A Fortuitous Interaction with Carolyn

About a month ago, after finishing a run around Clapham Common, I got talking to a lady called Carolyn outside the Tesco Express on Battersea Rise. Carolyn, 86, has lived in the same Clapham townhouse for almost 60 years, and spoke of the changes she has witnessed in London over the decades.

After offering her a hand down the steps (a gesture that was met with a piercing glare, a raised finger and a snap of “watch it!”), she proceeded to defiantly hop down the steps before saying, “I don’t know why we don’t just get rid of all these cars and improve our public transport”. At the time, I smiled, acknowledged Carolyn’s rhetorical aspiration for the city, and we parted ways.

I have since moved to Finsbury Park, and now, sitting on the balcony where we are fortunate enough to have panoramic views of this stunning city, I reflect on Carolyn’s comment and wonder, ‘what can this city, and other cities around the world do to reduce our burden on the environment, and become greener, healthier, and more pleasant places to live and work?’

Well, thanks to the fortuitous interaction I had with Carolyn, I have decided to write a series of articles titled ‘City Innovation: Musings on Greener Cities’.

In keeping with the philosophy of Renewal Energy, these articles will aim to be informative, aspirational and concise. Using examples from around the world, I hope they will provide you with a small insight into what our cities can achieve when real focus is put into green agendas, unincumbered by political tennis and empty promises.

Recently, my good friend Fin Doyle, who will soon be featuring on Renewal Energy re-invigorated my conviction that it is up to us, the voting public, to mount pressure on our leaders to force the issue of positive change; something our cities desperately need.

Thank you, Carolyn and Fin, for the inspiration.