Infrastructure

Bowling For Michael Moore – The tricky business of renewable energy…

Am Ghobsmacht on May 26, 2020, 7:00 am

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The Planet of the Humans, produced/tagged by Michael Moore caused a bit of a stir recently with the criticism ranging from “hmmmm, a bit out of date” to “he’s effectively now a white supremacist” Here’s a Guardian critique of Moore if you think the latter summary is a glib throwaway exaggeration: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/07/michael-moore-far-right-climate-crisis-deniers-film-environment-falsehoods My own criticism is reserved not for the clumsiness of the attempt to highlight both corporate involvement and the reality of renewables but for the rash conclusions from …

The coronavirus remote working boom has made many modern offices obsolete and the impact on the economy will be profound

Peter Donaghy (Salmon of Data) on May 23, 2020, 5:40 pm

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The announcement this week by Facebook that they would begin to allow most employees to work remotely was among many this week from technology companies announcing similar moves towards remote working. The coronavirus outbreak has seen a massive increase in the number of people working from home. In 2019, only 5% of the UK workforce worked exclusively from home. In April 2020, 39% of workers worked only at home, and whilst this has fallen to 33% over the last couple …

Long past time for NI to think bigger than its historic grudge matches

Mick Fealty on May 21, 2020, 10:48 am

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Just listened to Erland Cooper’s “Sounds of Change” on BBC Radio 6 Music. For me, the opening is pretty emotional. As someone who grew up with the sea literally 50 yards from the shore of the Belfast Lough in Holywood, I suddenly realised how much miss it. Then there’s the extraordinary words of Florence Nightengale, repeated by Paul Weller, a reminder of that the many nurses in my family have been both the pride and inspiration of my life. But …

Will the City Deal provide a “fresh start” for Derry?

Steve Bradley on May 19, 2020, 3:00 pm

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The current global pandemic has put Northern Ireland’s long-standing problems firmly into context – with Coronavirus claiming more lives across the UK in a few days last month than thirty years of the Troubles did. Fortunately post-conflict NI is a very different place these days, with change perhaps nowhere more prevalent than in our economy. Current pandemic woes aside, NI entered the current decade in a much better economic condition than it has any other decade since at least the …

Video: Discussion with Mark Hackett and Wesley Johnston about the proposals for the York Street Interchange…

Brian O'Neill on May 15, 2020, 6:54 pm

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In our first Slugger podcast we talk with Architect and Urban Designer Mark Hackett about his alternative proposal for the York Street Interchange project in Belfast. Roads expert Wesley Johnston gives his view on Mark’s ideas. We also have a general discussion about the road network after Covid-19. As Mark did a presentation to explain his ideas we have released this one as a video, but future episodes will likely to be audio. The idea for the York St Interchange was …

Queen’s Quarter superblock – Freeing a city quarter from vehicle traffic and pedestrianising Botanic Avenue…

Jonathan Hobbs on May 12, 2020, 10:33 am

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Following Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon’s announcement of a new Walking and Cycling Champion, to lead the emergency measures needed to immediately increase active travel space and priority, we take a closer look at one aspect of plans: superblocks. The term has been used to describe work to reduce traffic levels within areas of Barcelona, and Bikefast has proposed a superblock-style approach to re-configuring Belfast’s Linen Quarter. Coronavirus has claimed many lives and devastated families, and will continue to do so – in greater …

Would you prefer faster roads or faster broadband?

Brian O'Neill on May 7, 2020, 11:29 am

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How are you getting on with the great work from home experiment? I have worked from home for most of my career so it is nothing new for me but I realise it will be a novelty for most of you. Your experience will vary greatly depending on if you have young kids or not. With our 4-year-old, I find it is next to impossible to get any work done while homeschooling and childminding. Whatever teachers get paid they should …