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Forest City – can a new vision of urbanism overcome the nation’s declinism?
Two weeks ago over 1000 people gathered at the O2 centre in London to launch a growth agenda for the UK. Looking for Growth (LFG) describes itself as “a political movement to push Britain out of decline. We build, we pressure politicians, we influence policy, we organise, co-ordinate and improve Britain, bit by bit”. Amongst speeches and panel discussions delivered over the course of the evening, an announcement was made about a separate initiative which embodies the ambit
Nov 64 min read


Place-based health indexes: an essential resource in building for health
One of the reasons for launching Build for Health earlier this year and holding its first workshop in July was to work with a collective of built environment practitioners to forge consensus on practice in developing places that support good health. During this workshop and through our LinkedIn group we’ve shared and explored frameworks , tools , data , and design codes that have been developed to support practitioners in building for health. Implementation ha
Oct 175 min read


New housing, no infrastructure
Following the government’s cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, the new Housing minister, Steve Read, issued a “call to arms” to “build...
Sep 275 min read


Building for Health on the Aylesbury Estate
The Aylesbury estate is in the London Borough of Southwark. It was built between 1963 and 1977, and is one of the largest public housing...
Sep 55 min read


Tech, tools and developing healthy places
At a time of change and uncertainty in housing, planning and health policy, robust data gives us the anchor we need to understand what is...
Jun 206 min read


What does inclusive growth look like? touring Barking & Dagenham with Darren Rodwell
The push for economic growth continues to dominate government policy across multiple agendas, including climate and housing, and local...
May 2217 min read


What does an AI city look like?
I’m recently back from a few weeks in San Francisco and, as tour guide to a group of first-time visitor friends I duly showcased the...
May 136 min read


Embedding health into local planning – it’s all about the data
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...
Mar 217 min read


Community-led campaigns are needed now more than ever
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has” ...
Mar 135 min read


Is there a doctor in the house?
Does objecting to a new housing development in your local community, on the basis that no provision is made for new or expanded GP...
Feb 195 min read


Healthy Happy Places – a collaborative initiative in the Northeast of England
There’s an area in the northeast of England where planners, health providers, arts organisations and local government are collaborating...
Feb 57 min read


Building an environment to age well in
With a new year comes a media spotlight on self-improvement, “healthy ageing” and “longevity” feature highly in both social and...
Jan 254 min read


Build for Health
Happy new year! Here’s hoping that sincere wishes for happiness and prosperity in 2025 are met with acknowledgment of some significant...
Jan 105 min read


Building Health Equity – the Role of the Property Sector in Improving Health
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...
Dec 17, 20243 min read


World Toilet Day: Launching the London Loo Alliance
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...
Nov 21, 20243 min read


Health and Housing – are we at an inflection point?
Earlier this month the British Medical Journal published results of a survey by the Royal College of GPs on time spent on non-clinical...
Oct 26, 20243 min read


Changing Places: the Life Sciences industry in London
The Life Sciences industry is comprised of companies and organisations that research, develop and manufacture pharmaceuticals,...
Sep 10, 20243 min read


Planning is messy – but reducing it to binary choices will not give us the sustainable places we need
Earlier this year I visited Singapore and wrote about how government interventions have led to some remarkable outcomes on housing,...
Aug 14, 20244 min read


Where health meets planning – lessons from Wales
As the new government tries to reconcile how to grow the economy by accelerating investment in new housing with a commitment to public...
Jul 29, 20244 min read


CIL, health and health equity
Over the last year I’ve seen more and more reports of the tensions in local communities created by new housing development and the...
Jun 13, 20244 min read
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