Dr Brett Petzer

The Great Reclamation: I am losing track of the number of cities that have moved suddenly and ambitiously to reclaim hundreds of kilometres of streets from the car monopoly and reallocate these public commons for people walking, cycling and using wheelchairs. 1/n

How can mega-events support sustainable development? At #WASM2026, Dr Kamilla Swart moderated a panel with Prof. @dgmcgillivray, Prof. @preuss_holger, Natasha Bredekamp & @RashiqFataar to explore this topic. More at capetown2040.com

@SCP_Hughes I am not aware of formal ‘density bonuses’ awarded to developers in densifying suburbs on the basis of new cycling and walking infrastructure, but your research makes me interested to explore whether these mechanisms exist and could be strengthened.

@SCP_Hughes Thank you, this was informative, persuasive and, ultimately, hope-giving. Your prognosis has positive implications (it seems to me) for walking and cycling, and a rollback of car dependency.

In 1900, you could redevelop a suburban neighbourhood into dense mid-rise almost anywhere in the world. Today, you can do it almost nowhere. I call this phenomenon the ‘Great Downzoning’. The Great Downzoning is the main cause of housing shortages around the world. Below you can see four neighbourhoods, in France, England, Spain and the USA, which were caught by the Downzoning midway through densification and frozen forever in a transitional phase. How did this happen? An article and a thread. worksinprogress.co/issue/the-grea…

@bbcquestiontime *regrettable

“I think it’s fair to say there’s been teething issues” Your Party’s Zarah Sultana says forming the party was not a “slick process” which was “regretable”, but says other parties are offering the “status quo” which is “fundamentally broken” #bbcqt

Return is a right 🇵🇸

So what excuse does Israel now have for not letting foreign journalists into Gaza?

1️⃣ @AmsterdamNL is changing the rules of urban space.🚦 No longer built for speed & flow, but for people & life. The new Amsterdam Maakt Ruimte agenda draws a new line: 0% car growth — and a city designed to live better, not just move faster. 🌳

Response to this course to beat 'bikelash' has been overwhelming. Early bird registration closes next Tuesday, 30/9, if you want a lower priced ticket: x.com/StrategicCitie…

Where is Dave Chappelle? Champion of free speech! Where is Joe Rogan— giant in the fight to say what we want? Oh? It was bullshit and they just wanted to be hateful to marginalized groups without criticism? Got it.

I'm in NYC for the first time in almost 10 years and ... a couple quick observations: Anyone who thinks it takes too long to transform a city is wrong. This city is utterly transformed. It is faster to change a city than to change a suburb. And: The U.S. needs two dozen NYC's.

@big_pedestrian This is the best I’ve heard it put. I am sorely tempted to screenshot this and use it in presentations from now on.

This is a common pattern with automobile dependence, and parking. When you try to make a city safe for anyone outside of a car, people suddenly develop a keen interest in accessibility. This interest does not extend to sidewalks, mobility lanes or increasing disabled parking.

It’s a genocide. People need to get off the fence and act accordingly. Isolation, divestment and total arms embargo now.

This photo shows 58 cyclists and just two cars. MPs looking out of their window today will see a steady flow of people cycling, some for the first time in a while, given confidence to do so with quality infrastructure. Just over 10 years ago there wasn’t even a cycle lane here.

At the end of July 2025, IPC experts issued their most severe famine warning to date, determining that “the worst-case famine scenario is now unfolding in Gaza.” Almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip, about 2.1 million people, is experiencing acute food insecurity. Around 775,000 people (37%) are in “Crisis” (Phase 3), while more than 1.1 million (54%) are in Phases 4 and 5, classified as “Emergency” and “Catastrophe.” A quarter of Gaza’s residents are enduring daily famine. Throughout July, daily reports began emerging of people dying in Gaza from causes related to hunger and malnutrition. As of 31 August 2025, 348 people have died in Gaza from starvation and related causes, 127 of them children. Full report >> btselem.org/video/20250821…

86% of the world’s genocide experts have declared that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Israel made its genocidal intent clear from day one. It then committed genocide in full view of the world. Nobody with power or influence can say they didn’t know at the time.

❗️🇪🇺 Amid a genocide, Europeans must know: Israel is the second largest per-capita recipient of EU start-up funding via @EUeic EU institutions will have to answer for the ‘innovations’ that have aided Israel’s assault on Gaza. But right now, this program must be stopped.

Full solidarity with Valerie in her decision here. We need more journalists to have this kind of moral clarity.

Today in Utrecht a grim milestone was marked; for the 2nd year in a row, a Dutch activist group laid out children’s shoes & read aloud the names & ages of the children who have been killed by the Israelis in Gaza. Today they read 19k names. It took almost 6 hours.

It’s time for the Government of Israel to stop denying the famine it has created in #Gaza All of those who have influence must use it with determination & a sense of moral duty. Every hour counts. #Famine_in_Gaza

No, pathetic, spineless, disgraceful @BBCNews - this is not a "controversial" project- it is an illegal war crime, designed to make a Palestinian state Impossible & ignores 47 UN Resolutions Israel approves controversial West Bank settlement project bbc.com/news/articles/…