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My Danish Pinups

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Ok, so I don’t actually have their pictures on my bedroom wall, but there are two Danish men that keep popping up in my life during this project and while writing my dissertation last year: Jan Gehl and Mikael Colville-Andersen. The visions they’ve been fastidiously working on from one of the world’s smallest nations and have been playing out over the last few decades globally, provide important new narratives to unlock the true wealth of our cities. Jan Gehl At 80 years old this year (2018), Jan Gehl is the founder of Gehl Architects which now has studios in Copenhagen and New York, has completed projects across the world, and has spun off the Gehl Institute to continue its mission through research and policy work. His early revelation echoes the business mantra, we can only manage what we can measure; he realised that if we are to create public spaces for people, we need data on people. In the 1950s when he took heed on this, city planners were developing cities based on
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Old news: abandonded dockless vehicles

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At the end of my first crit for this project, where I gave an overview of the developing bicycle infrastructure in London, a question from one of the tutors was whether I had seen the terrible pictures of all the abandoned dockless bicycles in Chinese cities? Who hasn't? The media loves a good story especially if it comes with a great picture. Her question was really questioning if we wanted our cities invaded by so many of these vehicles? And my answer was yes, but we obviously need to be mindful not to be too hasty and repeat the patterns in China. However, as soon as I had taken my seat again and the crits rolled onto the next person, I suddenly flipped open my laptop, launched Firefox and began searching for images of 'parked cars' and 'scrap cars'. I then added these extra slides as an appendix to my presentations as a note to self for next time I am asked this question (people love it as much as the media do): If I was quick whipped enough, I
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The thing about the window seat

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Last week I travelled from London to Amsterdam via Brussels on one of the new Eurostar trains, which have in fact been around since November 2015, but not being such a frequent traveller, it still defintely felt new to me. The e320 Eurostar trains are designed to be more energy and space efficient, and also include upgrades to the onboard passenger experience by way of USB charging sockets and free wi-fi (though I couldn't get it to work). However, the overall onboard experience incapsulated by the new interior design by Italian firm Pininfarina , has received mixed reviews - and I wonder if parts of the interior makeover also hint at an emerging advertising revenue model for Eurostar, also being seen in across other modes of transport. During my standard-class ride onboard the e320, it became obvious that Eurostar interiors seem to have been re-modelled according to the design standards of ubiquitous aeroplane interiors, effacing all previous reference to the continental design
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What's the difference between a bicycle and a pair of skis?

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image credit: andrusc Not as much as you might think actually - they are both active, relatively low-impact modes of transport which can form part of a wider mobility network. And in essence they are both alot of fun! Ten years ago I worked in a ski school in the French Alps, taking bookings and helping with children's lessons. It was a great lifestyle - although I still had an office job for the most part, nearly every day I would be out on the mountain for a few hours, and if I was going to see a friend in another part of the resort it would normally neccessitate skiing to get there. Days off were spent out on the mountain with friends, stopping off for a picnic, hot chocolate or vin chaud. If you've been lucky enough to get to grips with skiing, you'll no doubt appreciate the wonderful feeling of gliding down the mountain, cutting through the snow or floating over fresh powder off piste. Although a little more challenging to master, once accomplished, skiing it
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BikeIT like Ben!

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Before moving up the big smoke for a second stint in London and to master the service design ways, I was lucky to live due south on the coast in Brighton. There, I got involved volunteering with Sustrans ; in their own words they are the UK charity that make it easier for people to walk and cycle. A core part of their work takes part in schools through their team of dedicated 'BikeIT Officers' who all go by their first names. I was lucky enough to work with BikeIT Ben , who is well known and loved in primary and secondary schools across Brighton & Hove, where he has been helping kids and parents to get on their bikes for several years. When he is not clocking up the miles - and the hills - around Brighton, cycling between schools on his fully-laiden Surly cargo bike, his work ranges from helping kids fix their bikes and getting them bike building from scratch, to leading bike rides to the beach and hosting cycling assemblies where the peddle-powered Smoothie Bike is alwa
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Workshop test ride at RCA

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To kick start my research I planned a small workshop at the university with fellow female colleagues who were new to cycling in London. I wanted to start chipping away at the resistance to jumping on a bike in this city, particular if you are a lady - according to the London Cycling Campaign (LCC) women are around half as likely to have cycled in the past month compared with men. Interestingly they all responded to my poster, 'I Want to Ride A Bicycle' workshop - so there is obviously an underlying desire there, but what are the barriers for them? Part #1 For the first half hour, we shared our previous cycling memories - often from childhood - and then brainstormed what had held them back trying a bicycle again since they had moved to London. Coming from China, Tiawan and Chile, each of them had a different experience on urban riding, and a common theme was the uncertainty of the rules of the road in the UK . Other recuring issues included:  knowing where
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Location: Hyde Park, London, UK
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