Dott Blog - Move Me

Dott Debates - The Movement Dilemma

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 17:28:00+0100

Thursday 18 October – 13:00-16:00
Location: Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art

The debate suggests that the movement of people and goods around the world consumes vast amounts of matter, energy, space, and time - most of it non-renewable. Should sustainable development therefore be concentrated in cities, where economic progress can most feasibly be de-coupled from transport intensity? Or are there ways to ensure that rural communities have access to services by using transport resources more smartly? And could new forms of sustainable tourism be enabled by access to territorial and cultural assets that already exist? [More]

Nuggets of Gold in Scremerston Village

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 17:31:00+0100

If small is the new big then Dott 07’s Move Me project is an oak tree in the forest of sustainable design. In a recent article in Blueprint magazine, Dott 07’s programme director John Thackara said ‘Dott is in the acorns business.’ If one of the main aims of Dott 07 is to plant seeds for change aimed at developing practical ways to improve the daily lives of one community in one place, then the Move Me project is well on the way to freeing two birds with one stone. By solving some of the transport problems facing the good people of Scremerston village in Northumberland, the service design company Live|Work is simultaneously devising a toolkit for rural transport stakeholders that can be scaled up and multiplied on a national level. Over the past 15 months, Live|Work has stripped bare the existing transport available to the residents of Scremerston in an attempt to improve accessibility to goods and services for all without putting more cars or buses on the road. Come again! More transport: less vehicles? Not possible, I hear you say and if that’s not difficult enough, you might as well ask, why bother containing the number of vehicles on the roads, when overhead, at intervals of 30 minutes or so, RAF fighter jets thunder past and burn more fossil fuel that a hundred trips from Newcastle to Scremerston and back? No. Live|Work have not signed up for the Krypton Factor challenge but these conundrums highlight the big:small dichotomy at the heart of the climate change debate. [More]

Moved by Move Me

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 13:47:00+0100

The words of Tina Turner's hit single are reverberating in my ears: 'What's love got to do with it, do with it... What's love...' and those gyrating hips too. The whole Tina package is upon me after I leave the Live|Work offices after catching up with the Move Me project. But I think, Live|Work is soooo cool, soooo innovative, soooo funky... can I, will I, dare I mention this musical coup taking place in my head? Yes! I can hear Tina shouting at me from the stage and I'm off: Love, Lurve, whatever: since when has 'love' been part of 'Design Philosophy' or even Live|Work Philosophy? I mean, is 'love' a word that is bandied about behind closed doors in brainstorming sessions? Perhaps not but one cannot overlook the fact that the Move Me project is spreading the lurve in Scremerston village and beyond. [More]

Move Me, Move You, Move Us!

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 14:39:00+0100

The Move Me project team are reflecting on the insights gathered from the Scremerston community and are now beginning to develop ideas around smarter ways of meeting their transport needs. As part of their insights work, David and Richard from Live|Work, the design and innovation company producing Move Me, took the opportunity to structure their research activity in a way that supports both the Move Me project and the national School Travel Plan Initiative - which Scremerston have unfortunately not been able to take part in to date. Live|Work developed travel activity packs for the pupils of Scremerston First School to help build a picture of how and why they travel the way they do. [More]

Move Me - Helen Harrison Interview

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 11:29:00+0100

Helen Harrison is the Head Teacher of Scremerston First School in Northumberland. The school has 45 pupils and is one of the few focal points in the village. It's also going to be the focal point for the Move Me project.

The school is 3 miles from Berwick, and serves children from reception through to Year 4. It has 10 members of staff including full and part-time teachers, cleaning, catering and janitorial staff. The school is the only community building within the village, and it’s necessary to travel to access shops, doctor’s surgeries, a leisure centre and other amenities necessary for daily needs. [More]