“Naked streets” or “Naked roads” - some even call them (more tamely) “Shared Spaces” - have apparently been around since the 1980s.   Credited to Hans Monderman, the Naked street idea is based on a psychological approach which supports designing roads to reflect the different cognitive skills needed in different transport situations.  Shared suburban spaces are contrasted to motorways and argued to need specific skills for their complex human context.  This whole area of thinking has developed more formally into the field of “psychological” or “second generation traffic calming.” Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re lucky (or unlucky depending on how you see it) you might be offered a lollipop by a WCC worker for obediently waiting for the lights at the Ghuznee/Cuba St intersection before crossing the road. There’s nothing quite like being greeted by a patronising lollipop and a “Congratulations for crossing the road legally.”

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Some of you will have noticed that yesterday (Monday 2 March) Campbell Live did a piece on air pollution.  Here are the links to the video and to the accompanying text.