BBC: Cycling and walking should be the norm for all short journeys, experts say.

Well written Nick Triggle! Cycling and walking should be the norm for all short journeys, health experts say, without which, addressing "silent epidemic" inactivity which appears to threatening health situation in England might not be achievable.

This experts' declaration confirms Sir Liam Donaldson's "miracle cure" statement recently;  ‘The potential benefits of physical activity to health are huge. If a medication existed which had a similar effect, it would be regarded as a “wonder drug” or “miracle cure”.’ - Sir Liam Donaldson – Chief Medical Officer (Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer 2009) (Source: here). Already, economically, it is known that cycling is contributing around £2.9 billion to the UK economy (Source: here).

Normalisation of cycling and walking is long overdue in England; particularly in the North East of England given the health outlook w.r.t. obesity and attitudes towards cyclists as well as issues surrounding cycleway networks and infrastructure.

The consensus on the benefits of cycling is in no doubt a positive one. The emphasis on how cycling updated could be realized is the emerging but pressing issue; my PhD research contributes in this regard albeit a relatively not too big a scope.

Slides: Finding survey data for your research: An introductory webinar

The slides for today’s webinar are now available on the event web page at http://www.ccsr.ac.uk/esds/events/2012-11-27/, should you wish to print them off before the webinar or probably use them later. I just participated so please send any concern to the convenors mentioned below.

Thanks to Sarah King‐Hele and Jen Buckley from UK Data Service! Fantastic and educative Webinar today!

"Copenhagenization!"; Two weeks experience in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Entry: 5th - 18th November 2012

At first thought, I said to myself: "This is not a dream, this is truly copenhagenization!" praising myself that I had just coined a new word in history but the word "copenhagenization" do have a definition. Copenhagenization is a design strategy for urban planning and design centered around making a city more accessible to bicyclists and pedestrians, and less car dependent. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_advocacy#cite_note-4).

My own observations during my visit suggest:

1. Space matters!:
It was clear to see that all road space users have been catered for in terms of transport planning: well thought out spaces for pedestrians, cars, buses, cyclists etc. Perhaps I am being bias due to my interest in urban spaces for various types of cyclists. (to be updated)

2. Infrastructure matters!: (to be updated)

3. Mutual respect matters!:
All road/land/track users seamlessly adjust to each other in their urban space movement transactions. (to be updated)

4. Attitude to behaviour change matters! (to be updated)

5. Research matters! (to be updated)
Despite the immense investment into cycling infrastructure in Copenhagen, there are still research (e.g., the bikeability project: http://www.bikeability.dk/) around cycling transportation aiming to optimize urban space design, planning and usage. It appears it is more important for cities aiming to "copenhagenize" their urban spaces leave sufficient space/right-of-way for pedestrians, cyclists, cars, buses, trams among others when designing road corridors. Although most cities, at least for now, find it difficult to implement, or even think of plans for other road users, leaving such spaces will make it easier for future design considerations for other road users such as cyclists. (to be updated)

As a way of ending, based on my own research around Tyneside conurbation, allow me to shout aloud: CYCLING TRANSPORTATION IN TYNESIDE CONURBATION MATTERS!!! WILL THERE EVER BE NEW WORDS FROM THE NORTH EAST OF ENGLAND?:  NEWCASTLIZATION?? TYNESIDATION?? PERHAPS TYNEWEARISM?? TYNEBIKES??

1st joint PhD CONFERENCE of DGG and F&L - University of Copenhagen, Denmark

1st joint PhD CONFERENCE of DGG and F&L - University of Copenhagen, Denmark

It was nice meeting other PhD colleagues in the University of Copenhagen during their first PhD conference organized by PhD students. The ideas behind the event which are to encourage PhD students to share their knowledge, exchange ideas and widen their social and academic network must be recommended.

Exploring Agent-Based Modelling technique for cycle track modelling

This work received grant from EU MOVE-COST project and undertaken as part of a Short Term Scientific Mission (STSM) at the University of Copenhagen. The overview of the findings can be assessed at MOVE-COST Project website under the 2012 STMS listings; Click THIS LINK.