Sustainable transport and car optional cities. I lead a small company focused on public transport, urban design, parking reform and investment advice. Auckland, New Zealand.
NZ is getting balcony solar 😍. An example of how quickly good ideas can be adopted here.
Renew EconomyMajor NZ government review finds “no good reason” for preventing Kiwis from using plug-in solar, and may make it legal within a year. Will Australia follow? https://reneweconomy.com.au/if-theyre-good-enough-for-germany-new-zealand-set-to-beat-australia-to-legalising-plug-in-solar/
On anglosphere rail planning and mis-management. Featuring Auckland light rail debacle. youtu.be/iIET6M3phqA?...
The English-world is TERRIBLE at building transit. This is why.YouTube video by Building Beautifullyyoutu.beEvery couple of months we get a devastating flood wiping out rural highways. Seems like something to consider when budgeting for mega dumb new road projects.
Stu FlemingA State Highway we can all be proud of, is there even any base layer under that?
Late but good. Parties trying to outbid each other on electrification policy. www.rnz..nz/news/politic...
Can’t launch a new through running subway without merch 😍 www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2026/06/11/b...
Classic. Recall too how they went from “the sun doesn’t shine at night” to a solar programme for schools in a week.
Russell BrownYou people literally just had a Budget where you had nothing new for public transport and now you're talking about breaking into an emergency fund for it? Seems pretty random. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
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Grattan InstituteWhat do car-parks have to do with Australia's housing crisis? More than you'd think. Mandatory parking rules are adding as much as $137,000 to the price of a typical two-bedroom apartment. Grattan’s new report, ‘Wasted space’, says it's time to axe the rules: grattan.edu.au/report/waste...
This means, Irena says, that projects combining solar and wind generation with battery storage can now provide 24-hour power at prices that are competitive with gas-fired power plants. ☀️✨
ryan cooper"The cost of a typical utility-scale battery installation has fallen by well over half since 2022, and by 27 per cent last year alone" www.ft.com/content/b5c5...
Oh yeah. Transit Priority Atlas by Transit Costs Project has dropped. tpa.transitcosts.com
The IEA base case is “the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed until late May” But they now seem to be revising their analysis. www.reuters.com/business/ene...
US EIA concedes Middle East supply disruptions are far worse than prior estimatesThe U.S. Energy Information Administration on Tuesday revised its earlier forecasts to reflect a much bigger and lengthier hit to global oil supplies from the Iran war than it previously projected, h...www.reuters.comdream crossover 🏋️♂️😍
The War on CarsNew episode! "A Physical Education with Casey Johnston." We talk with @caseyjohnston.bsky.social about the structural barriers that prevent Americans from moving their bodies and why "at the scale of daily life, cars should be systematically discouraged." podcasts.apple.com/lu/podcast/a...
We seem to be testing the assumptions about fuel price/driving elasticity. Work from home probably adds a new dimension.
Kent Lundberg[March] vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) were down 20 percent for cars 👀 and five percent for light and heavy commercial vehicles www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
[March] vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) were down 20 percent for cars 👀 and five percent for light and heavy commercial vehicles www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
Tensions and price increases ahead for getting roads builtThe Transport Agency is working on a framework to prioritise maintenance, operations, and capital projects "identifying critical work versus activities that could be deferred".www.rnz.co.nz