Here is the link to an article I wrote today for Progress
http://www.progressonline.org.uk/2011/11/03/don’t-shoot-the-visionaries/
Essentially, i felt that in my present field of strategic transport we are always facing criticism and really quite angry responses from opponents of any kind of big ideas of how we plan and prepare for the future. My example was Lord Foster’s proposal for the Thames Hub. It isn’t about agreeing or disagreeing but about the ease with which a significant proportion of people jump up and shout NO straight away – an easy option and a way of avoiding constructive thinking about the challenges we face in the future.
The evidence for this lazy self-centred short-termism is all around us in the badly planned and prepared transport networks of today which are at full stretch and the lack of investment and strategic planning for the future.
I’m not going to rant any more for now on this – just read the article and let me know if you see where i’m coming from!!!