NEG talk to the Oxford Extinction Rebellion group 05/05/21

This talk, given to the Oxford Extinction Rebellion Group on 5th May 2021, explores the plans and exposes several myths about the Ox-Cam Arc development proposals. Myths include that we can have a more or less limitless number of new houses; that the increased workforce and transport connectivity creates an 'agglomeration effect' that boosts economic output; that the environment can be saved as all this development takes place and that Nature can be 'doubled'; and finally that local communities will be involved in the discussions about their future.

All four myths turn out to be wrong.

Clearly there have to be limits to housing growth; the agglomeration benefits at best turn out to be less than 10% of the boosted economy claimed for the Arc (the rest arises from an increase in the workforce and an increase in the assumed individual productivity of each worker, both of which could apply anywhere in the country); Nature is already stressed across the Arc and any funds for it are conditional on Arc development; and finally there is a total democratic deficit to date on ALL aspects of Arc plans. Not a single Ministry or responsible agency has made any effort whatsoever to talk with the local communities across the Arc.

The conclusion has to be that the Ox-Cam Arc plans should be scrapped in their present form.

The talk itself is 53 minutes long and was followed by a Q&A session, below. The slides for this talk are also available here (these will open in a separate window, so that you can check any details during the talk itself).

---

The Q&A session following the talk to Oxford Extinction Rebellion group on 5th May 2021 is on the right:

---