Lee Waters did something unfashionable in modern politics: he led.

As both 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀, he curtailed road-building, introduced a national 20mph speed limit and set in motion reforms to create an integrated, publicly owned transport network.

This episode is a masterclass in the reality of political change: why transport is so often overlooked, how to challenge decades of car-first orthodoxy and why evidence-based policy isn’t enough without political courage.

Birmingham was the first city I lived in as a proper ‘grown-up’ and it was metamorphosing before my eyes.

Previously famous as Britain’s ‘car city’, it ripped up its inner ring road the year I arrived.

Today, the city centre is unrecognisable: spacious, walkable and with a brand new tram route snaking past brand new buildings.

Anne Shaw has been involved in this transformation since she first moved to Birmingham in 1991 to take up a job as a drainage engineer.

Today she’s 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗠𝗶𝗱𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀, and she tells me just how this extraordinary change has been achieved.

Shin-pei Tsay has had what you would call a varied career in transport. She's worked in advocacy organisations, as an exec in Uber and now leads innovation in the City of Boston.

She joins me on the podcast to talk about how to make change happen.