Laird Ryan
@lairdryan.bsky.social
The lived-in face of public policy. Lecturer at UCEM, meddling in urban planning, ESOL, social and environmental justice. Maker of music, marmalade and mischief.
Reposted by Laird Ryan
Thank you to the folks you sent me this #badgeographyjoke! I’m living in the paradise half of Australia and am sending out special greetings to my Western Australian friends 😉
September 22, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Thank you to the folks you sent me this #badgeographyjoke! I’m living in the paradise half of Australia and am sending out special greetings to my Western Australian friends 😉
Reposted by Laird Ryan
It is probably fair for the survey respondents to have doubts. We recently published our vision for 21st Century New Towns.
The success criteria for new new towns must surely be whether the communities meet people's needs and are places in which people want to live. www.tcpa.org.uk/wp-content/u...
The success criteria for new new towns must surely be whether the communities meet people's needs and are places in which people want to live. www.tcpa.org.uk/wp-content/u...
August 14, 2025 at 9:35 AM
It is probably fair for the survey respondents to have doubts. We recently published our vision for 21st Century New Towns.
The success criteria for new new towns must surely be whether the communities meet people's needs and are places in which people want to live. www.tcpa.org.uk/wp-content/u...
The success criteria for new new towns must surely be whether the communities meet people's needs and are places in which people want to live. www.tcpa.org.uk/wp-content/u...
Reposted by Laird Ryan
Very good Larry Elliott column which eloquently makes two undeniable points:
- Freezing fuel duty has been vastly expensive and disproportionately benefits the rich.
- We really need to start talking about road pricing.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
- Freezing fuel duty has been vastly expensive and disproportionately benefits the rich.
- We really need to start talking about road pricing.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
A policy that benefited the richest and cost the UK £100bn: it's long past time to end the fuel duty freeze | Larry Elliott
Successive chancellors have steered clear of increasing taxes for motorists for 15 years, but this should be a no-brainer for cash-strapped Rachel Reeves, says Guardian columnist Larry Elliott
www.theguardian.com
August 14, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Very good Larry Elliott column which eloquently makes two undeniable points:
- Freezing fuel duty has been vastly expensive and disproportionately benefits the rich.
- We really need to start talking about road pricing.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
- Freezing fuel duty has been vastly expensive and disproportionately benefits the rich.
- We really need to start talking about road pricing.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Laird Ryan
Si monumentum requiris, circumspice
August 6, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Si monumentum requiris, circumspice
A #HappyEaster to your all! What better way to symbolise this than this photo of our #terracotta planter, whose knowing smile and sense of abundance transcend language itself?
April 20, 2025 at 1:16 PM
A #HappyEaster to your all! What better way to symbolise this than this photo of our #terracotta planter, whose knowing smile and sense of abundance transcend language itself?
Reposted by Laird Ryan
Time to read up on the French Revolution?
April 11, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Time to read up on the French Revolution?
50 years ago this week, in #BamberGascogine's time on #UniversityChallenge, the #UniversityofDundee team (Ken Guild, Bob Hynd, Lindsay Easton and I) beat a #Cambridge college that numbers #CharlesDarwin among its alumni. Our student magazine, #Annasach, headlined our victory: " #Christs Crucified".
April 7, 2025 at 1:29 PM
50 years ago this week, in #BamberGascogine's time on #UniversityChallenge, the #UniversityofDundee team (Ken Guild, Bob Hynd, Lindsay Easton and I) beat a #Cambridge college that numbers #CharlesDarwin among its alumni. Our student magazine, #Annasach, headlined our victory: " #Christs Crucified".
Reposted by Laird Ryan
Reposted by Laird Ryan
“In short, European builders tend to build fairly tall buildings on a smaller portion of the lot than American urban builders, providing much more space for trees, green space, gardens, and so forth.”
NEW STORY // Op-Ed: Harrell’s Growth Plan Fails to Add Enough Housing or Tree Canopy www.theurbanist.org/2025/03/29/h...
Op-Ed: Harrell’s Growth Plan Fails to Add Enough Housing or Tree Canopy - The Urbanist
# Architect Michael Eliason shares his blueprint for a greener Seattle with more abundant and affordable housing. The vision goes beyond townhomes to stacked flats amidst ample tree canopy.
www.theurbanist.org
March 30, 2025 at 5:10 PM
“In short, European builders tend to build fairly tall buildings on a smaller portion of the lot than American urban builders, providing much more space for trees, green space, gardens, and so forth.”
Reposted by Laird Ryan
The latest title in the Routledge @rtpiplanners.bsky.social RTPI Library book series is Rural Planning Futures edited by @markscott-ucd.bsky.social John Sturzaker Nick Gallent @gavinparker.bsky.social Amy Burnett & @ianmell.bsky.social www.routledge.com/RTPI-Library...
March 30, 2025 at 4:14 PM
The latest title in the Routledge @rtpiplanners.bsky.social RTPI Library book series is Rural Planning Futures edited by @markscott-ucd.bsky.social John Sturzaker Nick Gallent @gavinparker.bsky.social Amy Burnett & @ianmell.bsky.social www.routledge.com/RTPI-Library...
Reposted by Laird Ryan
'Growing wealth inequality is increasing the risk of societal collapse, according to a new Fairness Foundation report that shows nearly two-thirds of Britons are concerned about the political influence of very rich people.'
www.theguardian.com/inequality/2...
www.theguardian.com/inequality/2...
Nearly two-thirds of Britons say very rich have too much influence on politics
Opinium survey of 2,000 adults found concern about the impact of growing wealth inequality in the UK
www.theguardian.com
January 26, 2025 at 11:12 AM
'Growing wealth inequality is increasing the risk of societal collapse, according to a new Fairness Foundation report that shows nearly two-thirds of Britons are concerned about the political influence of very rich people.'
www.theguardian.com/inequality/2...
www.theguardian.com/inequality/2...
Reposted by Laird Ryan
Lower-income households are set to become £500 a year poorer over the Parliament.
The Resolution Foundation's overnight analysis of the Spring Statement is available here ⤵️ buff.ly/AylYT09
The Resolution Foundation's overnight analysis of the Spring Statement is available here ⤵️ buff.ly/AylYT09
March 30, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Lower-income households are set to become £500 a year poorer over the Parliament.
The Resolution Foundation's overnight analysis of the Spring Statement is available here ⤵️ buff.ly/AylYT09
The Resolution Foundation's overnight analysis of the Spring Statement is available here ⤵️ buff.ly/AylYT09
Reposted by Laird Ryan
The charms of authoritarianism and fascism are not so hard to describe…
but don’t strap yourself to a pig.
simonduffy.info/blog/dont-st...
but don’t strap yourself to a pig.
simonduffy.info/blog/dont-st...
March 24, 2025 at 6:16 PM
The charms of authoritarianism and fascism are not so hard to describe…
but don’t strap yourself to a pig.
simonduffy.info/blog/dont-st...
but don’t strap yourself to a pig.
simonduffy.info/blog/dont-st...
#StPatrick's said to be buried here at #DownCathedral - maybe under this granite slab? No matter: pilgrims and the curious, like these Polish tourists, have a taste for the tangible. Whether you're #Irish by nationality or just inclination, #LáFhéilePádraig sona daiobh! #HappyStPatricksDay to you!
March 17, 2025 at 11:06 PM
#StPatrick's said to be buried here at #DownCathedral - maybe under this granite slab? No matter: pilgrims and the curious, like these Polish tourists, have a taste for the tangible. Whether you're #Irish by nationality or just inclination, #LáFhéilePádraig sona daiobh! #HappyStPatricksDay to you!
Reposted by Laird Ryan
An unexpected and unintended #badgeographyjoke
March 14, 2025 at 6:03 PM
An unexpected and unintended #badgeographyjoke
Reposted by Laird Ryan
Teaching the cholera riots of 1832 today. What happens in a pandemic and why people resist centralised public health measures is always relevant...
www.britishmuseum.org/collection/o...
www.britishmuseum.org/collection/o...
print; satirical print | British Museum
Above the design as a second title: 'Cholera Consultation'. Four over-fed doctors carouse at a table laden with rounds of beef and decanters. Each holds up a glass and gives a toast. The man at the he...
www.britishmuseum.org
March 11, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Teaching the cholera riots of 1832 today. What happens in a pandemic and why people resist centralised public health measures is always relevant...
www.britishmuseum.org/collection/o...
www.britishmuseum.org/collection/o...
Reposted by Laird Ryan
Trump never had a peace plan for Ukraine. He had a plan for Ukraine's surrender, with a colonial resource grab. As Zelenskyy rightly refused it, or to cooperate in Trump's TV spectacular, the US has now cut Ukraine off.
That's what blackmail looks like.
That's what the world is up against.
That's what blackmail looks like.
That's what the world is up against.
March 4, 2025 at 6:21 AM
Trump never had a peace plan for Ukraine. He had a plan for Ukraine's surrender, with a colonial resource grab. As Zelenskyy rightly refused it, or to cooperate in Trump's TV spectacular, the US has now cut Ukraine off.
That's what blackmail looks like.
That's what the world is up against.
That's what blackmail looks like.
That's what the world is up against.
Reposted by Laird Ryan
I keep reading that Zelensky shouldn't have risen to the bait.
The man is human. He's seen tens of thousands of Ukrainians murdered, their cities blown apart & their children stolen.
He was sitting by a man who's looting his country's minerals & praising Putin.
And for 40 minutes, he held it in.
The man is human. He's seen tens of thousands of Ukrainians murdered, their cities blown apart & their children stolen.
He was sitting by a man who's looting his country's minerals & praising Putin.
And for 40 minutes, he held it in.
February 28, 2025 at 10:44 PM
I keep reading that Zelensky shouldn't have risen to the bait.
The man is human. He's seen tens of thousands of Ukrainians murdered, their cities blown apart & their children stolen.
He was sitting by a man who's looting his country's minerals & praising Putin.
And for 40 minutes, he held it in.
The man is human. He's seen tens of thousands of Ukrainians murdered, their cities blown apart & their children stolen.
He was sitting by a man who's looting his country's minerals & praising Putin.
And for 40 minutes, he held it in.
Reposted by Laird Ryan
we may be one of the few pubs that got this headline right
Trump And Vance Ambush Zelensky In Prelude To Betrayal talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-a...
Trump And Vance Ambush Zelensky In Prelude To Betrayal talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-a...
Trump And Vance Ambush Zelensky In Prelude To Betrayal
President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance moved to betray a...
talkingpointsmemo.com
February 28, 2025 at 10:38 PM
we may be one of the few pubs that got this headline right
Trump And Vance Ambush Zelensky In Prelude To Betrayal talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-a...
Trump And Vance Ambush Zelensky In Prelude To Betrayal talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-a...
Reposted by Laird Ryan
On 15 March 1939 Hitler and his deputy summoned the Czech President to Hitler’s residence in Berlin and then bullied him to submitting to a German invasion of his country.
They drove him to the point of physical collapse, threatening him until he eventually signed his country’s death warrant.
They drove him to the point of physical collapse, threatening him until he eventually signed his country’s death warrant.
February 28, 2025 at 6:56 PM
On 15 March 1939 Hitler and his deputy summoned the Czech President to Hitler’s residence in Berlin and then bullied him to submitting to a German invasion of his country.
They drove him to the point of physical collapse, threatening him until he eventually signed his country’s death warrant.
They drove him to the point of physical collapse, threatening him until he eventually signed his country’s death warrant.
Reposted by Laird Ryan
Disadvantaged communities routinely put up with poorly designed housing development.
But it doesn't need to be this way...
New research presents 20 stories from across England that buck this trend, and provides 10 strategies for successful design.
🔗placealliance.org.uk/from-inequality-to-quality/
But it doesn't need to be this way...
New research presents 20 stories from across England that buck this trend, and provides 10 strategies for successful design.
🔗placealliance.org.uk/from-inequality-to-quality/
February 14, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Disadvantaged communities routinely put up with poorly designed housing development.
But it doesn't need to be this way...
New research presents 20 stories from across England that buck this trend, and provides 10 strategies for successful design.
🔗placealliance.org.uk/from-inequality-to-quality/
But it doesn't need to be this way...
New research presents 20 stories from across England that buck this trend, and provides 10 strategies for successful design.
🔗placealliance.org.uk/from-inequality-to-quality/
At #Auschwitz on 19/02/1943, #Leon&MargarethaCohen met the fate shared by over 77% of #DutchJews.
Their tiny memorial plaques on a #Dordrecht sidestreet epitomise #HannaArendt's description of #Nazism's #banalityofevil. Now more than ever, we need to celebrate and defend our #commonhumanity.
Their tiny memorial plaques on a #Dordrecht sidestreet epitomise #HannaArendt's description of #Nazism's #banalityofevil. Now more than ever, we need to celebrate and defend our #commonhumanity.
January 27, 2025 at 11:18 PM
At #Auschwitz on 19/02/1943, #Leon&MargarethaCohen met the fate shared by over 77% of #DutchJews.
Their tiny memorial plaques on a #Dordrecht sidestreet epitomise #HannaArendt's description of #Nazism's #banalityofevil. Now more than ever, we need to celebrate and defend our #commonhumanity.
Their tiny memorial plaques on a #Dordrecht sidestreet epitomise #HannaArendt's description of #Nazism's #banalityofevil. Now more than ever, we need to celebrate and defend our #commonhumanity.
Reposted by Laird Ryan
Retrouvé gravé par un prisonnier sur les murs de Auschwitz Birkenau : « si dieu existe, il va falloir qu’il me prie très fort avant que je le pardonne »
January 27, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Retrouvé gravé par un prisonnier sur les murs de Auschwitz Birkenau : « si dieu existe, il va falloir qu’il me prie très fort avant que je le pardonne »
Reposted by Laird Ryan
Each Sunday at noon, #chihuahua-families share time together in #KensingtonGardens. #NewYearsDay inspires people everywhere to defy the boundaries and the barbed wire to share what's special to them. Whether it's chihuahuas, #townplanning or whatever, here's wishing you a 2025 rich in #togetherness.
January 1, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Each Sunday at noon, #chihuahua-families share time together in #KensingtonGardens. #NewYearsDay inspires people everywhere to defy the boundaries and the barbed wire to share what's special to them. Whether it's chihuahuas, #townplanning or whatever, here's wishing you a 2025 rich in #togetherness.