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Richard Brown

@richardbrown.bsky.social
659 followers 231 following 1.7K posts

Cities, urban economics, housing, puns, poetry and pop music. Views are mine.

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Reposted by Richard Brown
Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Troubled bridges. What to do about London's river crossings? Me for On London, partly prompted by @jamesrball.com and @neilgarratt.bsky.social. www.onlondon.co.uk/richard-brow...
onlondon.co.uk
Richard Brown: London cannot let its bridges keep on falling down
The very long history of failing to properly fund and maintain these vital Thames crossings needs to be brought to an end
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Janine Gibson @janinegibson.ft.com · 1h
Complaining about London is a national pastime but where the hell else are you going to go. This @bryce.lol column is wonderfully written and also features a stronger contender for worst comment thread on the internet today as.ft.com/r/58fbf8c3-6...
as.ft.com
A Londoner’s guide to hating London
Complaining about the capital is a national pastime — for good reason
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Jim Waterson @jim.londoncentric.media · 1h
There’s a lot of grumbling in London about new flats being sold to Chinese investors. But you never hear from the Chinese buyers. I asked Helen Gao to travel around Beijing property fairs and learn how you sell life in Woolwich to the Chinese elites. www.londoncentric.media/p/london-pro...
londoncentric.media
How London flats are marketed in China
Chinese buyers of London homes say they feel like “chives” • Bafflement at Londoners’ love of old homes built during the “Qing dynasty” • Fascination with the enigma of the British electrician
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Dave Hill @davehillonlondon.bsky.social · 21h
London cannot let its bridges keep on falling down. A thoroughly well-argued and well-informed piece by the one and only @richardbrown.bsky.social - www.onlondon.co.uk/richard-brow... #london
onlondon.co.uk
Richard Brown: London cannot let its bridges keep on falling down
The very long history of failing to properly fund and maintain these vital Thames crossings needs to be brought to an end
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Troubled bridges. What to do about London's river crossings? Me for On London, partly prompted by @jamesrball.com and @neilgarratt.bsky.social. www.onlondon.co.uk/richard-brow...
onlondon.co.uk
Richard Brown: London cannot let its bridges keep on falling down
The very long history of failing to properly fund and maintain these vital Thames crossings needs to be brought to an end
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Sublime jangle pop with teeth from The Tubs at Chalk tonight.
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
It’s not a good sign when I am aware of the UK 10 year bond yield. Not a good sign at all.
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
This, on Brighton's lovely Sussex Square, could be the grey-est thing I have ever seen. All yours for £1.85m. pearsonkeehan.com/property/sus...
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Fascinated by the co-incidence of hardcore religiosity and trashy fast food (see also Chick-Fil-A).
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Top news in Brighton. Burger bar replaced by burger bar.
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James Austin @jamesdaustin.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Ah, there's the rub
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Can't believe this weather. Summer was like normal summer but hotter. This mugginess feels subtropical.
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Striking difference between this and poll published in ipaper this morning (BMG poll last week). Shows importance of framing and making an argument.
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Tera Allas CBE @teraallas.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
One thing that seems to have got slightly lost in the noise around revised UK labour productivity growth figures: our output per hour _level_ still remains significantly lower than other peer countries'. #dataisbeautiful
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Chris Dillow @chrisdillow.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
New substack: nobody wants free markets any more: chrisdillow.substack.com/p/who-wants-...
chrisdillow.substack.com
Who wants free markets?
Support for free markets has died, partly for bad reasons.
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Saw her at Brighton Dome earlier this year. Entrancing show.
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Luca Tiratelli @lucatiratelli.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I await the first time a politician proposing some nuts new immigration restriction is asked what is otherwise the media’s favourite question: how are you going to pay for it??
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Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"Yes, he must persuade people that his preferred solution to the social care crisis is the right one, but, before that, he must reach the large number of people who aren’t even aware that there is a crisis to begin with" giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... by @stephenkb.bsky.social
giftarticle.ft.com
What ‘Choosin’ Texas’ tells us about Burnham’s social care obstacles
Convincing the British public to pay higher taxes for something they wrongly assume the state provides will not be easy
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Charles Wright @charleswright57.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
New post: Mayor Khan's draft London Plan proposes a denser, taller London, encroaching on the Green Belt - while also challenging the govt on meeting housing need. Just four weeks left to comment... Plus: floating homes, and Hornsey Town Hall reborn wrightc.substack.com/p/the-draft-...
wrightc.substack.com
The draft London Plan: Still time to have your say
Plus, new floating home plans for Docklands, and the impressive restoration of modernist masterpiece Hornsey Town Hall
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Why I'm not sure that "NHS principles" are the right starting point for social care reform. richardfjbrown.co.uk/2026/09/28/p...
richardfjbrown.co.uk
If you don’t like these principles, there are others…
Interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg yesterday, Andy Burnham talked of a universal social care service, free at the point of use, on “NHS principles”. There’s been a lot of discussion about this p…
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Duncan Weldon @duncanweldon.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Superb and fascinating chart.
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I'm all for devolution, but suggesting that decisions on Heathrow is a matter for London is a weird retreat from any sense of strategic infrastructure planning. (I also suspect London mayors, who have all opposed expansion, did so fully expecting to be overruled.) www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Asked at the Labour party conference in Liverpool if he was in favour of building a third runway at the airport, Burnham said the issue was “contested” and “principally it’s a matter for London and London MPs”.
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
UK juche latest.
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Jacket
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Not a big fan of ‘Ooo remembers’ but this Concorde from The Long Good Friday made me wistful.
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Tyron @tyron.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Just seen it's Wikipedia's 25th birthday. The greatest website online, and possibly the internet's greatest fruit
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
For the first ten seconds looks like the guy in the white hat is trying to keep the door closed. Fair play.
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⤵️ @bryce.lol · 26/09/2026
last night while in a vulnerable state of mind I did something I swore I'd never do, I wrote a substack bryceelder.substack.com/p/a-number-o...
bryceelder.substack.com
A number of disconnected thoughts after seeing an annoying show about humans vs AI
You have been warned
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Most miserably characteristic British response would be to ban alcohol at all sporting events, to avoid any perception of unfairness...
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David Pollak @dpp.me · 25/09/2026
Hey @monkchips.com have you seen this font fun? bastardica.mitpit.com
bastardica.mitpit.com
Bastardica
A type foundry for bastard web fonts.
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Oof.
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Lovely piece here on the singular brilliance of this series...
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
TLDR www.ft.com/content/b30e...
ft.com
Are we developing a distaste for effort?
Across OECD countries, the number of students who say they give up easily is increasing
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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I guess they stopped the boat.
thetimes.com
Danny Tommo’s boat for policing Channel accidentally sinks
Daniel Thomas, whose Patriot Platform group caused havoc in Dover and Portsmouth, had purchased the vessel to interfere with Border Force operations
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Jedward have let themselves go.
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
No representation without taxation.
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Todd Vaziri @tvaziri.com · 17/09/2026
BREAKING NEWS: The new James Bond actor has been chosen and it's this guy. www.tiktok.com/@jrw21/video...
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James Ball @jamesrball.com · 18/09/2026
It is incredibly important that political violence does not succeed. The far-right mob that shut down Portsmouth wanted this outcome. If the state wishes to avoid more of these actions, it needs to make sure this RNLI branch reopens *immediately*, or as close to that as humanly possible.
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Chris Addison @mrchrisaddison.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Oh, my God. Why would I listen to *that* idiot?
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
'What the community loves about Brighton'. Possibly independent shops like the café and wine shop that have been booted out here to make room for an expanded supermarket.
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Great overview for the uninitiated on what the new London Plan might mean - the biggest departure since 2004?
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
This is interesting stuff. Two slightly contradictory thoughts: fewer hours worked (8% fall 1998-2024) is surely good news, as people take advantage of workplace flexibilities/rights (unless forced). But for population productivity (-> more GDP, taxes etc), it doesn’t leave us any better off.
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David Quantick @quantick.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I wrote about Mike Leigh, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and the hell of other people's approval: substack.com/home/post/p-...
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
That's Ireland for you. Just one big golf course, plus a few charming pubs no doubt.
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Reminds me of the old story about a voter who is offered $10 for her vote by one candidate and $20 by another, then votes for the first because "he seemed more honest".
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
25 years old this month, it's hard not to hear echoes of 9/11 in this track (though it was recorded much earlier). www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsJp...
youtube.com
Ashes of American Flags (2022 Remaster)
YouTube video by Wilco - Topic
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Morning sun reflections in Brighton.
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
They are getting amazing publicity for what is essentially a petition.
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Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
This is a pretty sick way for a once respectable paper to report on an elderly man recovering from illness. Do you people not have parents?
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