John Munro
@johnmunro.bsky.social
Pedestrian Historian.
Imperialism Syllabus: http://tinyurl.com/ev4psh98
The Anticolonial Front: http://tinyurl.com/33d3exca.
Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/ykp7r5a9.
Imperialism Syllabus: http://tinyurl.com/ev4psh98
The Anticolonial Front: http://tinyurl.com/33d3exca.
Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/ykp7r5a9.
Pinned
John Munro
@johnmunro.bsky.social
· Jan 5
In 2017 I started taking photos of books I've been reading: to keep a kind of record for myself and to celebrate books, authors, ideas, and pedestrian interaction with one's surroundings.
Reposted by John Munro
"In other words, they argue that Holocaust memory, which was designed to prevent the worst, is being used to motivate and justify the worst. And they feel outraged — and betrayed." Dirk Moses thediasporist.de/is-holocaust...
Is Holocaust Memory Over? – the Diasporist
How the German political and media classes have hollowed out the lessons of history
thediasporist.de
December 24, 2025 at 4:04 PM
"In other words, they argue that Holocaust memory, which was designed to prevent the worst, is being used to motivate and justify the worst. And they feel outraged — and betrayed." Dirk Moses thediasporist.de/is-holocaust...
"I can still drive everywhere — if it sometimes takes a few minutes longer, that’s a small price to pay to protect my friends, neighbours and family."
Too many with power still see a few minutes for car owners as too high a price to pay to provide safety and dignity for everyone else.
Too many with power still see a few minutes for car owners as too high a price to pay to provide safety and dignity for everyone else.
“Even if you don’t use the safe bike and roll network, there are thousands and thousands of your neighbours that do.
…a huge thank you to Victoria’s councils — 5 of them — who have made it possible for so many people to bike or roll around our city safely & efficiently.
You have changed my life.”
…a huge thank you to Victoria’s councils — 5 of them — who have made it possible for so many people to bike or roll around our city safely & efficiently.
You have changed my life.”
Comment: How Victoria’s bike and roll network changed my life
Even if you, or your friends, don’t use the safe bike and roll network, there are thousands and thousands of your neighbours that do.
www.timescolonist.com
December 26, 2025 at 11:01 AM
"I can still drive everywhere — if it sometimes takes a few minutes longer, that’s a small price to pay to protect my friends, neighbours and family."
Too many with power still see a few minutes for car owners as too high a price to pay to provide safety and dignity for everyone else.
Too many with power still see a few minutes for car owners as too high a price to pay to provide safety and dignity for everyone else.
Fair points here. UK cities should be trying to set up contracts with @shabazzstuart.bsky.social. Those Oonee designs look so good.
December 25, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Fair points here. UK cities should be trying to set up contracts with @shabazzstuart.bsky.social. Those Oonee designs look so good.
Or any other city, for that matter....
the fact that there is free parking at all in manhattan is wild to me
“Pairing free buses with paid parking says we value people in motion more than cars at rest,” writes Nicolas Rohatyn.
December 24, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Or any other city, for that matter....
"The possessive logic of patriarchal white sovereignty is compelled to deny and refuse what it cannot own - the sovereignty of the Indigenous other" (179).
December 24, 2025 at 4:22 PM
"The possessive logic of patriarchal white sovereignty is compelled to deny and refuse what it cannot own - the sovereignty of the Indigenous other" (179).
It's a shame that Birmingham keeps refusing to introduce cycle hangars. There's quite a few in Glasgow, and many of them do both things they were designed for: increase space for urban cycle storage and decrease it for car parking.
December 24, 2025 at 4:03 PM
It's a shame that Birmingham keeps refusing to introduce cycle hangars. There's quite a few in Glasgow, and many of them do both things they were designed for: increase space for urban cycle storage and decrease it for car parking.
Reform lead ‘cut to three points’ – as Green surge continues
www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/lat...
www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/lat...
New poll shows Reform lead 'cut to three points' - as Green surge continues
Should Reform start looking over their shoulders? Their lead at the top of the polls is dwindling, as the Green Party continues to gain.
www.thelondoneconomic.com
December 22, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Watching this video is a very good use of your time.
What a legacy. What a contrast to those who use their power to preside over things only getting worse.
What a legacy. What a contrast to those who use their power to preside over things only getting worse.
40 changes in Paris in two minutes, 2023. Note that the "after" images often have little greenery. At the time, there were no accusations of "Photoshop" on Twitter. Since then these streets have become greener, but AI now exists, and opponents on X will claim the new, green images are retouched :)
December 22, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Watching this video is a very good use of your time.
What a legacy. What a contrast to those who use their power to preside over things only getting worse.
What a legacy. What a contrast to those who use their power to preside over things only getting worse.
Reposted by John Munro
Oh dear. Just noticed the wrong tag in last night's post. Corrected!
Listening to the last episode of the epic Thawra series from
@thedigradio.bsky.social . Thank you @danieldenvir.bsky.social and Abed Takriti for creating such an amazing resource to explain ...
thedigradio.com/Thawra/
Listening to the last episode of the epic Thawra series from
@thedigradio.bsky.social . Thank you @danieldenvir.bsky.social and Abed Takriti for creating such an amazing resource to explain ...
thedigradio.com/Thawra/
Thawra
thedigradio.com
December 22, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Oh dear. Just noticed the wrong tag in last night's post. Corrected!
Listening to the last episode of the epic Thawra series from
@thedigradio.bsky.social . Thank you @danieldenvir.bsky.social and Abed Takriti for creating such an amazing resource to explain ...
thedigradio.com/Thawra/
Listening to the last episode of the epic Thawra series from
@thedigradio.bsky.social . Thank you @danieldenvir.bsky.social and Abed Takriti for creating such an amazing resource to explain ...
thedigradio.com/Thawra/
Remember that comical phase as smoking inside was ending, when bars spent time and money installing those enclosed smoking rooms because they couldn't imagine the step needed to deal with the issue?
Painted bike lanes and other half-measures to deal with the problem of cars seem like that now.
Painted bike lanes and other half-measures to deal with the problem of cars seem like that now.
I was a very heavy smoker and really enjoyed smoking indoors (a pint, pack of cigarettes and a book at a bar was my heaven…)- I was really upset about the ban at first but then just got used to it.
*I also don’t smoke anymore.
*I also don’t smoke anymore.
I lived thru the end of public smoking. Early in my career I presented to city councils who were smoking, in front of audiences who were smoking.
Smoking in restaurants, airplanes, hospitals…
All of that seems insane now, but it was very controversial when we DID change it.
We CAN change things.
Smoking in restaurants, airplanes, hospitals…
All of that seems insane now, but it was very controversial when we DID change it.
We CAN change things.
December 21, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Remember that comical phase as smoking inside was ending, when bars spent time and money installing those enclosed smoking rooms because they couldn't imagine the step needed to deal with the issue?
Painted bike lanes and other half-measures to deal with the problem of cars seem like that now.
Painted bike lanes and other half-measures to deal with the problem of cars seem like that now.
Reposted by John Munro
Leaving aside the comedy value of an MP in Starmer's Labour Party complaining about division, this is also just nonsense.
The interests of the extremely rich are at odds with those of the rest of the population. Objectively.
The division is real, material, structural. You can't just wish it away.
The interests of the extremely rich are at odds with those of the rest of the population. Objectively.
The division is real, material, structural. You can't just wish it away.
We can’t meet our challenges with division. We meet our challenges with a vision to unite Britain.
A vision that understands that we don’t live life in isolation, but in the places where we rub shoulders with each other. Pubs, sports clubs, churches and temples.
A vision that understands that we don’t live life in isolation, but in the places where we rub shoulders with each other. Pubs, sports clubs, churches and temples.
December 21, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Leaving aside the comedy value of an MP in Starmer's Labour Party complaining about division, this is also just nonsense.
The interests of the extremely rich are at odds with those of the rest of the population. Objectively.
The division is real, material, structural. You can't just wish it away.
The interests of the extremely rich are at odds with those of the rest of the population. Objectively.
The division is real, material, structural. You can't just wish it away.
Thanks, Phil. Very good to know.
But I don't think I've heard anyone in local gov't. advocating for tow trucks, which remove the problem for pedestrians and inconvenience offenders equally, unlike fines which have an unequal impact by wealth. Is anyone pushing for this solution?
But I don't think I've heard anyone in local gov't. advocating for tow trucks, which remove the problem for pedestrians and inconvenience offenders equally, unlike fines which have an unequal impact by wealth. Is anyone pushing for this solution?
Sadly @johnmunro.bsky.social neither Birmingham City Council nor TfWM have the power to deal with pavement parking. They need Parliament to pass legislation but Government has been dithering for 5 years. A group of us, appointed by Mayor Richard Parker, are trying to do something about it.
And it’s not a “shared” pedestrian space as the Mail says. It’s a pavement for pedestrians only.
A shame that some people find it acceptable behaviour as per comments.
One for TfWM
@phil-pja.bsky.social
A shame that some people find it acceptable behaviour as per comments.
One for TfWM
@phil-pja.bsky.social
December 20, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Thanks, Phil. Very good to know.
But I don't think I've heard anyone in local gov't. advocating for tow trucks, which remove the problem for pedestrians and inconvenience offenders equally, unlike fines which have an unequal impact by wealth. Is anyone pushing for this solution?
But I don't think I've heard anyone in local gov't. advocating for tow trucks, which remove the problem for pedestrians and inconvenience offenders equally, unlike fines which have an unequal impact by wealth. Is anyone pushing for this solution?
The problem here is less another dime-a-dozen me-first car owner, and more a city who endorses this behavior by refusing to deploy tow trucks to deal with the problem.
In cities not so committed to maintaining inequality, this vanity tank would have been removed in minutes.
In cities not so committed to maintaining inequality, this vanity tank would have been removed in minutes.
Car 'worth £500k' mounts Bullring path as observers say 'park where you want'
The photograph shared on a Facebook page dedicated to poor parking appears to show a Rolls Royce Cullinan on the shared pedestrian space outside Selfridges
www.birminghammail.co.uk
December 20, 2025 at 12:22 PM
The problem here is less another dime-a-dozen me-first car owner, and more a city who endorses this behavior by refusing to deploy tow trucks to deal with the problem.
In cities not so committed to maintaining inequality, this vanity tank would have been removed in minutes.
In cities not so committed to maintaining inequality, this vanity tank would have been removed in minutes.
Men with cars.
'Between March 2012 and 2023 Gilheaney accumulated six convictions for dangerous driving and had been disqualified twice, including at the time of the attacks.'
#SafeStreetsNow
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
#SafeStreetsNow
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Man who mowed down London pedestrians on Christmas Day convicted of murder
Anthony Gilheaney, 31, targeted people with his Mercedes, killing Aidan Chapman, 25, and seriously injuring four others
www.theguardian.com
December 19, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Men with cars.
Happy Holidays!
Kids who got new bikes for Christmas, "super excited" to walk them around the city that's too dangerous to ride in.
www.creativebyrovelo.com/therovelorec...
www.creativebyrovelo.com/therovelorec...
December 19, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Happy Holidays!
Reposted by John Munro
Yet another crap video from another Labour MP (Josh Simons) attacking me and "lefties."
Showing us exactly who they are.
They serve only power & weath.
2026 - the year of people power.
Join.greenparty.org.uk
Showing us exactly who they are.
They serve only power & weath.
2026 - the year of people power.
Join.greenparty.org.uk
December 18, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Yet another crap video from another Labour MP (Josh Simons) attacking me and "lefties."
Showing us exactly who they are.
They serve only power & weath.
2026 - the year of people power.
Join.greenparty.org.uk
Showing us exactly who they are.
They serve only power & weath.
2026 - the year of people power.
Join.greenparty.org.uk
"I order that after your release, you shall for a period of three years be treated as poorly as our society treats people who don't own cars. Not permanently, though. That would be unduly harsh as punishment for running over 100 pedestrians who you felt were in your way."
You might think that a man who drove into 100 people, using his car as a weapon, would NEVER be allowed to drive again.
It turns out he will be able to, around three years after leaving prison by taking an extended retest.
Why should he ever be able to get behind the wheel again?
It turns out he will be able to, around three years after leaving prison by taking an extended retest.
Why should he ever be able to get behind the wheel again?
December 18, 2025 at 3:11 PM
"I order that after your release, you shall for a period of three years be treated as poorly as our society treats people who don't own cars. Not permanently, though. That would be unduly harsh as punishment for running over 100 pedestrians who you felt were in your way."
Reposted by John Munro
We invite researchers, practitioners, and thinkers from all fields to boldly share and envision a #fundamental shift toward human-centred cities and regions.
🗓 16-18 September 2026
📍 Ghent, Belgium
🔗 Learn more about the conference and follow us for #updates: cyclingresearchboard.com
🗓 16-18 September 2026
📍 Ghent, Belgium
🔗 Learn more about the conference and follow us for #updates: cyclingresearchboard.com
December 17, 2025 at 4:36 PM
We invite researchers, practitioners, and thinkers from all fields to boldly share and envision a #fundamental shift toward human-centred cities and regions.
🗓 16-18 September 2026
📍 Ghent, Belgium
🔗 Learn more about the conference and follow us for #updates: cyclingresearchboard.com
🗓 16-18 September 2026
📍 Ghent, Belgium
🔗 Learn more about the conference and follow us for #updates: cyclingresearchboard.com
Reposted by John Munro
🚸 We are calling on all those preparing to stand for election in Birmingham next year to back practical steps for safer streets.
Ask #6: Build a network of cycle lanes and cycle-friendly streets using devolved funding.
👉Read the ten asks in full and co-sign: betterstreetsforbirmingham....
Ask #6: Build a network of cycle lanes and cycle-friendly streets using devolved funding.
👉Read the ten asks in full and co-sign: betterstreetsforbirmingham....
December 17, 2025 at 2:30 PM
🚸 We are calling on all those preparing to stand for election in Birmingham next year to back practical steps for safer streets.
Ask #6: Build a network of cycle lanes and cycle-friendly streets using devolved funding.
👉Read the ten asks in full and co-sign: betterstreetsforbirmingham....
Ask #6: Build a network of cycle lanes and cycle-friendly streets using devolved funding.
👉Read the ten asks in full and co-sign: betterstreetsforbirmingham....
Reposted by John Munro
The argument that banning someone who has deliberately used their car as a weapon from driving is too severe a limitation of their mobility & opportunity for employment should be a damning indictment of how society treats people who don't or can't drive - who are disproportionately disabled &/ poor.
December 17, 2025 at 9:10 AM
The argument that banning someone who has deliberately used their car as a weapon from driving is too severe a limitation of their mobility & opportunity for employment should be a damning indictment of how society treats people who don't or can't drive - who are disproportionately disabled &/ poor.
Hope like a ray of sunshine breaking through the gloom.
🎉 Absolutely delighted to welcome Jamie Driscoll to the Green Party.
👏🏼 He has a track record of demonstrating his commitment towards our communities alongside empowering them.
💚 Join us: join.greenparty.org.uk
👏🏼 He has a track record of demonstrating his commitment towards our communities alongside empowering them.
💚 Join us: join.greenparty.org.uk
British politics is a mess. Food, energy, housing are all too expensive. Major parties are all flogging the dead horse of trickle down. So I’m joining the Green Party. Britain needs an economy that works for workers, for small businesses, and future generations. @greenparty.org.uk
December 17, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Hope like a ray of sunshine breaking through the gloom.
Reasoning worth considering here, but I think this is also a case of the people who make the rules being car owners themselves and not being able to imagine living without one.
Which would also explain why the safety and dignity of countless thousands of families without cars count for so little.
Which would also explain why the safety and dignity of countless thousands of families without cars count for so little.
Following today’s sentencing of Paul Doyle, several people have understandably queried why he was not banned from driving for life.
It’s a good question, and one I attempted to grapple with in #NothingButTheTruth in the context of repeat driving offenders.
It’s a good question, and one I attempted to grapple with in #NothingButTheTruth in the context of repeat driving offenders.
December 17, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Reasoning worth considering here, but I think this is also a case of the people who make the rules being car owners themselves and not being able to imagine living without one.
Which would also explain why the safety and dignity of countless thousands of families without cars count for so little.
Which would also explain why the safety and dignity of countless thousands of families without cars count for so little.
This seems better than flooding.
Avant / Après Rue du Cardinal Mercier dans le 9ème arrondissement de Paris
December 17, 2025 at 8:57 AM
This seems better than flooding.
"The decision of who and what space is for directly shapes the structure of the society within it: what is allowed, what is encouraged and what is forbidden" (273).
December 17, 2025 at 8:54 AM
"The decision of who and what space is for directly shapes the structure of the society within it: what is allowed, what is encouraged and what is forbidden" (273).
Reposted by John Munro
This is #Bradford city centre post pedestrianisation... and it's beautiful 🥰
#BeMoreBradford
#PlacesForPeople & #Nature 🐝 🦋 🐦
#BeMoreBradford
#PlacesForPeople & #Nature 🐝 🦋 🐦
April 22, 2025 at 9:08 PM
This is #Bradford city centre post pedestrianisation... and it's beautiful 🥰
#BeMoreBradford
#PlacesForPeople & #Nature 🐝 🦋 🐦
#BeMoreBradford
#PlacesForPeople & #Nature 🐝 🦋 🐦