Alison Stenning

Hello 👋 I’m here for the chat about (geographies of) (urban) play and everyday mobility, esp children’s, along with neighbourhoods and community; bits on austerity, class & social change; climate & environment; but also the north-east of England (esp Tyneside); and some higher education too.

Pigeons braced against Storm Boelo

I walked on this pavement yesterday, between Newcastle Central station and the Utilita Arena. I don’t really know what’s gone on and how on earth it’s been ‘repaired’ like this, but wouldn’t you hope that a pavement walked by thousands of gig goers might be in better condition?

This is the saddest looking new playground I’ve seen in a long time. I know this is well-intentioned, but it’s such a limited, unimaginative way of investing in play. If the council really understands the value of play, they should be investing their £1.5m differently.

Heat killed ‘staggering’ 50,000 people in Europe’s cities this summer, scientists warn

At the Mercury Prize, not sure I’m cool enough but my teenager knows what’s happening.

The govt itself has admitted Jackdaw won't bring down energy bills or create many jobs. So I asked the PM: does Labour disagree with the overwhelming scientific consensus that fossil fuels must stay in the ground? Or was lobbying from the oil and gas lobby simply too difficult to ignore?

The problem is not really Jackdaw, which is pretty small. The problem is the UK's plan to transition away from fossil fuels is still not ambitious and detailed enough. The problem is if Rosebank follows. The problem is if every country develops one last fossil fuel project we're all screwed.

The government trumpeting the creation and safeguarding of a grand total of ~300 jobs by granting Jackdaw, and vandalising our planet in the process. For context, *Aberdeen University alone* lost 440 roles between 2023-25.

The Guardian's homepage right now... 1. "UK approves Jackdaw gasfield in North Sea" 2. World must cut emissions by 18% in four years ‘to find our way back’, UN says

"Jackdaw...go-ahead in blow to climate campaigners" Not just climate campaigners. It's only a sensible headline viewed through lens of political in-fighting It's a blow to everyone - climate deniers won't get their own bit of the planet retaining normal weather www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Government support for drilling at #Jackdaw takes a wrecking ball to any pretence of UK climate leadership & pours fuel on an overheating world - and for what? It’s equivalent to just 2 months of UK gas demand, creates just 27 direct jobs & has *no* impact on energy bills🧵1/4

At Shiremoor Adventure Playground for the launch of our new North East Play Network. I love the casual abandonment of play equipment, left just where play stopped.

IT'S OUT. Our book on 'Ecologies of security: Everyday disorder in a climate-changed world' is published this week by @brisunipress.bsky.social (our = Richard Sparks, @egirling.bsky.social, Ben Bradford and me). The book is free and open access bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/monobook-oa/... 1/6

“In so many areas of the country, children are being radically failed.”

What a terrible indictment of the state of the country that we can’t secure universal, reliable and safe services and spaces for our children everywhere.

New analysis by thinktank E3G suggests that the £15bn warm homes plan - currently under threat - would slash £1bn a year from UK household energy bills, concentrated on those on low incomes, provide a £1.6bn yearly boost to the economy, and create 50,000 new jobs, vs Rosebank's projected 1,100 jobs.

Finally got a bike shed for the backyard, meaning after four months I can get the bikes out of my kitchen and reclaim the space by the doors. The shed is huge, but fits all our bikes and bike stuff, and will nicely hide the heat pump when it eventually gets installed.

Adrian Voce, then director of Play England: 18 years later we're still arguing for the same things. Imagine if the coalition government hadn't won, or had committed to the Labour play strategy...

Reading about English play policy over the years, and struck again by how ambitious the 2008 National Play Strategy was (playgrounds, playworkers, playwork education, play in neighbourhoods, Play England) and how devastating the 2010 Con-LD coalition's rapid abandonment of the strategy has been.

BREAKING: University of Sunderland staff have declared a formal industrial dispute over plans for sweeping cuts. Management wants to slash £40m from its budget, putting jobs and students’ education at risk. Staff are ready to fight back. www.ucu.org.uk/article/1467...

The Tyne nurdles are now turning up on Danish and German beaches, on the Wadden Sea coasts. (auto-translate should work for the article)

Bike infrastructure can strengthen bonds between kids and caregivers, foster curiosity about the world and connect families to their neighborhoods. Everyday moments that won't show up in traffic models but are just as valuable—helping children develop, relationships flourish and communities thrive.

Just signed my air source heat pump installation agreement 🥳 Apparently a 6-7 month wait for installation but aiming for solar panels in the meantime. Excited to be getting off gas and reducing reliance on the grid...

A nice chance to chat to BBC Radio Newcastle about our work tracking the Tyne nurdles, and what we can expect over Winter tynenurdles.org.uk/news/radio-n...

The importance of this research by my @ncl-geography.bsky.social colleagues is made clearer every time we experience another influx of nurdles at the river mouth and on our beaches, like today: (volunteer video, you can spot kittiwakes trying to eat the nurdles)

Today I found the cut-through made by thousands of feet, from a back lane to one of these estates. It doesn’t allow you to get between the two estates, so doesn’t help me at all, but it’s always interesting to see a bit of user design.

43% of universities likely to have ended 2025-26 in deficit 38% that replied were carrying out compulsory redundancies 79% said they were making voluntary redundancies Estimates of about 30,000 job losses in the past three years 44% cutting courses (esp mod languages, English, history, chemistry)

This is a week tomorrow - please do sign up and spread the word if you're interested in nurturing play in all kinds of spaces and settings across the north east of England (and visiting the fabulous Shiremoor Adventure Playground).

These popped up on my Facebook memories…