When first announced, the reaction was immediate and fierce. Taxi drivers warned of gridlock. Motorists staged protests. Politicians denounced it as a war on cars. Critics predicted longer journeys, economic disruption, and widespread backlash. Two years later, the data tells a very different story.

I don't post much on here but today, I thought some dots needed joining. So, have a read of this, about the most powerful health, cost of living, growth and health intervention you've never heard of www.linkedin.com/pulse/most-p...

"Tradeoffs exist when you are at the efficient frontier, when it’s really not possible to get more of one desired thing without giving up another. We are nowhere near that frontier in most of our decision making; we can usually have more of everything we want" backofmind.substack.com/p/the-sydney...

*Health care WORKERS. Prof Nick Maynard is an Oxford consultant surgeon who has volunteered in Gaza. The stats are that in Gaza c. 75 healthcare workers have been killed per 100,000 of the population, compared to just 0.8 in Ukraine, 0.3 in Myanmar, and 0.3 in Sudan. cherwell.org/2026/05/27/g...

This is a great example of "art-washing". Cow Lane needs to be closed to motor traffic to allow proper provision for walking and cycling - no amount of paintwork is going to change the basic space allocation problem.

Okay so I read the whole of the Pope's latest encyclical "Magnifica Humanitas", the one the internet is calling the AI Encyclical, but it's about a LOT more than that (of course it is, it's over 40,000 words). Here's a thread of quotes...

Starbucks done EFFED up in Korea. Bad. May 18th just passed, Democratic Movement Day, when rose up after the military dictatorship sent tanks to mass-murder citizens. Some inappropriately call it "Tank Day." Starbucks commemorated Tank Day with a sale on tank tumblers. It gets much worse...

The Five Million Year Odyssey: The Human Journey From Ape to Agriculture dannyreviews.com/h/Five_Milli... (my review)

Can it really be true that: a) the Women's Institute has had trans members since the 1970s, b) the UK passed a law in 2010 requiring them to be expelled, c) nobody noticed this until 2026? it seems that we may have to consider the appalling vista that some lawyers are very bad at their job

This analysis of Oxford's cycling by Soteria is completely misguided, picking up superficial problems while completely oblivious to fundamental ones. soteriaproject.eu/what-does-cy...

- Subsidising consumption in the face of a supply shock - reducing incentives to drive less/switch to EVs - using up limited fiscal space to help better-off drivers rather than the most vulnerable. Hard to think of a worse policy right now.

Helsinki has opened a remarkable new bridge for trams, cycling and walking! The new Kruunuvuorensilta cuts the cycling distance to the city centre in half, while cars still need to take the long route. I cycled across the bridge just 3 weeks after the opening. My latest blog post and video:

We’re giving Mark what must be one of the country’s biggest design challenges - the Plain roundabout and Magdalen Bridge. The UK’s second busiest cycle route and busiest bus route, with some tight space constraints.

In 1994 I led a protest march against Internet censorship proposals by the New South Wales government that would have treated the Internet as if it were broadcast television…

The coverage of "hate marches" in the UK has been almost entirely about those in solidarity with Palestine This is compared to euphemisms used to describe increasingly emboldened fascist and their billionaire enablers Excellent from @desfreedman.bsky.social www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ma...

The state of things. A thread 🧵

When God ran out of simple, beautiful constants, it started making up really crazy ones. Here's my explanation of one that blew my mind - not why it is what it is, just what it means. johncarlosbaez.wordpress.com/2026/05/07/f...

A direct letter from @drtedros.who.int to the people of Tenerife, Canary Islands in light of the MV Hondius’ arrival. This is thoughtful and compassionate, and correctly describes the legal framework, but more importantly the solidarity that underpins it.

Tom Quad is big enough to fit a compact multi-storey car park: wanderingdanny.com/oxford/2020/...

"Vienna aims to reduce the share of journeys in private cars within the city from 25% to 15% by the end of the decade" www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Oxford is getting another bookshop!

Polls open tomorrow for Oxford City, Cherwell and West Oxfordshire. Here at OLS, we don't back parties but we do care about policies that work toward fairer streets, neighbourhoods and places that centre health, wellbeing and connection. Here's what we've been reading. 🧵 👇🏽

The figure in this paper is fascinating. It's the opposite of the famous image of how renewables growth was always under-estimated in energy projections.

Calling residents of #banbury, #bicester, #abingdon, #oxford, #witney, #thame, #henley, #didcot, #carterton and beyond. Be part of shaping indicators for #Oxfordshire with #FutureStreetsOxfordshire, a people-powered project to envision thriving places and unlock the conditions for change 👇🏽

1/ Oil prices will rise to at least $140 per barrel by June if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened by July, and will not return to pre-Iran War levels before 2028 even in a best-case scenario, predicts Goldman Sachs. It warns of price surges and major economic impacts. ⬇️

you have to understand that when Richard Dawkins says really dumb things it's because Oxford dons have no natural predators.

large language models are mechanized tradition www.argmin.net/p/cosma-shal...

Thankfully I get to vote to re-elect the fantastic incumbent @katherinesmiles.bsky.social Fully on board for nicer spaces and better walking and cycling infrastructure.

It's Friday, which is as good an excuse as any to remind you about my fantasy subway maps. The Middle Earth Public Transit Authority needs your support! #Tolkien #Subway #Maps #LoTR You can purchase prints and such (w/o the water mark) here: www.etsy.com/shop/Surpris...

Powerful story about the experience of Somali families in Barton Hill, Bristol and the action they took to create space for children to play outdoors & its impact: “It’s like being back home. You come outside, talk to neighbours, there are people all around, children playing. It’s like the village”

Oxfam is calling on the UK Government to suspend its trade agreement with Israel following its adoption, one month ago, of a new death penalty law that they warn is “discriminatory by design”, and applicable in practice, primarily to Palestinians. www.oxfam.org.uk/media/press-...

Oxford has had 20mph on side streets since 2007, and 30mph has always felt stupidly dangerous to me on similar streets elsewhere. All drivers make mistakes sometimes, and 20mph makes them less likely to maim or kill someone.

The one-hour city conspiracy is real usa.streetsblog.org/2026/04/27/u...

One of my concerns about fancy classifications is that they can be used to avoid acknowledging political trade-offs. So Oxford's Cowley Rd was declared a "mixed priority area" in 2007, as if that would magically resolve...

Lots of good points in @brenttoderian.bsky.social's thread, but I want to pull out this one to say something about a particularly awful case of process-as-tactic from Birmingham, UK, where I live. And that is the case of #MayarYahiaSquare.

Why Japan has such good railways worksinprogress.co/issue/why-ja... (Works in Progress)

mice are fine, just not in the kitchen and not in plague numbers robertweetman.wordpress.com/notes-for-sh... (Weetman)

I want to talk to you about cycling and hip arthritis It surprises a lot of people, and needs to be more widely understood I have a hip replacement next month, this thread is my experience, but I know others have found the same 🧵

A first-of-its-kind observation suggests red harvester ants may look to smaller ants to pick off parasites. https://scim.ag/3OljYri

Oxford City Council's 1973 Balanced Transport Policy. wanderingdanny.com/oxford/docs/... This was hugely progressive, abandoning road building and looking to shift trips to public transport and cycling instead.

I'm going on a cycle tour in the Netherlands in May, and will have a whole last day with @robintucker1.bsky.social to get from Delft to Hook of Holland for the night ferry. Any recs for nice routes with urbanist attractions? @bicycledutch.bsky.social @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social @modacitylife.com

Individual incomes may be rising, but local authorities have been hollowed out, so we have potholes, failures in SEND support and child services, etc.

If you were asked to translate Beowulf into modern English, how would you translate ‘Hwæt’?

Hungary’s turnout is BRUTAL: 37.98% by 11am (2022: 22.77%), pointing to 75–80% or more overall. In such a scenario, Orbán’s chances look slim, and it’s unlikely any party beyond Fidesz and Péter Magyar’s Tisza clears the 5% threshold. Follow me for more #HungaryElection updates.

While the world is anxiously watching the Strait of Hormuz, another maritime drama is playing out in the Gulf of Finland: The drama of the traffic jam involving dozens of shadow vessels. www.politico.eu/article/gulf... Me @politico.eu. No paywall.

All that remains of the southern Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab.

“That's how long Donald Trump's big beautiful ceasefire lasted. Six hours. You couldn't keep a toddler's attention for six hours with a bag of lollies and an iPad, but apparently that's also the exact shelf life of American diplomacy in 2026.” open.substack.com/pub/ifloz/p/...

Starmer should immediately & unequivocally ban access to British airspace to US warplanes. The UK should not be accomplice to a US President who is threatening more war crimes. Period.

#Lebanon: Following yesterday's Israeli airstrike on a residential neighbourhood in #Beirut, five people were killed, including a 15-year-old girl and two Sudanese migrants. Fifty-two people, including eight children, were wounded, according to the Ministry of Public Health.