Brunnenmarkt, Vienna: the common good not as a benefit bestowed by planners but as emergent and fluid, generated through the everyday exchanges of some of the city’s most precarious residents.
Reposted by: Julian Dobson, Edmund Heery, Paul Sheehan
Here’s a short story about who wins and loses from the status quo of our inheritance tax rules - and about, what you might politely call ‘sub-optimal’ journalism🧵
Well, who’d have thought it? High streets do better in wealthier places.
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So we need to build wealth in the communities that don’t have it, in ways that lock the benefits into those communities. And that’s what the big-ticket investments consistently fail to do.
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So we need to build wealth in the communities that don’t have it, in ways that lock the benefits into those communities. And that’s what the big-ticket investments consistently fail to do.
The Guardian
@theguardian.com
· Jul 9
As much as £5bn needed to revive UK’s struggling high streets, study finds
Business rates cuts not enough as people in poorer areas simply ‘don’t have money to spend’, says Centre for Cities
As much as £5bn is needed to revive ailing UK town and city centres, with areas including Bradford in Yorkshire, Newport in south Wales, and Blackpool in Lancashire having double the proportion of empty shops as London, a study has found.
A report from the Centre for Cities thinktank showed that the health of high streets across the country has varied significantly, and called for authorities to focus on developing homes and high-paying jobs in central locations to increase local spending power. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
Reposted by: Julian Dobson
I wrote the report with my colleague Femi Owolade for @ncia-project.bsky.social based on in-depth discussions with people in 'civic' roles at 21 universities. Full report here: civicuniversitynetwork.co.uk/portfolio-it...
Civic capitals at risk: the fragile foundations of the civic university - Civic University Network
Explore the risks and opportunities facing civic universities, and discover strategies to sustain civic capitals in challenging times.
civicuniversitynetwork.co.uk
Reposted by: Julian Dobson
New Post: Can a university be civic if it fails to invest in local relationships? www.hepi.ac.uk/2025/07/07/c...
In which my @cresr-shu.bsky.social colleague Jamie Redman and I get to grips with the question of environmental wellbeing: what environment, whose wellbeing, and what about those who cause harm? Free to read.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Environmental wellbeing: a concept and principles for research, policy and action
Environmental wellbeing is often referred to in academic literature but seldom defined. This article provides two contributions to knowledge: (1) developing an integrated concept of environmental w...
www.tandfonline.com
There’s nothing like turning up at the allotment at 6am just before the solstice…
Really pleased to be working with @ella-hubbard.bsky.social and @riverdonproject.bsky.social on this - a chance to understand the rich variety of relationships between people and the river than connects South Yorkshire.
Reposted by: Julian Dobson
Exciting news! 👀 From September @juliandobson.bsky.social, @riverdonproject.bsky.social & I will be working together on the Ecological Citizen(s) Network+ funded project 'Watershed Moments'. Find out more and see the other amazing projects here: ecologicalcitizens.co.uk/ec-projects
It’s all so blinkered. Now if we started thinking in terms of urban biodiversity and rural social diversity we might start inching toward better ideas of thriving…
A short poem about long Sunday mornings. Thanks to @benbanyard.bsky.social for taking this for Black Nore Review.
blacknorereview.wordpress.com/2025/05/08/j...
blacknorereview.wordpress.com/2025/05/08/j...
Julian Dobson – “Sabbath”
Sabbath I’d observe a cherry tree through the arch whisking through seasons while Sunday sermons drifted over me in spent blossom. At the time I’d missed the point of boredom, which was only partly…
blacknorereview.wordpress.com
I've reviewed Robert Macfarlane's new book, Is A River Alive? for The Conversation
📚 It's a great read
🌳 It's an urgent call for new ways of relating to the natural world
😀 It’s timely inspiration for everyone who wants systems for mutual flourishing
theconversation.com/robert-macfa...
📚 It's a great read
🌳 It's an urgent call for new ways of relating to the natural world
😀 It’s timely inspiration for everyone who wants systems for mutual flourishing
theconversation.com/robert-macfa...
Robert Macfarlane’s new book is a plea to feel the pulse of our rivers
Robert Macfarlane’s new book asks a simple question that poses a profound challenge to environmental policy and the drive for economic growth.
theconversation.com
Fascinating conversations and challenging discussions at the ‘Meeting of Rivers’ workshop in Sheffield today. Kudos to the person who picked the room.
Embracing the bank holiday spirit: Easedale Tarn, Stickle Tarn, Elterwater and Loughrigg Tarn.
It’s the sort of weekend (gloomy, ominous, unpromising) when thoughts turn to Lake District hillwalking. Here’s my take on the Kentmere round, just out in And Other Poems: andotherpoems.com/2025/04/16/a...
Plum and damson blossom against a cloudless sky. The allotment is waking up, and thirsty already.
An impressive range of responses to the River Don at the Faethm exhibition at Kelham Island, Sheffield. Industry, history, poetry, litter and the backdrop of an unfolding ecological crisis.
Great to have a snippet in this fine zine today.
Reposted by: Julian Dobson
View post
Reposted by: Julian Dobson
I have a prose poem published in Issue 13 of Briefly Write today among some amazing poets, including my friend @juliandobson.bsky.social
brieflywrite.com/2025/03/09/i...
brieflywrite.com/2025/03/09/i...
Issue 13 – March 2025
In Issue 13 of Briefly Zine, we journey between. In three acts, we travel through rich landscapes of poems, prose and photos.
brieflywrite.com
Once he’s had his free banquet at Balmoral, Trump will show the same level of respect to us. The only difference is that our survival isn’t at stake, yet.
Timothy Snyder
@timothysnyder.bsky.social
· Feb 28
Reposted by: Julian Dobson
I started today’s “Putinization of America” article for the Atlantic before the Trump-Zelensky meeting was announced, but I have a bad track record when it comes to hoping I’m wrong. It could’ve been scripted by Putin, especially Vance’s attacks. Maybe it was. www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
The Putinization of America
Trump’s deference to the Russian dictator has become full-blown imitation.
www.theatlantic.com