Engineering Matters

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#93 Tomatoes and the Road to Net Zero Feb 11, 2021

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Something remarkable is happening in East Anglia. Waste heat from sewage treatment is being pumped into two enormous greenhouses creating low carbon heat for growing tomatoes. A lot of tomatoes, more than 10% of UK production. This use of waste heat is just one of the ways that water companies are using waste as a...

#92 The Most Flooded Town In England Feb 04, 2021

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In this episode we partnered with WSP to tell the story of Looe, a fishing port in Cornwall. The small town has the dubious accolade of ‘most flooded place in England’, and without intervention, the situation will get much worse. With sea levels rising by as much as a metre over the next century, and...

#91 Global Risks and Shapeshifting Infrastructure Jan 28, 2021

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With the weight of the built environment exceeding that of the total biomass for the first time, the human impact on the planet has passed a symbolic but significant milestone. What we do matters, and such a society needs to be run as effectively as possible. Every year the World Economic Forum publishes its Global...

#90 The New Way to Plan a City Jan 21, 2021

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The data quality in the planning and development sector is appalling. Whether supplied in this form accidentally, negligently, or recklessly does not matter – much of it is wrong. Yet over the years, this data has been used to form some of our most important decisions for the built environment. Now a new system will...

#89 Blue Lanes in the Black Country Jan 14, 2021

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A revolution is happening in the UK, and it is happening quietly. Inspired by the Copenhagen Bicycle Account, Bike Life is the biggest assessment of cycling in cities and urban areas across the UK and Ireland. Started in Birmingham, but now in 12 cities across the country, Bike Life has informed policy decisions, justified investment...

#88 Engineering Trees Jan 07, 2021

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It is tree planting season in the UK. With their amazing carbon storage ability, flood alleviation capacity and biodiversity boosting potential, trees are fast becoming a critical part of plans to reduce net carbon emissions and mitigate against global warming. But with only 13 percent tree cover the UK lags behind Europe when it comes...

#87 So That Was 2020 Dec 29, 2020

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Welcome to the very last Engineering Matters of 2020! In this episode we go back to some of the biggest stories that we covered over the past year and find out what happened next. We also give listeners a peak behind the curtain at how we put the episodes together and introduce you to some...

#86 Enterprise Delivery: A Model for Recovery Dec 22, 2020

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With a £100bn capital spending plan, the biggest ever investment in new transport infrastructure and a ten-point plan for climate change, the UK is determined to build its way to post COVID19 economic recovery. The bad news is that major projects have a terrible track record for not being built on time and going over...

#85 Concrete’s Role in the Climate War Dec 17, 2020

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Contributing around 8% of global climate emissions, concrete is a major source of carbon. It is also essential, and no major project is feasible without thousands of tonnes of concrete. As the world looks to decrease its impact on the environment, with a reduction of carbon emissions forming a major focus within that effort, every...

#84 Asphalt of the Future Dec 15, 2020

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Have you ever walked past a newly surfaced road, perhaps around the corner from your house… and wondered when it will next be resurfaced? Side roads often seem to be in poor condition, and if you live in England, you probably will not see it resurfaced again in your lifetime. The average interval is 119...

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