How can cities become more resilient?

A key challenge is creating resilience at the neighbourhood level - an often overlooked scale. Resilience strategies can enable local communities to thrive in response to rapid climate change and deal with uncertainty and disruption. However, the current emphasis of resilience planning remains relatively top down, with local authorities still producing strategies for local neighbourhoods rather than with them. With increasing resource constraints in the UK, local government can increase its leverage and impact by moving from the role of provider to enabler. At the same time, built environment professionals will need to develop new capacities to mediate between these authorities and their local communities.

The co-production approach shifts the power relationships involving built environment services and production. This helps to address the underlying social injustice and inequitable urban environments. To achieve resilience at the neighbourhood level, the co-production process seeks a genuine partnership between parties. Such a bottom-up approach allows local communities to engage directly with other stakeholders and also creates new resilience capacities within those communities. This emerging area was explored in the recent special issue, ‘Co- producing Neighbourhood Resilience’ in Building Research & Information, which examined numerous cases of co- production from an interdisciplinary perspective. It demonstrates the viability and benefits that arise from the co-production process.

This debate explored some implications and challenges of what co-production means for local government and professionals. Several questions were specifically raised:
• For built environment professionals - how can their role alter to accommodate the facilitation between governing bodies and local communities?
• Where are the specific challenges in co-production at the community level? How can they be overcome?
• What lessons can be learned for developing capacities, and demonstrator models?
• What are the politico-ecological dynamics that operate in this process? How is this used to empower communities through the production of resilient neighbourhoods?
• What are the research, practice and policy implications of neighbourhood co-produced resilience strategies?

These questions were discussed in relation to current practice and new initiatives with contributions from the invited panel and afterwards from the audience.

Speakers:

Chair: Janet Sharpe, Director of Housing and Neighbourhood Services, Sheffield City Council

Introduction: Professors Fionn Stevenson and Doina Petrescu (The University of Sheffield, School of Architecture) What is co-production and what have we learned?

Panelists:
Policy Speaker: Barra MacRuari, Director of Place, Bristol
Co-production and Resilience in the planning process / what can local authorities do?
Research speaker: TBC
Co-production with researchers / what can higher education contribute?
Practice speaker: Dr. Dorte -Rich Jorgensen, Sustainability consultant engineer, Aitkins Global
Co-production and teamwork / how does it work in practice?
Research speaker: Dr. Meike Shalk, KTH University, Stockholm, Sweden
Co-production on the Ground / how to set it up?
Client Speaker: Nigel Ingram, Director, Aurora Estates; previously Development Director at Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust
Co-production and the client/ what is the client role?

Venue: Room 13.18, Floor 13, The Arts Tower, The University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN

The debate is being run in conjunction with the University of Sheffield and Building Research & Information

Downloads:

Edge-University of Sheffield Debate Invitation

References:
Boyle D. and Harris M. (2009) The challenge of co-production: How equal partnerships between professionals and the public are crucial to improving public services. London: Nesta.
Maguire, B. and Cartwright S. (2008) ‘Assessing a community’s capacity to manage change: A resilience approach to social assessment’.
Petrescu D. and Petcou C. (2015) ‘R-Urban or how to co-produce a resilient city’ in Ephemera: theory and politics in organisation, vol. 15/1
Stevenson, F. and Petrescu, D. - guest editors (2016) Co-producing Neighbourhood Resilience. Special issue of Building Research & Information.

What sort of education can best tackle the challenges of sustainability in the built environment?

Learning in all forms, from the education of students to the continuing development of professionals, is key to a sustainable built environment. The issues explored in this debate were around general cross-disciplinary learning versus focusing on the specialisation of disciplines.

To deal with challenges of sustainability, is deep and narrow knowledge more beneficial or is shallow and broad knowledge more desirable? We know that collaboration between disciplines is essential, but so is detailed understanding of technical issues. The idea of ‘T-shaped’ people is becoming more widespread; how do we create graduates and professionals who have the skills and knowledge to create and maintain a built environment that is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable? Issues covered included lifelong learning for built environment professionals and feedback loops between learning and practice.

Speakers
Chair: Nigel Tonks, Buildings London Leader, Arup

Team Specialist:
Satheesh Jacob, Head of Excellence, Building Services, Ramboll
Alex MacLaren, Assistant Professor – Architectural Design, Heriot Watt University

Team Generalist:
Paul Tymkow, Director of Learning and Knowledge, Hoare Lea
Robert Schmidt III, Senior Lecturer, Loughborough University

Venue: The Clarence Centre for Enterprise and Innovation, London South Bank University, 6 St George’s Circus, London SE1 6FE

——————————————————————————
This debate was the last in the Built Environment Exchange Series 2016. A series of multidisciplinary debates jointly organised by the Sustainable Communities Institute at London South Bank University (LSBU), the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineering (CIBSE) and the All-Party Parliamentary Sustainable Built Environment Group (APSBEG) to bring together built environment professionals, students, business leaders and clients to address challenges of sustainability in the built environment.

Organised by: London South Bank University, CIBSE, the All-Party Parliamentary Sustainable Built Environment Group and the Edge.

What is the future of R&D in Construction?

Can we even define what it is and where it is happening? Major issues around economic performance and productivity, housing, climate change, population growth and scarcity of resources are throwing up challenges and opportunities both at home and abroad. Construction is one of the largest economic sectors in the UK, but it is fragmented, doesn’t have a coherent model of R&D, finds it difficult to innovate and at best follows a step-by-step model. Industry and academia are disconnected; design and construction often have different agendas, Government (even before BREXIT) doesn’t pay significant attention to the sector and the media considers it un-sexy. But the potential for innovation in the sector is huge and the impact of innovations in design tools, materials, ‘smart’ buildings, digital collaboration, and offsite manufacturing could be immense.

Is now the time to come up with a new model for R&D (with the emphasis on the “D”) in construction?

Chair:
Nico Macdonald - Chief Executive, R&D Society

Speakers:
Elspeth Finch – CEO & Founder, Indigo&; Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering Innovators’ Network and formerly Director of Innovation, ATKINS
Paddy Conaghan, Edge; Consultant at Hoare Lea; Vice President CIBSE
Annabel Filer, Creative Director and Founder of SCIN Gallery
Mike Moseley, Knowledge Transfer Manager (Construction), KTN

Venue: Hoare Lea offices, Granary Square, 12-13 Stable St, London N1C 4AB

A joint R&D Society / the Edge debate

The restoration of historical buildings, the reclamation of abandoned industrial sites and of historical and cultural heritage in general, is a complex process that combines different technologies and expertise. Sustainability is the basis for these restorative interventions, drawing on a wide range of knowledge – from architecture to engineering, design and new materials, to mention just a few.

Developing historical, artistic and cultural heritage cannot however be reduced to a simple question of construction or administration. It is a cultural action in and of itself, beginning with our own individual ability to recognise the heritage that surrounds us. To be able to conserve and enhance our cultural assets we first need to educate, and then continue to educate ourselves, progressing by taking on a personal and collective responsibility, from which new themes and pathways for socio-economic development can be developed.

The structured union of safeguarding and growth has been tried and tested with successful results in both Anglo-American and English contexts. In order to compare the differing methodologies and experiences, the Italian Chamber of Commerce for the UK and Valorizzazioni Culturali are organising a two day event focussing on ‘best practices’. On the 29th and 30th October in the Palazzo Flangini in Venice, successful projects will be displayed at the ground floor exhibition in the 17th century building, facing onto the Grand Canal. From 2pm on the Saturday afternoon international speakers will take part in the conference titled “Our past, your future: Promoting artistic and cultural heritage”. Bringing together experts from different sectors, the workshop seeks to construct an exchange for experience in the form of a networking event to take place during Venice’s Biennale Architettura 2016.

Downloads:

Event programme

Robin Nicholson presentation

Edge conference presentation

Collaboration for Change – rising to the challenge

“In May 2015 the multi-disciplinary Edge ginger group launched ‘Collaboration for Change’, the report from the Edge Commission on the Future of Professionalism, chaired by Paul Morrell, the first Chief Construction Adviser to Government.
The Commission concluded that the pressures for change that the professions face are real and profound but with an equally powerful conviction that there is an opportunity to find a new position for themselves that captures the best of the values of their past, while being relevant to the 21st century challenges we face.
Core Edge members Simon Foxell and Robin Nicholson will report on progress to date and discuss how the North-West might rise to Morrell’s challenges.”

Venue: Trowers & Hamlins LLP, 55 Princess Street, Manchester M2 4EW

Closing the Performance Gap

On 28.04.16 Paul Morrell made a presentation to Constructing Excellence Oxford, concerning the Inquiry into the future of professionalism in the built environment/construction industry. Paul chaired the inquiry, and was assisted by a multi-disciplinary Commission Panel of five professionals who debated the issues with ten leading industry institutions. The report explored the key issues facing professionals and their institutions at this ‘moment for change’, a moment arising from globalisation, agglomeration, the ageing industry and a degree of disaffection from the newly qualified.

In collaboration with Constructing Excellence Berkshire and hosts Peter Brett Associates, we are delighted to invite you to the 11th event of our 2016 calendar to discuss the Performance Gap and listen to The Edge update members on the progress made and then hear first hand Constructing Excellence Oxford’s working groups progress on this key challenge for our industry. A short workshop will follow to cultivate ideas and encourage some debate:

Speakers:

Robin Nicholson - Speaker of Cullinan Studio, Convenor of the Edge

Simon Foxell - Speaker from Edge Consulting and The Architects Practice speaking about Innovate UK funded BPE project and the findings from non-domestic projects.

Constructing Excellence Oxford - Task Group Update.

Graham Clarkson - Workshop facilitator and Clarkson Alliance - http://clarksonalliance.com/

Venue: Peter Brett Associates, Caversham Bridge House, Waterman Place, Reading RG1 8DN

Would new national policies for the built environment work? Could a Chief Government Adviser deliver them?

In February 2016 the House of Lords published Building better places, the Report on the findings of the Select Committee on National Policy for the Built Environment to which the Edge gave evidence.

The Committee sought ‘a coherent set of responses’ to the many complex challenges facing decision-makers, and ‘to consider the development and implementation of national policy for the built environment’.

Committee members came from all main political parties and the cross-benches. They took evidence from practitioners, professional bodies, development interests, academics, amenity societies, central and local government politicians and officials. The Committee concluded that ‘as a nation, we need to recognise the power of place and to be much more ambitious when planning, designing, constructing and maintaining our built environment. Failure to do so will result in significant long-term costs.’ As of mid-May 2016 the Government had yet to respond.

The Committee made key recommendations to improve the quality of lives and places:
• Better co-ordination of built environment policies across government
• Appointment of a Chief Government Built Environment Adviser
• Taking better account of design impacts on work, health and the environment
• More attention on building for sustainability and resilience
• A strategy for long-term management of the historic environment
• More sustainable communities through long-term rented housing
• Increased support for local planning and place-making capacity
• More dynamic and co-ordinated plan-making
• Simplified neighbourhood planning
• … and much more

Can the Committee’s recommendations be delivered? Would a Chief Adviser have the clout and connections to deliver them? Would they make a positive difference if they were put into practice?

Chair: The Baroness Whitaker (Select Committee Member)
Speakers: The Baroness Andrews OBE (Select Committee Member)
Prof. Matthew Carmona, The Bartlett, UCL (Select Committee Adviser)
Ben Rogers (Director, Centre for London; ex-Cabinet Office Policy Unit)

Venue: Committee Room G, The House of Lords

The Debate was being held in collaboration with The Place Alliance.

Downloads:

Edge Debate 74 flyer

Event Speakers

Event transcript

Event notes

The EU Referendum is a once in a generation event, the outcome of which will ultimately be driven by the vote of UK citizens. It has brought an opportunity to reflect and act on Britain’s standing within the EU and our relationship with it. It can remind us where Britain was before we joined the EU, what we have accomplished as full members with other EU nations to arrive where we are now, and what made Britain want to renegotiate our relationship with the EU. The key question that the referendum raises is:
How has the EU membership affected the UK and what might change in the event of a vote to Remain or Leave?

One important aspect that deserves examination is the consequences of the different referendum options for Britain’s environmental & climate change legislation and practices in the built environment. This has not been given much discussion and limited information exists for what this means. This particular event focuses on the environmental and climate change consequences for the built environment - our cities, buildings and infrastructures.

The purpose of this event is to provide objective, factual information. It does not take a view on whether to remain or leave, but presents a clear set of descriptions and observations about the current EU environmental and climate change directives and what options arise from their withdrawal.

Topics discussed include:

• Sustainable development assessment

• Climate change, energy efficiency & low carbon buildings

• Decarbonisation of the energy supply

• Resources, recycling of materials and waste generation

• Planning

A panel of experts was asked to provide a background on historical and current legislation and practices, along with objective information on what the different scenarios mean:

• A UK vote to remain in the EU (the ‘reformed EU’ option

• A UK vote to leave and become a member of the European Economic Area (EEA) - the ‘Norwegian option’

• A UK vote to leave and negotiate free trade deals with the EU - the ‘Free Trade’ option

Chair: Antony Oliver, Antony Oliver Consulting

Speakers:

• Dr Charlotte Burns, (Univ of York) - what are the different scenarios and their implications?

• Dr Janice Morphet, (School of Planning, UCL) - how EU shapes planning policy

• Professor Michael Grubb, (UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources) - Climate change and energy

• Dr Robert Cohen, (Verco) - EU legislation and building energy reduction

• Dr David Greenfield, (Social, Environmental & Economic Solutions Ltd) - EU policy and the circular economy

• Rob Lambe, (Aldersgate Group / Willmott Dixon) - what does this mean for business?

The Debate was held in collaboration with the UCL Energy Institute - see here for their page on the debate.

Venue: UCL Darwin Building Lecture Theatre

A film of the event is available on the UCL-Energy Youtube Channel here.

References:
Baldock, D. Farmer, A. and Nesbit, M. (2016) Brexit - the Implications for UK Environmental Policy and Regulation. A special independent report commissioned by the all-party parliamentary environment group.

Burns, C., A. Jordan, V. Gravey, N. Berny, S. Bulmer, N. Carter, R. Cowell, J. Dutton, B. Moore S. Oberthür, S. Owens, T. Rayner, J. Scott and B. Stewart (2016) The EU Referendum and the UK Environment: An Expert Review. How has EU membership affected the UK and what might change in the event of a vote to Remain or Leave? Executive Summary

Potential impacts of the EU referendum on green building policies by UK Green Building Council, April 2016

In the months since the Edge Commission Report on the Future of Professionalism Collaboration for Change, was published it has become essential reading for all those leading the professional institutions and for every built environment professional and educator interested in the future of their industry.

Come and hear the author of the report, former Government Chief Construction Adviser, Paul Morrell OBE, talk about the challenges facing the construction and property industries and the recommendations made in the report, Collaboration for Change, to ensure that the professions collectively take hold of the opportunities available to them.

Date & time: 6.00 pm, 28th April 2016.

Venue: The John Henry Brookes Building,
Oxford Brookes University, Headington, Oxford OX3 0BP

Programme:
6.00 - 6.30 Arrival with light refreshments.
6.30 Introductions from Clare Deakin, Chair Constructing Excellence, Oxford and Business Development Manager with Kier.
6.35 - 7.05 Paul Morrell, Principal Author of Collaboration for Change.
7.05 - 7.20 Questions
7.20 - 8.00 Response and action plan. Open discussion facilitated by Graham Clarkson, former CE Oxford Chair and Managing Director of The Clarkson Alliance.

Bookings should be made via Constructing Excellence Oxford’s Eventbrite page

Downloads:

Oxford CE Event Flyer

Closing the Performance Gap: A Plan for Action

It is generally agreed across the construction industry that there is “a gap between how buildings are meant to (and probably promised) to perform, and how they actually perform in service that in any other industry would be regarded as a scandal. There can hardly be a cause more deserving of cross-industry collective contemplation and action than the constant failure of its product”. Paul Morrell, Collaboration for Change, The Edge Commission Report on the Future of Professionalism, 2015. The time has come for action and this session offers practical guidance for professionals and their clients to overcome the performance gap.

Chair:
Paul Morrell OBE, Paul Morrell Consulting, former Government Chief Construction Adviser, Commission Chair and Principal Author of Collaboration for Change.

Speakers:
Karen Rogers, Design Manager, Canary Wharf Contractors
Alan Penn, Dean, Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment
Nick Higgs, Arup
David Adams, Technical Director, Wilmott Dixon Energy Services
Lynne Ceeney: UK Green Building Council
Simon Hart: Innovate UK

Venue: Building Performance Hub, Ecobuild, Excel London

Downloads:

A presentation to CIC Council on the performance gap on the 16th March 2016 following the Ecobuild event

The housing crisis is squeezing young adults out of London. Yet many still see London as the only UK city that offers the career they want. What can be done to make other UK cities more attractive to mobile young talent? Four speakers present their approaches.

The UK is unique in that its centres of political, economic and cultural power are all located in one city. Political power is concentrated in central government in the UK to a degree not seen in comparable countries. To address this, think tank IPPR has called for a ‘Decentralisation Decade;’ a political project to push power out from Whitehall.

Some think this does not go far enough. Architect and researcher James Dunnett is proposing to move Parliament and Central Government out of London completely. Relocating the machinery of government to another UK city would dramatically alter the economic geography of the country.

If the crisis is a particular issue in the southeast, can we solve it by supporting growth in other UK cities? John Sampson from URBED will discuss how the ideas from their Wolfson Prize-winning entry ‘Uxcester’ are being applied to support significant growth of a regional city in the UK.

Accepting that London is likely to remain the centre of economic and cultural activity in the country, local solutions to London’s unique challenges are still required. Kathryn Firth, former Chief of Design at the London Legacy Development Corporation will discuss approaches to alleviating the crisis in London.

Chair:
Charlotte Alldritt
Director of Public Services and Communities, RSA
Previously Secretary to the RSA City Growth Commission

Speakers:
Luke Raikes, IPPR North
James Dunnett, James Dunnett Architects
John Sampson, URBED
Kathryn Firth, Urban Designer and Masterplanner

Venue: Ramboll, 240 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8NW

Download:
Edge debate 71 - Flyer

Edge debate 71 Decentralisation debate report

Link
Debate report on Designing Buildings Wiki