Le débat sur la tarification du stationnement des voitures dans l’espace public a été relancé – en cette période estivale – par un reportage de Radio-Canada qui résume certaines des conclusions du Professeur Donald Shoup. En résumé, il révèle la part de l’espace urbain consacrée au stationnement, le coût d’entretien de cet espace pour lesContinue reading “La tarification du stationnement sur rue : une idée qui ne disparaît pas”
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Charging for on-street parking : a regressive idea that won’t go away
The debate about whether there should be a fee to park one’s car in public space has been reignited – in these dog days of summer – by a Radio-Canada piece that summarises some of Professor Donald Shoup’s findings. In a nutshell, these findings reveal how much urban space is devoted to parking, how muchContinue reading “Charging for on-street parking : a regressive idea that won’t go away”
AI and planning : a few pointers for students
I was lucky enough to attend a fascinating session at the July 2026 CIP conference1 where the use of AI by cities (and, specifically, by planners) was discussed by people working in the field. Below, I set out some key take-aways. My overall take-away is that AI is overhyped : there is strong pressure fromContinue reading “AI and planning : a few pointers for students”
Gravity’s Rainbow: an oasis of sense in a non-sensical world
Over the last few days, instead of doom-scrolling the news each morning, I have been reading Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow. The book has a reputation for being grotesque, absurd and nonsensical, a reputation partly deserved; but that’s the point, its reputation underscores its sheer exuberance, black humour and mind-bending narration, narration which jumps, with dizzyingContinue reading “Gravity’s Rainbow: an oasis of sense in a non-sensical world”
AI and Universities: students and AI
Readers of my recent blogs will have worked out (!) that I am concerned about how reliance on AI prevents students learning basic skills, depletes the number of people capable of supervising AI , and robs students of voice and authorship. Of course, I acknowledge that students reading these posts may roll their eyes! YetContinue reading “AI and Universities: students and AI”
AI and universities: teaching how to fake voice and inner-life
Voice and authorship are important A few years ago I took the night train from Amsterdam to Prague, and then on to Budapest. I was reading Imre Kertesz’ book, Fatelessness. The train ride was eerie, as I was riding South on some of the same tracks that Kertesz’ character had been taken North on, inContinue reading “AI and universities: teaching how to fake voice and inner-life”
AI and universities: Who will oversee AI?
AI in universities: short-term gains AI is inevitable in the sense that it has been forced upon us by tech oligarchs, and that it provides practical tools for short-circuiting lengthy processes such as writing, synthesis, programming, cleaning data, and so on. In the short-term, and from a purely pragmatic perspective, there are many reasons toContinue reading “AI and universities: Who will oversee AI?”
AI and universities: towards a generation of credentialed idiots?
Thinking about new technology When powerful oligopolistic corporations force a technology upon us, telling us that there is no alternative, shoe-horning it into search engines, answering services, operating systems, etc…, it is sensible to take a step back and think about it. It is sensible to wonder why these oligopolies are doing this, who willContinue reading “AI and universities: towards a generation of credentialed idiots?”
Born-again traditional media? Some thoughts on Substack ‘journalism’
As traditional media fizzles out, overtaken by billionnaires such as Murdoch, Bezos and Ellisson unashamedly peddling their ideological and technological agendas as journalistic fact, and as social media cannibalizes what is left, channeling us into echo-chambers, many independent analysts have turned towards platforms such as Substack or Patreon (which allow for paid subscriptions). These contributorsContinue reading “Born-again traditional media? Some thoughts on Substack ‘journalism’”
Why winter cycling feels hard
A couple of evenings ago I was enjoying a drink with some colleagues, and a core existential question arose: why is it so much harder to cycle when its -15C than when it’s a balmy +10 or +20C? This question is existential, because it dominates the existence of winter cyclists in Montreal. As I toiledContinue reading “Why winter cycling feels hard”
Richard Shearmur 