Could our streets make us happier?

Living in London these days, you can't help but notice how aggressive the city seems to have become. Cyclists hate drivers, drivers hate cyclists, pedestrians hate cyclists and drivers, and everyone who's not on a bus hates buses. We just don't seem to be very happy on our streets. Sadder still, we've taken for granted that there's not a lot we can do about it.

Well, that was until now. For the last few months I've been asking traffic engineers and scientists whether it's possible to rebuild the streets in a way that might make us safer, happier and generally nicer people. One answer is an increasingly popular (if controversial) concept known as Shared Space, which is a way of designing streets without segregating road users. Essentially, everyone is encouraged to use the same street at the same time... there are no pavements as such. Pioneered in Holland, it seems to be working over there by slowing down drivers and making all road users more aware of each other. And it's since been imported all over the world. The most high-profile British Shared Space project is almost finished in London's famous museum district on Exhibition Road (in the photo).

Another solution to maddening traffic junctions is the "scramble crossing", seen in Tokyo and now at Oxford Circus in London. I live very close to this crossing, and have to say, I love it. The traffic lights are still there (it's not a Shared Space) but now pedestrians can cross diagonally as well as on the sides, making it simpler to get from one corner to another.

If you'd like to know more about this and other research into the future of smarter streets, then tune in to hear me on BBC Radio 4 at 9pm on Tuesday 3rd January. There are loads of mind-bending ideas packed into the half-hour show. In fact, since making it, I've been looking at the roads around me with totally fresh eyes... Why is the kerb at that particular height? Why do we have traffic lights? Why do we need signs to tell us to go slower? It may sound nerdy, but it's one of the most fascinating topics I've worked on, so please listen in and let me know your thoughts.

A lot of cooking later...

We had a bottle of sloe gin, two jars of mango chutney, three jars of sweet chilli jam (below), a tin of biscotti (above), a jar of peanut butter fudge and a tin of florentines... phew. My husband and I decided to get into the holiday spirit this year by making our presents ourselves (for reasons explained in an earlier post). And even though it was damn hard work, you'll be happy to know they went down a storm. Join the revolution and try making your own stuff! Let me know about it too.

Watch out, my blood and sweat is in there. Yum.

London Science Book Club 6

Tuesday was the latest meeting of the London Science Book Club (now officially a year old!), and our pick was Supercooperators, out just this year by mathematical biologist, Martin Nowak, and former New Scientist editor, Roger Highfield. It being almost Christmas, this was the perfect touchy-feely tome our group needed to get us into the spirit. I've often heard friends of mine (usually bankers) claim that selfishness is programmed into our genes, to justify bad behaviour and greed. In fact, as Nowak's research proves, there is a good case to be made that cooperation has played a vital part in evolution. Essentially, his argument is that "natural cooperation" is as important as Darwin's idea of natural selection.

There's a lot in the book that our group had heard before, and some of it a long time ago: I was already familiar, for example, with the Prisoner's Dilemma and the Tragedy of the Commons, which are both fleshed out in detail in Supercooperators. But Nowak's trick is to frame familiar ideas like these in the world of biology. We all found his argument compelling, and Highfield had also done a brilliant job of illustrating the science in a way that's fun to read. The real pleasures of this book are the anecdotes and the glimpse you get into the everyday life of a scientist. For at least one of our group, it was the favourite book club pick of the year.