Connected Places

In this episode Prof. Greg Clark meets Amanda Clack, Executive Director at CBRE, one of the largest commercial real estate services companies in the world.

The pandemic and its economic fallout have had a huge impact on the built environment sector. Yet if the UK is going to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, it needs to urgently address the energy efficiency of its built environment; twenty seven percent of the UK's greenhouse emissions come from buildings; most of which are our homes, but at least a third are commercial and public buildings.

So as we enter the recovery phase, how do we build back better, faster and greener? Where are the new growth opportunities for investment in new technologies, and what does this mean for the connected places of tomorrow?

Amanda Clack is an Executive Director at CBRE. She is the Chair of CBRE's Strategy Board, Head of Strategic Advisory and Head of Public Sector. Amanda has over 30 years' experience in the built-environment sector, and for 20 of those years she was partner at PWC and EY. She is the past Global President of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) where she was the longest serving President in 123 years. Amanda is also passionate about diversity and inclusion in the built environment sector, and it's a subject that she has both championed and written about extensively.

Music on this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions and Phill Ward Music (www.phillward.com)

Show notes

Conversation topics/themes:

• The impact on the real estate sector here in the UK, and globally, as modalities of work and travel have changed during the pandemic.
• Reimagining and re-building a physical environment that's both safe for people, and commercially viable for businesses.
• What the disruption of the pandemic, and the opportunities in the built environment sector mean for how we think about place, and the vision of a connected place.
• Accelerating innovation in the built environment on the road to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
• Changing opportunities and business models in digitisation, new technologies, and the circular and sharing economies.
• New investment opportunities in the economic recovery phase, and what they could mean for the future of towns and cities, and the UK's levelling up agenda.
• The role that business leaders and built environment professionals can and should be playing in ensuring diversity and inclusion across the sector.

For more information on Amanda Clack's work to promote and foster diversity and inclusion in the real estate sector, check out her book 'Managing Diversity & Inclusion in Real Estate'.

To read and download our Net Zero Places Innovation Brief, which explores a number of new market opportunities in the real estate and construction sectors, click here.

To register for our TRIG showcase webinar on solving transport challenges through research innovation grants, click here.

To register for our breakfast briefing on 'Enabling thriving urban communities through sound sensing AI technology', click here.

To find out more about what we do at the Connected Places Catapult and to hear about the latest news, events and announcements, please sign up to our newsletter!

Spring is on its way and with it the hope that COVID-19 restrictions might soon be eased. Yet many weeks of uncertainty still lie ahead, resilience is wearing thin, and while we wait for better days many of us continue to work from home. Even those who can't work from home are certainly spending a lot more time at home.

In this episode we ask how place leaders and city planners can help create homes, high streets, public spaces and urban infrastructure which enable human flourishing. We hear from three experts in mental health, human-centred design and the built environment about how the places and spaces we live and work in affect our wellbeing – and the opportunities for innovators to create environments that encourage health and wellbeing for all.

This episode includes extracts from our Third Thursday webinar which was held in October.

Music on this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions and Phill Ward Music (www.phillward.com)

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Show notes

This episode includes extracts from our Third Thursday webinar which was held on Thursday 22nd October and you can watch the full video of the discussion on our website.

The event was chaired by one of the Catapult's Board Members, Pam Alexander OBE, a leading UK expert in housing, planning and economic regeneration. The discussion panellists were;

• Pam Alexander OBE, Chair of Commonplace Digital and Non-Executive Director of the London Legacy Development Corporation
• Sarah Niblock, CEO, UK Council for Psychotherapy
• Dr Andrea Cooper, Director of Human Centred Design, Connected Places Catapult

To read the article mentioned in the episode 'How neuroscience could shape a more empathetic built environment' by Pam Alexander OBE, click here.

To read and download our Net Zero Places Innovation Brief, click here.

To register for our upcoming webinar on "Homes for Healthy Ageing: How innovation can help people live healthily and independently at home for 5+ years longer", click here.

You can also register for our two upcoming showcase events for CertiCAV on the 15th March, and VeriCAV on the 22nd March by visiting our events page.

You can also find out more information on our website about the Catapult's VeriCAV project, which is building and testing an integrated framework to allow Automated Driving Systems (ADSs) to be validated in simulation. Our CertiCAV project is creating practice framework for assessing the safety of automated vehicles.

To find out more about what we do at the Connected Places Catapult and to hear about the latest news, events and announcements, please sign up to our newsletter!

It's easy to get caught-up in the urgent push for change, but we don't often take a step back and look at the net zero transition in the context of our history and the kind of future we imagine. Doing so can be worth our while because in many ways, we've actually been here before.

In this episode we ask what we can we learn from past experience to help our transition to net-zero? How can we make sure that the massive and ambitious change ahead is one that includes social justice and promotes individual and societal wellbeing? How can we use our understanding of what went before us to our advantage in what's yet to come?

This episode includes extracts from our Third Thursday webinar which was held on Thursday 25th February.

Music on this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions and Phill Ward Music (www.phillward.com)

Follow the show!

Don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Please also take a moment to write a review and rate us so that more people can hear about the podcast and what we do at Connected Places Catapult.

Show notes

This episode includes extracts from our Third Thursday webinar which was held on Thursday 25th February and you can watch the full video of the discussion on our website. The event was chaired by one of the Catapult's Associates, Max Wide, an advisor on organisational change and transformation strategy advisor. The discussion panellists were;

• Victoria Lawson, Executive Director for Environment, Culture and Customer Services at the London Borough of Hounslow
• Dr Carlos Lopez-Galviz, Senior Lecturer in The Theory and Methods of Social Futures at Lancaster University
• Philippa Oldham, Stakeholder Engagement Director at the Advanced Propulsion Centre

To read and download our Net Zero Places Innovation Brief, click here.

To register for our Climate Needs Action event on pathways to net zero port and airport cities which is taking place on Tuesday 9th March, click here.

You can also register for our two upcoming showcase events for CertiCAV on the 15th March, and VeriCAV on the 22nd March by visiting our events page.

You can also find out more information on our website about the Catapult's VeriCAV project, which is building and testing an integrated framework to allow Automated Driving Systems (ADSs) to be validated in simulation. Our CertiCAV project is creating practice framework for assessing the safety of automated vehicles.

To find out more about what we do at the Connected Places Catapult and to hear about the latest news, events and announcements, please sign up to our newsletter!

In this episode Prof. Greg Clark meets Daniel Deparis, Head of Urban Mobility Solutions at Mercedes-Benz.

As our towns and cities become more connected, so too are the ways in which we get around them. In this episode we explore how urban mobility is changing. How will connected vehicles shape the connected places of the future. What will they need to connect to and what value can they add to the city and the citizen? What are the new emerging technologies that are shaping mobility systems in cities around the world? Where are the UK's strengths and weaknesses when it comes to innovation in urban mobility, and which cities around the world can UK city leaders and transport authorities can best learn from?

Daniel Deparis is Head of Urban Mobility at Mercedes Benz. His team works with cities around the world to unlock new products, hardware and services for the mobility and transport systems of tomorrow. Daniel previously headed the Daimler Smart Lab - a world-leading think tank and incubator looking at the future of urban mobility and how we move around our towns and cities. Originally from France, Daniel studied business administration in Lille before beginning his career in 1999 as an intern at Mercedes-Benz in Global Services and Parts in Stuttgart.

Music on this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions and Phill Ward Music (www.phillward.com)

Follow the show!

Don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Please also take a moment to write a review and rate us so that more people can hear about the podcast and what we do at Connected Places Catapult.

Show notes

Conversation topics/themes:

• The changing patterns of mobility in cities evolving in the future – the trends that pre-dated COVID and what's changed since COVID.
• What these changes mean from the perspective of an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) like Mercedes-Benz/Daimler and others in the market.
• The most interesting emerging technologies; how they are likely to shape the urban mobility systems in different cities around the world; and the importance of scaling what we already have in place.
• The evolution of connected vehicles, and the kind of economy and society they will produce.
• How connected vehicles will become part of the connected places of the future, and what they most need to connect with.
• Where the UK has strengths and weaknesses when it comes to innovation in urban mobility, and which cities around the world UK city leaders and transport authorities can best learn from.
• The emergence of 'connected places' and the importance of finding a common language to forge new partnerships across a diverse array of partners?

More information is on our website about the Catapult's VeriCAV project, which is building and testing an integrated framework to allow Automated Driving Systems (ADSs) to be validated in simulation. Our CertiCAV project is creating practice framework for assessing the safety of automated vehicles, and our ServCity project is making autonomous mobility a reality in the UK's cities by deploying cutting-edge autonomous vehicle technology in complex built-up environments.

You can also register for our two upcoming showcase events for CertiCAV on the 15th March, and VeriCAV on the 22nd March by visiting our events page.

Our wider innovation programme with the UK Department of Transport also includes a number of case studies from drones and the future of aviation, to new innovations in micro-mobility and active travel.

To find out more about what we do at the Connected Places Catapult and to hear about the latest news, events and announcements, please sign up to our newsletter!

In this episode Prof. Greg Clark speaks to Prof. Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management Practise at the London Business School (LBS) and best-selling author.

We'll be exploring what we need to do now if we are to live to 100. What do businesses, policy makers and place leaders need to be thinking about now as we prepare for the age of longevity? Where are the opportunities for innovation in how we imagine and shape the homes, workplaces and communities of the future? And what can the UK learn from health systems and business practises around the world, especially the oldest population on the planet: Japan?

Over the last 20 years Lynda has written extensively about the interface between people and organisations and her writing has been translated into 15 languages. She directs 'Human Resource Strategy in Transforming Companies' at the London School of Business, considered the world's leading programme on human resources. Her work covers the link between business and HR strategy, the new ways of working, the rise of complex collaboration and the impact of a changing world on employment and work.

In 2016 she and her co-author, Professor Andrew Scott published "The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity" which became a bestseller in Japan. It was followed last year by "The New Long Life: A Framework for Flourishing in a Changing World". Lynda is a Fellow of the World Economic Forum and has chaired the WEF Council of Leadership. She was also invited by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to serve as the only foreigner on Japan's "Council for designing the 100-year-life society".

Music on this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions and Phill Ward Music (www.phillward.com)

Follow the show!

Don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Please also take a moment to write a review and rate us so that more people can hear about the podcast and what we do at Connected Places Catapult.

Show notes

Conversation topics/themes:

• The advantages and disadvantages of living a 100-year life for the individual, and what governments, businesses, and we as individuals need to do to prepare for living longer lives than our forebears.
• What longevity means in societal terms, both in terms of societal expectations and social policy.
• What an age-friendly city looks like, how certain cities are more age-friendly than others, and what they look and feel like for older people.
• The current technology frontiers that are contributing to the vision of the 'hundred-year life' (robots, materials, bio-med etc.) and what the emerging business models look like.
• As innovations are helping us live longer lives as individuals (food, medicine, health, habitat, water, environment) what are the innovations that are going to enable whole societies to live and thrive for longer?
• How Japan might show us a vision of the future in terms of mobility, cities, real estate and tech. Key differences with the UK, and what are the limitations are in any country for people living a 100-year life.
• What Britain's local leaders and place-makers can be learning from abroad, including Japan and other countries that are important peers to Britain.

To read Lynda's recent articles in MIT Sloan Management Review on the future of work post-COVID, which she mentioned in her interview, click here.

To learn more about the Catapult's Future of Housing Programme, and to access case studies, insights and numerous articles, click here. You can also download our report on Homes for Healthy Ageing which we released last year.

To find out more about what we do at the Connected Places Catapult and to hear about the latest news, events and announcements, please sign up to our newsletter!

In this episode Professor Greg Clark speaks to Lord Nigel Crisp, former Chief Executive of the NHS and an independent crossbench peer in the House of Lords.

We'll be exploring the question of living a healthy life, not just in terms of avoiding sickness and disease, but creating health where we live, far away from the hospital ward. Where are the opportunities for innovation in how we imagine and create healthier homes and communities? What's the role of government, public health institutions, entrepreneurs and individuals? What can the UK learn from health systems around the world?

Lord Crisp is the co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health, as well as a global campaign on nursing called Nursing Now. Before entering the House of Lords he was Permanent Secretary at the Department for Health and he was also the Chief Executive of the National Health Service, one of the largest health organisations in the world employing 1.5 million people. He is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, an Honorary Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Medicine.

Lord Crisp now works and writes extensively on global health issues with a strong focus on health and wellbeing practice in several African countries. His recent book, 'Health is made at home, hospital is for repairs' encourages us to think far more creatively about how we live and how we think about health.

Music on this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions and Phill Ward Music (www.phillward.com)

Show notes

Conversation topics/themes:

• Experience and insights from the UK's national health service, and the core question at the heart of Lord Crisp's book, 'Health is made at home, hospital is for repairs'.
• How we need to be more innovative about creating health in homes, workplaces and communities, particularly given how the COVID pandemic has brought about a real step change in how we think about health.
• Health at the city level and what the 'healthy city' looks like – how we can improve human interaction with the built environment in cities and create more active local communities, for better health outcomes.
• Creating better partnerships between government, business and communities for better health and wellbeing outcomes.
• Where the most exciting opportunities for innovation in healthy living lie, and some of the key the barriers to innovation that need to be tackled by both government and the private sector.
• Regulating the built environment and Lord Crisp's work on a Healthy Homes Bill, which would require all new homes and neighbourhoods to be of decent quality. The Bill would aim to improve the health and wellbeing of residents and encourage human flourishing in Britain's communities.
• What Britain's local leaders and place-makers can be learning from abroad, including countries in the global south and other emerging markets that are important to Britain.

Are you an SME with a product or solution that helps older residents reduce the risks around trips, slips or falls in the residential housing sector? Would you like to know more about how you can apply to showcase your product at an Industry Day on 10th March? The deadline for the open call is Wednesday 17th February, so you need to be quick! Click here to find out how to apply, and to read more about how the Catapult is collaborating with Places for People (PfP) as part of their Forever Living Homes programme.

To read the article mentioned in the episode 'How neuroscience could shape a more empathetic built environment' by Catapult Board Member and Chair of Commonplace Digital, Pam Alexander OBE, click here.

To find out more about what we do at the Connected Places Catapult and to hear about the latest news, events and announcements, please sign up to our newsletter!

In this episode Professor Greg Clark speaks to Andy Byford, London's Transport Commissioner about his ambitious plans for Transport for London (TfL).

We'll be exploring where the opportunities lie for innovation in how we imagine, design and operate the transport systems of tomorrow? What's the role of a public transport authority in managing the post-COVID economic recovery? What now for urban mobility in London and how can other UK cities learn from overseas?

Andy Byford is the Transport Commissioner for London and he leads the capital's transport authority, TfL. Before joining TfL, he was the CEO of the New York Transit Authority where he was responsible for 50,000 staff and an investment budget of USD$40bn. He was also the Chief Executive of the City of Toronto's Transit Commission, and he ran the Rail Corporation of New South Wales in Australia. He began his career in uniform as a station foreman on the London Underground.

To download a copy of the Catapult's newly published Net Zero Places Innovation Brief, and to learn more about what we're doing in this area, click here.

Music on this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions and Phill Ward Music (www.phillward.com)

What a year 2020 has been! On so many levels we've all had to pause, reflect, pivot, reimagine and rethink almost everything we do.

Like many businesses we've also had to find new ways to connect digitally with our global network, and one of the new initiatives in our outreach work is our new podcast, Connected Places.

So in this '2020: A Year in Review' episode we listen back on some of those conversations, as well as the other voices that contributed our online programme of webinars, masterclasses, workshops, roundtables and networking events.

The Connected Places Podcast will be back in the new year and we're excited about the conversations we have planned. We're going to be exploring the big trends that haven't gone away despite the pandemic.

We'll be looking at the UK's ambitious plans to achieve net-zero carbon emission by 2050. What does that mean for how we use energy in our homes, businesses and transport systems? And where will the opportunities for innovation be in the built environment?

We'll also be looking at the levelling up agenda. How do we ensure that as and when the economic recovery comes, growth and opportunity is shared across the country? What might this mean for how we think about the innovation economy at the local and regional level?

We look forward to sharing more stories and conversations with you in the new year!

Music on this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions and Phill Ward Music (www.phillward.com)

Follow the show!

Don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Please also take a moment to write a review and rate us so that more people can hear about the podcast and what we do at Connected Places Catapult.

The pandemic has had a huge impact on our built environment, but so too has the economic fallout. Any economic recovery, whenever or however it may come, is going to rely on our ability to create physical environments where we feel safe, as well as new business models that take account of our new reality.

So in this episode we'll be asking, "What now for the real estate sector?"

And where might the opportunities lie for innovation in how we imagine, design and operate our buildings and physical assets?

In this sixth and final episode of season one of Connected Places, Professor Greg Clark speaks to Rosemary Feenan, Executive Vice President of QuadReal how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the real estate sector and cities around the world.

We'll also be hearing from Yalena Coleman, Solution Architect for Applied Data & Technology at Connected Places. We'll be talking about the Catapult's Urban Technology Testbed, and how we've turned our own office building in London into a place of experimentation for businesses and innovators.

Music on this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions and Phill Ward Music (www.phillward.com)

Follow the show!

Don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Please also take a moment to write a review and rate us so that more people can hear about the podcast and what we do at Connected Places Catapult.

Show notes

Rosemary Feenan is Executive Vice President of QuadReal, a global real estate investment group headquartered in Vancouver. An expert on real estate futures, urbanisation, city competitiveness and technology in real estate, she was previously Director of Global Research Programmes at JLL. Rosemary has served on the Boards of Chesterton International, the Urban Land Institute, the Centre for Cities, and she sits on the World Economic Forum's 'Future of Cities and Urbanisation' Council.

Yalena Coleman is Solution Architect for Applied Data and Technology at the Connected Places Catapult. She has played a leading role in shaping the Catapult's Urban Technology Testbed programme, which facilitates the testing of new and emerging technologies in the built environment and how data-driven decision making can be harnessed across the public and private sectors. Yalena has worked in multiple industries across the technology sector in Europe, Asia and Africa, including software development, IoT, digital strategy and cybersecurity.

If you'd like to know more about QuadReal's Oak Ridge development, you can learn more here.

You can also learn more about the Catapult's Urban Technology Testbed, as well as the Catapult's approach to creating digital twins in the built environment, and a short video about our Advanced Building Information System.

To learn more about what the Catapult is doing to support innovators and place leaders rise to the challenge of COVID-19, check out our Post-Pandemic Places Hub which explores the market opportunities the pandemic is creating or accelerating, including a briefing on the built environment which includes real estate and asset management.

The Catapult has also published a new report looking at mental health and emotional wellbeing for city dwellers. You can read 'Cities on the Couch' by Prof. Sarah Niblock, Chief Executive of The UK Council for Psychotherapy by clicking here.

To apply to be part of our upcoming MK:5G Accelerator Programme and the work we are doing with businesses working on 5g technology solutions, please click here.

To register for a webinar on Glasgow's Net-Zero Carbon ambitions, which the Catapult and the Centre for Liveable Cities are jointly hosting on 8th October, click here.

To find out more about what we do at the Connected Places Catapult and to hear about the latest news, events and announcements, please sign up to our newsletter!

If there's one place we've all been spending a lot more time in during lockdown, it's our homes. As we've been spending more time in our home, many of us have been thinking about them more too, and whether the places where we live are adding or subtracting to the quality of our lives.

So this week we'll be asking, "What now for our homes and our wellbeing? And where might the opportunities lie for innovation in how we imagine, design and build the homes of the future?

In this fifth episode of Connected Places, Professor Greg Clark speaks to Alexandra Notay, Director of Placemaking & Investment at PfP Capital about the UK's growing build to rent sector and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the housing market.

We meet Pam Alexander OBE, one of the UK's leading housing, planning and regeneration experts, she also sits on a number of Boards, including Commonplace Digital, the London Legacy Development Corporation and the Connected Places Catapult.

And we also meet Ed Warner, the UK Government Champion for the Design of Products and Places, and the CEO of Motionspot, a company specialising in accessible home design for disabled and older people.

Music on this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions and Phill Ward Music (www.phillward.com)

Follow the show!

Don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Please also take a moment to write a review and rate us so that more people can hear about the podcast and what we do at Connected Places Catapult.

Show notes

Alexandra Notay is Placemaking and Investment Director at PfP Capital, the fund and asset management arm of Places for People Group, overseeing a UK-wide residential strategy. She is an internationally recognised expert on build to rent, placemaking and sustainable urban development, with strategic advisory experience to government, private sector and third sector organisations across four continents.

Pam Alexander OBE is one of the UK's leading housing, planning and regeneration experts. She has run the South East England Development Agency, the Housing Corporation and English Heritage, and she sits on a number of Boards, including Commonplace Digital, the London Legacy Development Corporation, the Mayor of London's Cultural Leadership Board, and the Connected Places Catapult.

Ed Warner is the CEO and Founder of Motionspot, an award-winning design company recognised by RIBA. He has worked with hundreds of homeowners, businesses, Occupational Therapists, architects and interior designers helping deliver beautifully designed access for all. In 2019 Ed was appointed UK Government Champion for the Design of Products and Places.

To learn more about the Catapult's Future of Housing Programme, and to access case studies, insights and numerous articles, click here. You can also download our report on Homes for Healthy Ageing which we released earlier this year.

We'll be announcing more about our housing programme in the coming months, and a good way to stay in touch is by joining our Housing Innovation LinkedIn Group.

To learn more about what the Catapult is doing to support innovators and place leaders rise to the challenge of COVID-19, check out our Post-Pandemic Places Hub which explores the market opportunities the pandemic is creating or accelerating. If you found this episode on the future of public transport helpful.

The Catapult has also published a new report looking at the future actions and opportunities for innovators across 3 post-pandemic horizons: the immediate response, restarting the economy and the long-term economic recovery. To read and download the full report, click here.

To register your interest in our upcoming MK:5G Accelerator Programme and the work we are doing with businesses working on 5g technology solutions, please click here.

To register for a free Raising Investment Masterclass that we're running on 7th October for small and medium businesses, you can click here for more details on how to apply.

To find out more about a joint initiative that the Catapult is running with the Department for Transport's Future Aviation Security Solutions programme (S-TRIG) you can register here for an application support webinar we're running on 30th September.

To find out more about what we do at the Connected Places Catapult and to hear about the latest news, events and announcements – and please sign up to our newsletter!