Big Data is all around us - but what use is it if our roads are still congested, our cities crowded, our air polluting. How can we make meaningful change using insights from data? This podcast focuses on the science behind our cities - how we can use data to understand how to plan our cities and how this can, in turn, help improve peoples' health.The episode features an interview with Laurence Oakes-Ash, founder and CEO of City Science. City Science is an ambitious new technology company developing data-tools and software solutions to optimise city systems.This podcast was produced as part of the support from City Science to the CIHT City Science Healthy Transport Award 2020 - https://www.ciht.org.uk/events-listing/featured-events/ciht-awards/2020-shortlist/ciht-city-science-healthy-transport-award/

How to reduce accident rates for the workforce that keeps our transport network operating? This episode looks at how Highways England's, Commercial Director, Malcom Dare set the supply chain the challenge of halving accident rates by adopting a new set of common standards. This challenge meant every supplier must half its Accident Frequency Rate (AFR) within the next 12 months and support own supply chain to do the same. The interview provides an insight into how Kier responded to the challenge. Kier Highways RIDDOR AFR now stands at 0.03 having completed 6 million hours without a RIDDOR at the end of May. The RIDDOR AFR has been halved since December 2019 when it was 0.06.This podcast features a panel discussion including Malcolm Dare from Highways England, Joe Incutti Group MD from Kier, Scott Cooper MD for strategic highways from Kier, and Neil Wilson Head of Safety, Health, Environment and Assurance (SHEA) from Kier.This podcast was produced as part of Kier's support to the CIHT Kier Road Safety Award 2020 - more see here: https://www.ciht.org.uk/events-listing/featured-events/ciht-awards/2020-shortlist/ciht-kier-road-safety-award-2020-shortlist/

This episode focuses on the issues associated with the building blocks of our infrastructure: the raw materials that are used for constructing and maintaining our highways.And, it is fair to say, the materials sector has faced major challenges – recently with Covid-19, but in the background, there is uncertainty around Brexit and supply-chain issues, and then there is a wider challenge of the need to reduce carbon. To explore this, Justin Ward is joined by Tim Mole from Fosroc. They are a CIHT knowledge partner. Fosroc is a global manufacturer of specialised construction chemicals that cater to a range of sectors including commercial, industrial, residential, marine and infrastructure covering Europe, the Middle East, North and South Asia.This episode is looking specifically at highways and what changes have and might be required to standards in the future.This podcast was produced as part of Fosroc's support to the CIHT Fosroc Engineering Award 2020 - more see here: https://www.ciht.org.uk/events-listing/featured-events/ciht-awards/2020-shortlist/ciht-fosroc-engineering-award-2020-shortlist/

Innovation is - at its core - about solving problems. The response to Covid-19, a global pandemic illustrates how we all have to be innovative to smaller or greater extent – to test existing medicines to developing a new vaccine to an economic response and so on. For our transport system this has meant a combination of things – innovation of processes, of how we work, of technology. But the transport sector has long been innovating – augmenting the power of humans through the use of exoskeletons, to the deployment of sensors and satellites to enable us to see and hear beyond our own limited human capacities. This podcast features an interview with David Ogden from Amey.This podcast was produced as part of Amey's support to the CIHT AMEY Innovation of the Year Award 2020 - more see here: https://www.ciht.org.uk/events-listing/featured-events/ciht-awards/2020-shortlist/ciht-amey-innovation-of-the-year-award-2020-shortlist/

How to digitally build Britain. In recent years there has been an emphasis on how infrastructure can be maintained through digital technology. In this podcast Marek Suchocki Infrastructure Engagement Lead at Autodesk speaks with Justin Ward from CIHT.In the wake of COVID-19, the construction sector faces an existential crisis of what do next. Marek Suchocki discusses the potential of adopting digital workflows in the construction sector to enhance services and improve productivity. The interview covers a wide range of aspect including the evolution of technologies, BIM (Building Information Modelling) and Digital Twins. As the UK recovers from COVID-19, there is the potential to adopt the ideas and principles of building digitally to produce better quality outputs. This podcast was produced as part of Autodesk's support to the CIHT Autodesk Collaboration Award 2020 - more see here: https://www.ciht.org.uk/events-listing/featured-events/ciht-awards/2020-shortlist/ciht-autodesk-collaboration-award-2020-shortlist/

The Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, announced (on 9 May) a £2 billion package to create new era for cycling and walking. In this podcast Justin Ward interviews Phil Jones. Phil has over 30 years’ experience in the planning and design of development infrastructure, with particular expertise in traffic analysis, transport planning and highway design. The discussion focuses on what investments would be most effective to increase walking and cycling, if you can you buy yourself to increased active travel, and what needs to happen to ensure the investment is delivered effectively

Barriers to imposing car-free streets are being lifted following a government decision to enable key workers to walk or cycle more safely. This podcast features an interview with Roger Geffen, Policy Director at Cycling UK. With approximately one-third of the global population in lock-down, vehicle traffic from the road network has reduced considerably. There has been a decline in public transport use in the UK. But essential workers are still needing to get to work and one of the ways of supporting them is by closing some streets to vehicle traffic and reallocating road space for walking and cycling. New Zealand has a plan to fund wider footpaths and cycle paths to help people stay apart to help manage social distancing during Covid-19. A number of countries and cities across the world are implementing similar plans. Berlin and Madrid have also looked to support car-free streets to take advantage of reduced car travel during the pandemic.The UK government recently relaxed procedures for making temporary changes to roads following a call from a number of organisations to do so, and thereby allowing car-free streets to be implemented. The first local authority to take advantage of these new powers was Brighton.But wider plans for more car-free streets could be implemented by local authorities across the UK. As Roger Geffen, Policy Director at Cycling UK explained in the CIHT podcast. Roger said the followings routes could be considered for cycling: "The route to the hospital or the route to the park so that parents and their children can get there in safe cycle conditions. As we start to approach the possibility of schools re-opening we should start thinking about the route to the school so that the children can get there without a revival of the car transport and giving them the opportunity of healthy travel"The interview outlines the links between road maintenance and cycling safety, the health benefits of cycling and what the future implications of transport are arising from Covid-19.Cycling UK has produced a guide for local authorities, see: www.cyclinguk.org/advice-for-councils.

New guidance is allowing the highways sector to maintain worker safety and social distancing, while aiming to operate as close to business as usual as possible. This podcast features an interview with Suffolk Highways' assistant director of operational highways Mark Stevens.“How do you mitigate the effects of Coronavirus day to day, and equally how do you build a post Covid-19 future?” asks Mark Stevens, as he reflects on the challenges – and opportunities – for the roads sector during the crisis.Mark has been part of a joint public and private sector effort to develop guidance for the highways sector that will allow safe operating procedures for highways maintenance and improvement operations during the pandemic.Coronavirus (COVID-19) Local Highways Safe Operating Procedures – Protecting our workforce guidance document https://www.ciht.org.uk/media/11135/covid19-highways-safe-operating-procedures-version-1-27th-april-2020-final-1040-002.pdf

How trees can be used to tackle roadside air pollution. Interview with Professor Prashant Kumar from the University of Surrey's Global Centre for Clean Air Research. Further research and evidence: Paper reference in the interview and available for free download: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-020-0115-3Professor Kumar says: “We have a long history of research in this area, starting with our first journal publication in 2014, which assessed the potential of roadside vegetation to reduce exposure to ultrafine particles, a study that was subsequently expanded to investigate larger-sized fine and coarse particles along busy roadsides. This journey continued with assessments of the relative potential of trees, hedges, green roofs and walls in city environments and proposed modelling methods for evaluating the impact of green infrastructure. Most recently, our research has highlighted the nexus between green infrastructure, air pollution and human health and we have even released guidance on the implementation of green infrastructure for air pollution abatement.

The coronavirus pandemic has led to huge drop in air pollution. In this podcast Paul Monks, professor of air pollution at the University of Leicester, discusses the important lessons to learn. Monks is the former chair of the UK government’s science advisory committee on air quality.The interview explores what exposure to air pollution might mean with regards to risk with COVID-19 and the emerging evidence-base around if airborne pollution particles can carry viruses and bacteria. Professor Monks outlines a potential silver lining in being able to see what can happen if there are large-scale actions to turn off air pollution. The moves to electrification of the vehicle fleet offers one route to doing this.