"When the disabled are seen as a problem everyone suffers"

Monday, April 4, 2022

When it comes to getting around we normally jump to the big topics of public transport, buses, trains, cars, ownership, Low traffic neighbourhoods and so on. We spend a lot of time wondering what we should be using for transport over who is using it and how they can use it. Disabled voices have been at the bottom of the list when it comes to many aspects of society and unfortunately tackling the climate crisis is one of them. That needs to change. 

On todays show we are joined by the fantastic Harrie Lammington Spencer (@tricyclemayor). Harrie is a researcher working in the Healthy Actives Cities team and the Sustainable Housing and Urban Studies unit at the University of Salford (@ActiveCitiesUoS). On top of that she is a disabled rights activist specifically around active travel and transport and a PHD candidate at the University of Manchester. Lucy and Alex discuss with Harrie the intersection between climate and disability, how disabled people are excluded from their local neighbourhoods by poor design and road law enforcement, How the climate movement can be more inclusive for disabled activists and what our cities can do to make transport and active travel more accessible for all.

Links

Links

Healthy actives cities 

https://blogs.salford.ac.uk/healthyactivecities/

Some of Harries current work “levelling up locally”

https://blogs.salford.ac.uk/healthyactivecities/2172-2/

Manchesters New active travel commissioner Dame Sarah Storey

https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2022-03-14/dame-sarah-storey-appointed-new-active-travel-commissioner

Shout Outs

Harrie’s colleagues at the Healthy active cities team Graham, Luke and Nick

UCU strikers at Manchester Universities including;

Ria Deakin 

@RiaDeakin

@mscrow who worked on The Picket Line Podcast which you can listen to here

https://bit.ly/3u27eJ7

Staten Island Amazon workers who just voted to unionise and become Amazons first Union!

@amazonlabor

You can support their strike fund here too! 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-amazon-labor-union-solidarity-fund?utm_campaign=p_nacp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer