I'm 25 and a PhD candidate at the School of Built Environment and Engineering at Leeds Beckett University. Having lived near Leeds all my life, I am passionate about the city and I like to claim to have persuaded at least one friend to move here.
I am researching the impact of localism on planning processes and I work as a self-employed town planner, helping a number of community groups in Yorkshire to create their neighbourhood plans. It's taken over my life, but I also like to go rock-climbing, and to swim, cycle and walk. I'm a Leeds Rhinos supporter.
I started reading the Guardian while at university in Preston about five years ago, when I picked up on the writing of George Monbiot. Though I don't agree with everything he says, I like how well he puts his opinion across, especially in terms of the recent rewilding debates. Opinion and discussion are two of the things I like about the Guardian. If I wanted plain news, I'd look for BBC articles or on Twitter.
I do follow the Guardian online, mainly via Twitter. This has kept me reading and allows me to pick and choose the topics I'm interested in more easily than via the website, which is a bit clunky. The main topics I look at are those relating to cities, urbanism and environmental issues. I also enjoy the quizzes. One thing I would like to see from the Guardian is more coverage of northern issues, as I think that a lot of the articles reflect a London-centric view. There are a lot of talented people and leaders from all sectors up here.
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