Author Archives: Richard Shearmur

To ride on gravelly, sometimes muddy, sometimes stony, roads and paths, it’s good to have a bike with big tires. Of course, mountain bikes have big tires, but one can’t ride fast on them, and the prospect of doing 100km on a full-suspension bike with flat handlebars is not appealing (at least to me). MountainContinue reading “Gravel bikes: road bikes of the future”

Cycling is fun and I love it. However, it has its dark sides. For instance it can be an arcane and elitist activity, impatient with people who do not live and breathe carbon, group sets and rolling resistance. This was brought home to me when my teenage daughter, who has become interested in practical cyclingContinue reading “Bike shops as lycra-laden male elitist niches”

You’d be forgiven, if you read my previous posts, for thinking that rural cycling only involves long rides on gravel roads or on dodgy paved ones. Fortunately it doesn’t. Today was hot and sticky – so I hopped on my bike to ride down to the river for a dip. Ok, there were a fewContinue reading “Local cycling”

First, let’s be clear: cycling outside of cities is enjoyable and safe. The most aggressive drivers I’ve come across are on the roads just north and east of St.Eustache – i.e. in suburban areas where roads are narrow and drivers in a hurry. Further out in the suburbs (e.g. Chambly, St.Rémi, Hemmingford…) – basically asContinue reading “Rural roads”

Well, I’m now out of Montréal in Scotstown, at the foot of Mont Mégantic, about 200km east of of the city (230km as the bike rides). It’s a beautiful part of the world, still relatively wild compared to the eastern townships closer to Montréal. There are fewer lanes, restaurants and houses, and one can cycleContinue reading “Rural cycling”

There are currently many fundamental and critically important debates occurring, focussed on systemic racism, police training and how to spend public money to make cities, towns and rural areas safer and fairer for everyone. The inequalities brought to light by the Covid 19 crisis – inequalities between different types of worker, between neighbourhoods, between peopleContinue reading “Back to normal: of U-turns and signalling”

If there is one thing that the pandemic has made obvious to (almost) everyone it is the key roles played by government (federal, provincial and municipal) and by public services such as health care, research, street cleaning, water provision, leisure centres, parks, social housing, design of public areas, road maintenance, support for the unemployed, andContinue reading “Corporate taxes, tax avoidance and Covid 19”

On Wednesday I attended my first ‘social’ function since March 13th 2020, a press conference presenting a report prepared by a committee on economic recovery (chaired by Luc Godbout) for the City of Montreal. It took place in the first floor the foyer of City Hall. There were maybe five journalists (camera and sound technicians),Continue reading “Shaking hands under Covid”

Who? I’m Richard Shearmur, professor at the McGill School of Urban Planning. I can vaguely be classified as an urban planner (I am professionnally accredited as such) and as an urban and regional economic geographer. Why? This is my first foray into blogging, and I intend to comment on urban-related issues. There are so manyContinue reading “Hello”