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John Munro

@johnmunro.bsky.social
2.5K followers 366 following 4K posts

Pedestrian Historian. Imperialism Syllabus: tinyurl.com/ev4psh98 The Anticolonial Front: tinyurl.com/33d3exca. Youtube: tinyurl.com/ykp7r5a9.

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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
"Anti-ecological and pro-car politics unites diverse actors, mainstreams once fringe positions and drives the entire political spectrum to the right" (4).
A photo of The Great Driving Right Show, taken in Birmingham, UK
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Fantastic to see police directing traffic and emergency traffic calming measures being prioritized at the junction where yesterday's crash revealed the danger posed to children going to school. Sorry my mistake. They did absolutely nothing....
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
This morning a driver crashed onto the sidewalk exactly where my kids walk past on the way to school. This happened shortly before they came along. I have asked my local @brumgreens.bsky.social councillor to demand that this road be closed to cars until the current road works are complete.
A car crashed onto the pavement where pedestrians, including my children, pass every day.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
"The Mulai were able to create another world, one radically different from our own whose roots nonetheless exist in our world today" (18).
A photo of The Mulai, taken in Birmingham, UK
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This Sunday, we ride, against genocide. Join us!
Big Ride for Palestine poster. Ride departs at 11:15 from Birmingham's Centenary Square on Sunday, 4 October.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Join us on Friday for @betterstreetsforbirmingham.org's Circle the City ride, as we demand infrastructure that will protect cyclists from drivers, connect our car-dominated streets to global politics, and have fun by reclaiming road space and looking out for each other while riding as a group!
Circle the City poster.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
"Patriots regarded the British Alliance with native peoples as a tyrannical obstacle to the colonists' right to make private property from Indian lands" (251).
A copy of American Revolutions, taken in London.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Now I'm just here to brag. I didn't write this on there, honest!
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Thinking today of the time, not long ago, when I watched police arrest my friends for holding a sign indicating their opposition to genocide.
Police arresting someone in Birmingham, UK, for holding a sign.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The commute home on #WorldCarFreeDay in Birmingham, UK.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Today is #WorldCarFreeDay! Not easy to notice if you live somewhere like I do, but here's a nice poster from the good people at @carfree-cities.bsky.social.
World Car Free 2026 poster
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
"The justificatory regime of race or the civilizing mission did not follow the process of accumulation. They were inextricable" (190).
A photo of Colonizing Palestine, taken in Birmingham, UK.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Stuff for drivers left on sidewalks for pedestrians is just another front in the #WarOnWalking.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Great to have the chance to speak along side @mykaabramson.bsky.social about The Big Ride for Palestine at #CRBAM26. I hope conference participants will want to learn more about TBR and join or organize a ride as one way of experiencing how cycling can uniquely connect local and global politics.
A session at the Cycling Research Board Annual Meeting in Ghent.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
What Birmingham could have had if they didn't ditch the promised Ghent Plan.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
As anyone who has ever crossed a road in the UK knows, it's a war OF motorists. And, of course, a #WarOnWalking
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Great listening to Filip Watteeuw in Ghent talking about how to positively transform a city for equitable mobility. It’s all about space - and politics! (Zero mention of police enforcement).
Filip Watteeuw at the Cycling Research Board annual conference
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
One day, when the #WarOnWalking ends, part of the postwar settlement will entail those who designed infrastructure that put pedestrians in harm's way being forced to use their own designs for a month with their families before full pedestrianization is implemented. At places like this:
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
"Those who governed held property, and property ownership formed the basis for the republican principle that those who could not support themselves lacked the independence to be active in politics" (218).
A copy of The Rediscovery of America, taken in Birmingham, UK.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Thank you, Dom Whiting!
Me and Clara at the Dom Whiting ride in Birmingham.Me and Roland at the Dom Whiting ride in Birmingham.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Exactly. When seemingly limitless public funds are spent on enabling car owners to zip from A to B, while everyone else is relegated to dirty and dangerous passageways, you know you're in the trenches of a #WarOnWalking.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Road engineers and the politicians who approve their designs are the generals in the #WarOnWalking when they pretend pedestrians don't exist, and leave it to anyone crossing a road to have to take their chances when they want to go somewhere. Birmingham, UK, has many such generals.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
"Enclosure indicates private property and capital: it seems to promise both individual ownership and social productivity, but in fact the concept of enclosure is inseparable from terror and the destruction of independence and community" (142).
A copy of Stop, Thief! taken in Birmingham, UK
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
"Settlement was a key element in the transition to capitalism, while also being an important pressure valve to resolve (or at least lessen) social strife at home" (28).
A copy of Sai Englert's Settler Colonialism, taken in Birmingham, UK
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Another enjoyable @betterstreetsforbirmingham.org Circle the City ride yesterday. We ride to demand better infrastructure for carfree mobility, because we see how our city's local car-centric transport "system" drives global resource extraction and the climate crisis, and for the fun of it!
People on bikes in Birmingham.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
"Each form of property reinforced and enhanced the other" (85).
A photo of The Dawn of Detroit, taken in Birmingham, UK
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Needs someone to scare those cars away from the Marienkirche.
The shadow of Nosferatu
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
"The relationship between liberty and racism is not necessarily contradictory but rather has its own internal consistency" (5).
A photo of White Freedom, taken in Birmingham, UK
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Here's a before & after I like from Vancouver. Get rid of the cars altogether and you can have it all!
A street for car owners to drive and park on.The same street, with space for everyone - including the plants and insects that live in the rain garden.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Well would you check out the wonderful new addition I just got to my office, courtesy of the one and only @jilleanmc.bsky.social? A motto to walk, read, and live by!
An image of a print of a cowboy boot that says "All Cities Should Be Walkable" next to some books on a shelf.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
"The conspicuous presence of slavery rendered liberty the more dear to the colonial owners of human property" (439).
A photo of American Colonies, taken on the Northumberland Coast.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Two years ago, in the face of escalating casualties of traffic violence, Birmingham declared a Road Safety Emergency. Since then, the toll of those killed and seriously injured has only continued to climb. Join @betterstreetsforbirmingham.org and our allies as we demand action to accompany words.
Road Safety Emergency 2 year anniversary event poster.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Car owners leave their property in ways that endanger everyone else where I work every day. And why not? It's not like anyone in a position of authority is going to do anything about it.
A dangerously parked car on Pritchatts Road at the University of Birmingham.A dangerously parked car on Pritchatts Road at the University of Birmingham.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Thursday!
Climate Justice and Palestine Solidarity workshop poster.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
My first visit to Dublin and fantastic Capel Street this week underscored for me the importance of having street furniture for people who aren't buying anything. You can bring your own sandwich and take a seat alongside someone who might be enjoying a pint from one of the pubs. Proper public space.
Pedestrianized Capel Street, Dublin
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Yep. The Birmingham crew was five strong.
Birmingham riders on the Big Ride for Palestine Ireland.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
An incredible honor to ride with the Gaza Sunbirds and other international guests of the Big Ride for Ireland - Dublin to Belfast.
International guests of the Big Ride for Palestine Ireland
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Always nice to see a town take back some of its public space. #Alnwick
A pleasant little patch of pedestrianized public space in Alnwick.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
There is zero cycle parking at Warkworth Castle (I waited outside with our bikes while my family went in). Nice one, English Heritage!
A view of cars and a castle
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Join me and @mykaabramson.bsky.social on 20 August for a conversation about the connections between climate justice and Palestine solidarity. All welcome to come along!
Poster for Deepening the Connections: Climate Justice and Palestine Solidarity
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
...and this kind of thing...
Urban Skate Plaza, Kuala Lumpur https://mindtrip.ai/attraction/kuala-lumpur-wilayah-persekutuan/urban-skate-plaza-vans-mrt-ampang-park/at-CnYxpdvN
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Always an honor to ride with the Big Ride for Palestine.
Group assembling for a bike ride
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Tomorrow, we ride, against genocide #BigRideForPalestine
Big Ride for Palestine 2026 poster
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
"Wherever Protestant English men put down family roots, agricultural production for global markets on lands held as private property became the key to prosperity and the measure of masculine self-rule" (6).
A photo of Before the Revolution, taken in Birmingham
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Just back from a few days in Scotland with a recommendation: the National Cycling Network route from Gourock to Paisley. Along the waterfront, then up into the hills, then a long gentle descent through the countryside. Needs a couple of tweaks to keep the cars away, but fantastic overall.
Unlocking our bikes after an excellent cafe stop at The Cove in Gourock along the NCN 75 route.
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
"That this place revealed something about the whole world" (131).
A photo of Enter Ghost, taken in Birmingham
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
"I tell you, Mr. Cassidy, this artificial intelligence is filling the world with utter bullshit" (311).
A photo of Culpability, taken near Birmingham, UK
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Proud to stand with the people of Stirchley today against a proposed McDonald's drive-through. As the heatwaves, pollution, congestion, and car-dominated space all remind us, we need a moratorium on drive-throughs across and well beyond Birmingham.
A protest in the Birmingham neighborhood of Stirchley against a proposed drive-through McDonalds
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
"Sugar production, dependent on African slave labor, required Indian land both in the islands and in the regions that fed the islands" (90-1).
A photo of New England Bound, taken at Aston Hall in Birmingham
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
"I liked my books and clouds and sunsets" (92).
A photo of The Outsiders, taken in Birmingham
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