Martin Cassini
Encyclopedia
Martin Cassini is a TV programme-maker and campaigner for traffic system reform. He advocates replacing priority (an engineering model) with equality (a social model) to provide a level playing-field on which all road-users can act sociably. This, he says, woud remove the "need" for most traffic controls, and solve many of our road safety and congestion problems, which stem from those very controls.
He has contributed to Economic Affairs (Journal of the Institute of Economic Affairs
), The Times
, Guardian
, Daily Telegraph, BBC Newsnight and Traffic Technology International.
His reforms overlap with the shared space
movement of Hans Monderman
and Ben Hamilton-Baillie
, which is demonstrating in Bohmte
and Drachten
that peaceful coexistence can flourish when road-users are free to use their own judgement on roads designed to stimulate rather than enforce appropriate conduct. His ideas also echo the theory of spontaneous order
, which states that the more complex the dance of human movement (e.g. a skateboard park), the less useful are attempts to control it.
He helped instigate a lights-off trial in Portishead, Somerset
, which began on 14 September 2009. Conducted in association with North Somerset Council and Colin Buchanan
, it went permanent after journey times fell by over 50% with no loss of pedestrian safety, despite greater numbers now using the route (over 2000 vehicles and 300 pedestrians an hour).
The idea is spreading, e.g. to Westminster, Oxford and Bristol, where minor trials have taken place. But deregulation is not enough on its own, says Cassini. It needs to be accompanied by changes in road design, culture and the law.
He is a graduate from Wadham College, Oxford
, (1971), and a member of the International Advisory Council of the Kyoto World Cities New Mobility Program.
He has contributed to Economic Affairs (Journal of the Institute of Economic Affairs
Institute of Economic Affairs
The Institute of Economic Affairs , founded in 1955, styles itself the UK's pre-eminent free-market think-tank. Its mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social...
), The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Daily Telegraph, BBC Newsnight and Traffic Technology International.
His reforms overlap with the shared space
Shared space
Shared space is an urban design concept aimed at integrated use of public spaces. It encourages traffic engineers, urban planners and experts from other fields to consult with users of public space when planning and designing streets and squares in both built and non-built environments...
movement of Hans Monderman
Hans Monderman
Hans Monderman was a Dutch road traffic engineer and innovator. He was recognized forradically challenging criteria used to evaluate engineering solutions for street design...
and Ben Hamilton-Baillie
Ben Hamilton-Baillie
Ben Hamilton-Baillie is an architect, urban designer and movement specialist from Bristol, United Kingdom. He is the director of his own company, Hamilton-Baillie Associates Ltd., where role he provides consultancy advice on traffic and urban renewal...
, which is demonstrating in Bohmte
Bohmte
Bohmte is a municipality in the district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Hunte, approx. 20 km northeast of Osnabrück...
and Drachten
Drachten
Drachten is a Dutch town, located in the municipality of Smallingerland in the province of Friesland.-Beginnings:Drachten began as a small community on the east side of the Drait River. There, early settlers started draining the land to use it for agriculture...
that peaceful coexistence can flourish when road-users are free to use their own judgement on roads designed to stimulate rather than enforce appropriate conduct. His ideas also echo the theory of spontaneous order
Spontaneous order
Spontaneous order, also known as "self-organization", is the spontaneous emergence of order out of seeming chaos. It is a process found in physical, biological, and social networks, as well as economics, though the term "self-organization" is more often used for physical and biological processes,...
, which states that the more complex the dance of human movement (e.g. a skateboard park), the less useful are attempts to control it.
He helped instigate a lights-off trial in Portishead, Somerset
Portishead, Somerset
Portishead is a coastal town on the Severn Estuary within the unitary authority of North Somerset, which falls within the ceremonial county of Somerset England. It has a population of 22,000, an increase of over 3,000 since the 2001 census, with a growth rate of 40 per cent, considerably in excess...
, which began on 14 September 2009. Conducted in association with North Somerset Council and Colin Buchanan
Colin Buchanan (town planner)
Professor Sir Colin D Buchanan was a British town planner. He became Britain's most famous planner following the publication ofTraffic in Towns in 1963, which presented a comprehensive view of the issues surrounding the growth of personal car ownership and urban traffic in the UK.-Life:Buchanan...
, it went permanent after journey times fell by over 50% with no loss of pedestrian safety, despite greater numbers now using the route (over 2000 vehicles and 300 pedestrians an hour).
The idea is spreading, e.g. to Westminster, Oxford and Bristol, where minor trials have taken place. But deregulation is not enough on its own, says Cassini. It needs to be accompanied by changes in road design, culture and the law.
He is a graduate from Wadham College, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, (1971), and a member of the International Advisory Council of the Kyoto World Cities New Mobility Program.
Publications
- A source of cuts to dent the deficit and benefit us all. Conservative Home, 14 July 2010 http://conservativehome.blogs.com/thinktankcentral/2010/07/martin-cassini-no-need-to-raise-vat-there-is-a-source-of-cuts-to-dent-the-deficit-and-benefit-us-all.html
- "The Real WMD" Economic Affairs, June 2010
- The case against traffic lights, Martin Cassini, bbc.co.uk, 14 January 2008
- Roadsafe Magazine 2008
- "I like traffic lights, but only when they're dismantled", Martin Cassini, January 23, 2007, The Times
- In Your Car No One Can Hear You Scream! Are Traffic Controls a Necessary Evil?, Economic Affairs, 2006, vol. 26, issue 4, pages 75–78, at econpapers.repec.org, http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=951309
- Institute of Economic Affairs' article proposes the abolition of traffic lights at the Institute of Economic AffairsInstitute of Economic AffairsThe Institute of Economic Affairs , founded in 1955, styles itself the UK's pre-eminent free-market think-tank. Its mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social...
website - "Rip them out", The Daily Telegraph, 14 October 2006
External links
- Shared spaceShared spaceShared space is an urban design concept aimed at integrated use of public spaces. It encourages traffic engineers, urban planners and experts from other fields to consult with users of public space when planning and designing streets and squares in both built and non-built environments...
Shared Space Institute, Proponents - http://www.fitroads.com
- http://www.equalitystreets.com
- http://amberlight.ning.com
- http://fitroads.blogspot.com
- http://www.hamilton-baillie.co.uk/index.php?do=publications&action=details&pid=35 Hamilton-BaillieHamilton-BaillieHamilton-Baillie is a family name. Notable members include:* Ben Hamilton-Baillie, architect and designer* Brigadier Jock Hamilton-Baillie, persistent prison camp escaper and Colditz inmate...
- http://www.hamilton-baillie.co.uk/index.php?do=links
- http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/economic_unit/events/docs/18112009-keith-firth.pdf Colin BuchananColin Buchanan (town planner)Professor Sir Colin D Buchanan was a British town planner. He became Britain's most famous planner following the publication ofTraffic in Towns in 1963, which presented a comprehensive view of the issues surrounding the growth of personal car ownership and urban traffic in the UK.-Life:Buchanan...
- http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=724820# SSRN Author Page