lot to do!

New Pod: The Grown Up Stuff! (Free) Wills & even more important Power Of Attorney. I'm joined by lawyers to talk peace of mind protection. Do listen.
podcasts.APPLE.com/gb/podcast/t...
open.SPOTIFY.com/show/6tsU1yc...
www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand...

Greenwich Council opens £1m growth fund to community groups - The Greenwich Wire Community groups can now bid for a share of a £1 million pot of money from developers with the return of the council’s Greenwich Neighbourhood Growth Fund.

Community groups can now bid for a share of a £1 million pot of money from developers with the return of the council’s Greenwich Neighbourhood Growth Fund.

greenwichwire.co.uk/2025/09/18/g...

Given Farage's comments on marriage yesterday, worth saying that levels of support for same-sex marriage among Reform supporters are almost double those who oppose it, and not far off the national average.

The crumbling seaside palaces at the centre of Britain’s asylum crisis [FREE TO READ] How one hotelier built an empire from beloved community assets — and a government struggling to cope with a surge in migration

Another free link to this, in case people have going to bed reading requirements

on.ft.com/3K1ZFg3

Announcing the TCPA’s Annual Conference 2025: The Purpose of Planning  - Town and Country Planning Association We are pleased to announce the TCPA’s 2025 Annual Conference will focus on the Purpose of Planning.

🗣️ 'Planning has been described by some, rather mischievously, as a ‘system without a purpose’. But we argue that the planning system can be transformational.'

Lachlan Anderson-Frank reveals what to expect from this year's Annual Conference: The purpose of planning.

www.tcpa.org.uk/announcing-t...

#OtD 11 Sep 1946 the Abbey Lodge block of flats in Regents Park, London was squatted by homeless families of WWII ex-servicemen. It was part of a wave of similar occupations in the wake of WWII stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8359...

EPC ratings are being used for access to grants, to ban landlords for letting low-rated properties, and for access to green finance. But yet another study has found they bear no relation to energy used. share.google/oqiQWuAtGTJ4...

Important question 🔻

Sadly I didn't take a photo of the gatecrashing squirrel...

But can offer you this sleepy cat...

Windows protected from direct sunlight with exterior Venetian blinds on a awning style frame.

A old photo of Venetian Palazzo with a row of windows, all benefitting from exterior Venetian blinds

Remember folks, to keep your house even cooler in summer, your Venetian blinds are best fitted to the exterior of your home. Just like they did in old Venice.

On the inside, and it's too late, as the heat is already in the house.

Abbey Wood station alone now sees more passengers a year than Bristol Temple Meads station.

Also more than Cambridge station, Sheffield station and Newcastle station.

The power of the Liz line (and why it's baffling Southeastern cut trains serving it for interchange)

#OtD 8 Sep 1946 numerous empty properties, including 148 luxury flats in the Duchess of Bedford House in Kensington, were squatted by homeless ex-servicemen and their families in London in a wave of occupations across the country stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1086...

📢 We're hiring a Public Affairs Lead!

An exciting opportunity has come up help us influence the political agenda about the impacts of the food system on our diets, our health and our planet.

More info & apply: ➡️ bit.ly/3CoZaoy

Nuclear energy - it certainly ain't cheap www.ft.com/content/ee89...

Streeting’s bid to get Britain off the couch and save NHS £10bn Health Secretary’s Get Britain Moving campaign could be undermined by difficulty to walk in some areas

It's disappointing that the government's plan to get people moving is focused around "Go for a jog" rather than, as the evidence suggests, building environments that encourage everyday incidental exercise: the ability to walk to amenities
liveapp.inews.co.uk/category/388...