It’s a rare day now when we don’t see something in our news feeds about AI and, increasingly, the infrastructure required to power its development and deliver its benefits.   The AI Opportunities Action Plan produced last year for the government set out targets to ensure the UK can lead in this frontier technology, and one year on many of these have or are being achieved . A central feature of this plan is the development of data centres across the country – and as I argu

When the NHS announced its ten-year Health Plan last summer , it revealed its intention to shift healthcare from hospitals to communities by establishing localised "Neighbourhood Health Services". According to the plan, these would “create integrated, multidisciplinary teams to provide proactive, preventative, and personalized care closer to home, focusing on early intervention, digital tools, and tackling health inequalities to keep people healthier longer and reduce hospi

Last week the BBC reported from Bath that a lack of public toilets in the city has left elderly people in tears and pushed customers...

On a beautiful summer evening last Tuesday, fifty-odd leaders and practitioners from the built environment, health provision, public...

Earlier this year, before its demise , NHS England published   Neighbourhood Health Guidelines , which stated   “there is an urgent need...

Last October, before the government’s autumn budget, I wrote a blog making a case that the UK is at an inflection point in housing and...

There’s an area in the northeast of England where planners, health providers, arts organisations and local government are collaborating...

With a new year comes a media spotlight on self-improvement, “healthy ageing” and “longevity” feature highly in both social and...

Happy new year!   Here’s hoping that sincere wishes for happiness and prosperity in 2025 are met with acknowledgment of some significant...

It wasn’t long ago that these words would look out of place in the same sentence. Why should property developers care about health, or...

On Tuesday this week, World Toilet Day was celebrated across the world – laugh if you want, but it’s a long-established event   led by...

Since my return last month from Uganda and my blog about  how participation in music making has impacted the health of local communities...

Earlier this month the British Medical Journal published results of a survey by the Royal College of GPs on time spent on non-clinical...

As preventative health features prominently in the government’s agenda and in particular as a focus for improving the NHS , I’m...

In the wake of Lord Darzi’s report on the NHS , the IPPR report on the nation’s health , and the government’s renewed focus on...

As the new government tries to reconcile how to grow the economy by accelerating investment in new housing with a commitment to public...

Over the last year I’ve seen more and more reports of the tensions in local communities created by new housing development and the...

Earlier this month, Asda unveiled plans for a “transformational Mixed-Use Redevelopment of its ten-acre Park Royal site in North West...

“Vulnerability” comes from the Latin word for wound – vulnis. It’s the state of being open to injury, or appearing as if you are. Feeling...

I spent last week in Singapore which, along with many other accolades, has been designated the world’s sixth Blue Zone, and the world’s...