Cities must serve their citizens fully and vice versa

The IPCC 1.5º Report (2018) already highlighted the need to build and live differently in cities if we are to overcome vulnerability to climate change for place and people, especially in areas of social deprivation and inequality.

Now we also have the impacts of Covid-19, and the period of national lockdown exposed several weaknesses in our cities and urban environments – social inequalities, the number of people without any private open space, even a balcony, or able to access any green space within a 15-minute walk; the inadequacy of much housing especially for home working and lockdown living; the challenges of certain building types such as tall buildings with lifts or poorly maintained air handling systems… but lockdown also exposed positive benefits outside our homes when things were done differently – cities were quiet, air quality was improved, space used by cars given back to people with more space and greater safety for walking and cycling; public transport less crowded for key workers who had to use it.

Of course many of our traditional forms of city entertainment – shopping, eating out, theatres, cinemas, art galleries etc. – were also closed with the consequent impacts on employment and the economy. Industries may not be restored to full strength going forward. Is this the moment to grasp some nettles and really do things differently?

The government seeks to ‘level up’. Is this a starting point to rebalance the situation away from London? Should we plan in terms of the city where the services and places supporting quality of life are available within a 15-minute walk from home? Is it time to review density and to focus more on what people need from their physical surroundings?

This session will consider the economic, social and physical conditions to enable cities to serve their citizens fully.

How should ‘cities’ respond to our 3 questions on i) what are we learning from our time of lockdown and beyond to change both as individuals and professionals? ii) What do we keep and what do we change in the industry? iii) If we embrace change, what is our vision for the future? If we don’t, what are the risks?

Hear the following talks from our speakers:

Chair: Erin Walsh

• How can we create social equality in our cities? – Jenny Pickerill
• Creating the conditions in which cities and their citizens can thrive – Dan Epstein
• Design for circularity – towards a green recovery – Sophie Thomas

This will be followed by a live Q&A session, where you can pose your questions to our experts.

In partnership with:

Webinar chair:

Erin Walsh – Director of Built Environment, Connected Places Catapult