🇪🇺British/New Zealand urban planner living and working in Auckland. Mainly interested in accessibility, sustainability and health. My views are my own.
Auckland, New Zealand
Joined May 2009
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I have been a fan of Twitter for over a decade and have long resisted the temptation to defect...until now. Here is my @bluesky account:
bsky.app/profile/georgeweeks…
Expect the same combination of urbanism, Britain-in-Europe politics, book reviews and anything that springs to mind.
George Weeks retweeted
Attached to the back of the train back from Oban is a special Scotrail Class 153 rail car which has been converted for active travel - with plenty of bike racks. We need more of this in Britain! 🚴🏻♂️ 🚊 🏴
George Weeks retweeted
Parents ignoring their children while allowing them to play with/listen to iPads etc on loudspeaker
George Weeks retweeted
Lot's is happening in the City of London, some good, some bad. Read on to get up to date (including a consultation that urgently needs your support) or head over to our blog: lcc.org.uk/news/urgent-actio…
George Weeks retweeted
17 people have been killed while riding e-bikes in NYC so far this year. 16 were killed by drivers of cars/trucks.
Not a single pedestrian or cyclist has been killed by an e-bike rider in 2024.
Who's really in danger here?
George Weeks retweeted
One of these can move Millions of people a day and one of them can transport you between a hotel and a Convention Center
Everyone laughed when Elon said he'd dig tunnels to fix LA traffic..
Now his underground Vegas loop is making $75M a year.
But how this business grew is actually wild.
Here's what's actually happening beneath the strip: 🧵
George Weeks retweeted
How the hell do you do this to a building?!
Not technically a crime against humanity, but it ought to be.
George Weeks retweeted
You can live in a home with a backyard, and depending on the street network design and lot size, experience vastly different urban typologies.
West University Place and Katy are both within the Houston metro area, yet these single-family cities have vastly different densities.
ALT Image comparison of two aerial images. West University Place showing a gridded street network with lots of trees and new housing vs. Katy TX which is full of cul-de-sacs and single family housing too.
George Weeks retweeted
New Intercity Fleet Services:
Tuesday 3rd
0821 Newcastle - Sydney
1120 Sydney - Newcastle
1418 Newcastle - Sydney
1718 Sydney - Newcastle
Wednesday 4th - Friday 6th
0520 Sydney - Newcastle
0821 Newcastle - Sydney
1120 Sydney - Newcastle
1418 Newcastle - Sydney
1718 Sydney - Newcastle
George Weeks retweeted
1/3
🇬🇷🚇 Thessaloniki, Greece, finally opened its new metro system today!
➡️ 9.6 km (100% underground)
➡️ 13 stations
➡️ Driverless trains
➡️ 315,000 daily riders expected
🏛️ Museum-like stations, showcasing archaeological artifacts found during construction 🏺
THREAD ⬇️
George Weeks retweeted
Fantastic to open Hackney’s new protected cycle route C23 connecting Waltham Forest to Dalston.
As the number of people cycling continues to increase across London, we’re committed to working with boroughs to make our streets safer.
@hackneycouncil @TfL @hackneycouncil
Check out the new cycle route along Lea Bridge Road 🚲
Delivered in partnership with @TfL, the new protected cycle route connects Lea Bridge to Dalston
📹 Watch the video below with @SarahWoodberryD & @willnorman to learn more👇🏽
More info: orlo.uk/CDp8g
George Weeks retweeted
Now for the rest of the country 👇
George Weeks retweeted
This week’s paper on sale tomorrow (with subscribers today… join them!)
THE SHIT LIST 2025
George Weeks retweeted
Why does The Lord of the Rings still look so good?
Many reasons, but here's one: Minas Tirith wasn't CGI. They built a miniature version of the city and filmed that. It looks realistic — because it was real.
And this wasn't even the biggest model they made...
George Weeks retweeted
... stop having to look back at that past with regret and instead fall back in love with the future ! Because the future really should be better than the past.
#TimeForTrams for movement
#GreenUp for streets & squares
#GentleDensity for beautiful buildings
#MetrolandModel to pay for it
#BringTheDemocracyForward to de-risk planning
George Weeks retweeted
... Leeds shoud create homes along tram & train lines not dual carriageways. Many new homes should be clustered around train & tram stations, high streets, and pre-existing employment centres not heavy road infrastructure ...
George Weeks retweeted
... here's our vision for Leeds in 2035 with 21 miles of three new radial tram lines and ...
George Weeks retweeted
Once upon a time, Leeds had trams, lots of them. They helped people get to work, come to the centre to shops and to meet each other for work and play. But then, catastrophically, for the city's long term future and prosperity in 1959....
George Weeks retweeted
The tech-bro culture war against public transit in dense cities is alive and well funded. Note the fantasy of zero fares, contradicted by the need for decongestion pricing to manage explosive induced demand. It’s snake oil all the way down.
For 20% of SF's public transit budget you could buy and run a fleet of 15,000 Waymos and let everyone ride for free. Thats enough to cover the entire ridership of SF's public bus system with much better service.
Assumptions:
-Conservative 12 year average life of the Waymo with zero value recouped at the end
- $120k purchase price per Waymo
-$8k/year/waymo in operating costs
-Finance purchase with 12 year loan at SF municipal bond rate of 4.85%
-$0 in fares!