Natalie Masse Hooper's Avatar

Natalie Masse Hooper

@natjm

I'm old enough to have had a couple of very different careers (urbanist then app developer). Currently transitioning to making games. Also, music is my jam. Meeting Places: Minimalist city builder https://store.steampowered.com/app/3858940/Meeting_Places/

753
Followers
324
Following
10
Posts
09.02.2024
Joined
Posts Following

Latest posts by Natalie Masse Hooper @natjm

Preview
Petition: Call a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics & democracy We are concerned about reported efforts from Russia to influence democracy in the US, UK, Europe and elsewhere. We believe we must establish the depth and breadth of possible Russian influence campaig...

Иigel Faяage would really hate it if you signed and shared this petition.

I suspect ьoяis Johиsoи would too.

23.11.2025 13:04 👍 89 🔁 66 💬 6 📌 5

Everytime I hear about MetroCard, I think about "My My Metrocard" song by Le Tigre on their debut album.

I was so excited first time I went to NYC and I finally got to use a MetroCard 😂

25.10.2025 07:10 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Coastal metros in California have pretty much perfect weather year round, yet we are ranked 43rd and 42nd in pedestrian and bicycle safety (respectively). This is a policy choice. We should have the safest roads in America.

13.01.2025 16:25 👍 5 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
Bus Driving Simulator 22 Open-world bus driving simulator featuring realistic physics, next-gen graphics, a variety of bus models, three distinct regions to explore (US, Germany, Brazil), multiplayer and more

It's no secret, I love public transport! So when I saw Bus Driving Simulator 22 was on a big Black Friday deal for the Nintendo Switch, I grabbed it.

I found it super hard at first (I don't usually play driving games), but it's really fun.

www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Games/...

24.11.2024 17:31 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Getting green hydrogen is hard. Its supply limited.

So use it for things where there’s no easy sustainable alternative.

For almost all public transport there are alternatives to hydrogen - either overhead wires or batteries (or combining them).

So do that. That’s it. The logic is obvious.

24.11.2024 14:58 👍 134 🔁 19 💬 9 📌 0

I would like to speak up today for the trans community.

You see, I know a bit of what it’s like to be politically scapegoated. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, suddenly anyone in America who had any amount of Japanese ancestry became suspect. Politicians preyed upon ignorance and fear. /1

17.11.2024 18:19 👍 42129 🔁 9509 💬 797 📌 678
Preview
Paris prosecutor seeks jail and public office ban for Marine Le Pen Request in embezzlement trial threatens to undermine National Rally’s efforts to polish image before 2027 polls

That was news to me too so I had to Google it!

LePen and 24 others from her party are accused of embezzling EU funds.

www.theguardian.com/world/2024/n...

15.11.2024 23:17 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Post image

In these difficult times, it is worth remembering that the climate outlook, though dark, has improved over the last 10 years. We can change our course.

Source: www.economist.com/interactive/...

15.11.2024 09:13 👍 611 🔁 153 💬 21 📌 19

She didn't, I did 😉 I used to love Sim City back in the day and I was looking for a city builder. I knew of Cities Skylines but it's quite expensive. Urbek came up a few times in search results online, so I looked it up on the e-shop on her Nintendo Switch and as soon as she saw it, she wanted it!

11.11.2024 21:57 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

So, I've been playing the city builder Urbek on my daughter's Nintendo Switch and I absolutely love it! It feels like the developer has a good understanding of how cities develop, and it's really addictive. It's much cheaper than Cities Skyline and it's made by indie developer, highly recommended.

11.11.2024 21:36 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Update: My Twitter/X follower drop since Tuesday night’s Presidential Election results has reached 800.

But I’ve just noticed that my Bluesky follower number in the same 48 hours has gone up by 1000.

Threads has stayed the same.

It seems clear which site is X’s competition.

08.11.2024 05:11 👍 465 🔁 40 💬 14 📌 2
Preview
T9 and T10, two new trams lines in Lyon - Sustainable Bus Lyon, city with excellent electric public transport, will soon see its tram network expanded due to the construction of two new tram lines.

When I was studying urbanism at Uni in Lyon, the city was planning its first tram line. That's when I first heard the principle of "to reduce cars on the roads, reallocate the space to public transport".

They will soon start building T9 and T10 lines!

www.sustainable-bus.com/trolleybus-t...

08.03.2024 17:11 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

two regulations that would be an utter no brainer in a sane country:

1) progressive vehicle weight tax that increases steeply past 5k pounds
2) grille height limit of 1.25m

08.03.2024 14:49 👍 1657 🔁 419 💬 52 📌 20

Interesting study.

I think e-bike rebate programs have a big role to play to reduce the number of cars on the road, so this study is very welcome for local authorities looking to get started with one.

28.02.2024 16:51 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
Rally to Stop The Turnpike Expansion Project at Feb. 27 Open House Join EmpowerNJ at the first open house on the NJ Turnpike Expansion project where we'll rally with local allies to demand that Governor Murphy cancel this dirty, expensive and unnecessary highway wide...

ETA opposes the NJ Turnpike Expansion project. If you also oppose highway widening through urban areas, join EmpowerNJ and other local climate and transportation advocates at a rally tonight at Newark's East Side High School.
actionnetwork.org/events/rally...

27.02.2024 19:13 👍 1 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0

I had a feeling the ban in France wasn't very effective, full of loopholes, and this confirms it 😢 But Spain will get it right, hopefully 🤞

26.02.2024 18:58 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
The Missing Piece in Toronto's Regional Rail System
The Missing Piece in Toronto's Regional Rail System Watch this video ad-free on Nebula: https://nebula.tv/videos/rmtransit-the-missing-piece-in-torontos-regional-rail-systemSupport the channel on Nebula now: h...

Finally, Toronto's Milton Line is getting the upgrade it deserves! So let's talk about this important rail line connecting to Ontario's third largest city, and how we can make it a proper rapid transit line.

youtu.be/M6NAypST1cU

24.02.2024 14:05 👍 19 🔁 2 💬 2 📌 1

In this week's video we join the morning commute on an Oslo City Bike in a two-way protected bike lane. We ride from Rådhusplassen to European route E18. Along the way we see electric buses, cargo bikes and roller skis.

youtu.be/Akg7Bi5sakg

23.02.2024 19:58 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 1

Great article.

Really disappointed to learn that "(SNCF) has let the size of its TGV fleet drop from 410 to 363 units between 2018 and today" 😢

But it confirms my own observations as someone visiting family there every few years, doing London-Nimes trip by Eurostar + TGV.

20.02.2024 12:34 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Post image Post image

Transit ain't rocket science. But most people aren't aware of a few basic principles.

For a short, sharp crash course, I recommend the revised Human Transit by Jarrett Walker. It now occupies a place on the top shelf of my transport bookshelf. Here's my review:

www.straphanger.blog/transit-for-...

19.02.2024 14:56 👍 14 🔁 7 💬 1 📌 0

We have a project like that here, except instead of just reducing incidents, they also billed adding lanes as climate mitigation. You know, reducing emissions by (checks notes) widening highways.

18.02.2024 13:44 👍 9 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0

The small Norwegian city of Bergen has something most North American cities have tried to do, but still don't have — an *excellent* light rail system. Let's take a look at the Bybanen in depth!

youtu.be/Bs-T7bv6qTk

10.02.2024 14:07 👍 23 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0

I have 2 train services at my station, one to London and one to Manchester. The one to Manchester is diesel. I hate it when that train is on the platform, it stinks so much and it's so loud.

In 2024, electrifying train lines should be a no-brainer.

16.02.2024 20:57 👍 7 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Post image

Here's an excerpt from the new Revised Edition of my book Human Transit: nextcity.org/features/ind... But there's more where that came from. Buy the book!

12.02.2024 20:36 👍 11 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 1
Post image

New study: Cities that encourage cycling are safer for everyone -- including those who don’t bike:

"Higher-bicycling cities are significantly associated with better overall road safety outcomes."

doi.org/10.1016/j.jc...

13.02.2024 14:51 👍 74 🔁 27 💬 0 📌 2