Data City Founder Tom Forth has been told some extraordinary reasons why the North underperforms the South.

Including that it’s down to Northerners being stupid. Or drunk.

He’s even read academic papers outlining these theories.

In a fascinating episode of the podcast, we get into a discussion on the real reasons.

They go back a thousand years but transport and our hyper-centralised way of making decisions are right at the heart of it.

I really hope you enjoy listening to this conversation as much as I enjoyed having it.

Why don’t we build homes people wish to live in? Terraced streets are popular and sustainable and support shops, services and transport, so why do we keep building low-density, car-dependent suburbs? And what needs to be done to create a nationwide tram renaissance?

These are just some of the questions I get into in discussion with David Milner, the 𝗠𝗗 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀.

If, like me, you would love to see some big changes in how we design and build towns, this is an episode you’ll enjoy.