Paul Simmons

 I am coming towards the end of my PhD, presently titled “The importance of walking to help transition to a low carbon economy”. I am both a post graduate student and a local parish councillor in Mabe, in which the Tremough campus is situated. The research involves interviewing disparate users of the local footpaths plus working together with a cohort of ten parishes surrounding Mabe, including two town councils, Penryn and Falmouth.

As a unified group, the cohort are engaging with Cornwall Council and Cormac to make the funding, use and designation of the local paths more equitable, in a time of the climate and ecological emergency. Equally important are the proposals for the path networks to be improved for health and wellbeing, to integrate into the modern local infrastructure, particularly for housing and transport, and to create and improve wildlife corridors. I am searching for evidence that the users with their disparate interests in the footpath network have similar needs and desires that can lead to a transition to a low carbon economy. This evidence may develop into a concept I call ‘The Network of Needs’.

I completed my MA in Cornish studies in 2008.