The Developer podcast

Why doesn't the property industry work more collaboratively when it comes to tackling climate change and retrofit? David Cowans is Group Chief Executive of Places for People, one of the largest property management and development companies in the UK, which owns or manages 147,000 homes. In this interview, which took place at the Festival of Place, he tackles retrofitting, net zero, modern methods...

The Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, was elected in May 2016. On that day Bristol became the first major European city to have elected a mayor of black African heritage. During his first term in office he has overseen the building of over 8,000 homes, announced the development of a mass transit system and provided quality work experiences for over 3,500 children who wouldn’t readily have access. He...

How do you design a feminist city, and an intersectional city? What are the questions you should be asking when designing and developing a place? From protest to the Sex in the City, Leslie Kern, author of Feminist City: Claiming Space in a Man-Made World, moves beyond Jane Jacobs to expose what a just, sustainable and women-friendly city would truly feel like, and how we get there. Live talk from...

A visit to Liverpool One shopping centre leads anthropologist Rebecca Toop to explore the role that shopping plays in our lives. In the context of the retail apocalypse, what can replace the social role of shopping? Part of a new miniseries where Christine Murray explores the best of The Developer 2020. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As offices migrate away from downtown, the people who formerly worked in them are subject to a double movement: some are being lured into the city by falling rents and the possibility of walking or cycling to their workplace when they do need to be physically present; others are taking advantage of remote working by relocating to places where they can enjoy more congenial lifestyles. In this audio...

In this podcast, we speak to First Base director Barry Jessup and Director of Partnerships, Olaide Oboh, about trust, delivering value, their social outcome statement, and making promises to communities that you can keep. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Ben Clifford, author of the government report on the impact of Permitted Development on housing quality, speaks out about the devastating plans to extend the rights in the context of widespread planning reforms that will set the English standard of housing provision back more than 50 years. Consultation on wider planning reforms ends 1 October and can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government...

Once you have a radical idea, how do you test it, develop it, sustain it and grow? May Al-Karooni is CEO and founder of Globechain, a marketplace for construction, retail and office 'waste' that can be reused by charities as part of the new circular economy. Al-Karooni describes how she spotted a need six years ago and developed it into a purpose-based business that is now the world's largest reus...

You want to do things differently. You've written your mission statement. But how do you ensure your business isn't just paying lip-service to change? How do your values manifest themselves in your business culture and practice? Vestre is a Norwegian furniture practice that has supported The Developer and the Festival of Place since inception. We hear from Commercial Director Romy Rawlings about h...

The industry is locked in competitive silos, landscape architecture has been marginalised, communities lack a mechanism for meaningful involvement, policy is not shifting in the right direction, and planners are only focused on the potential, not the present. In the context of the climate emergency, we have got to get our act together. In the conversation with Will Sandy, we discuss why we need a...

Lee Hallman, former Head of Design for Qatari Diar Europe, speaks about Chelsea Barracks, the 13-acre development that found itself at the heart of a new style war, as revealed in the Prince of Wales' Black Spider Memos. With its first phase now complete, Hallman discusses the design evolution of the project in the context of changing tastes in architecture. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

Can humans be social from 2m away? How can we shape urban space to bring us together now that Covid-19 has made us suspicious of strangers, fearful of shopping and transport, and locked us down, apart? Nick Tyler is Director of the UCL Centre for Transport Studies, Chadwick Professor of Civil Engineering, UCL and Director of CRUCIBLE Centre for Lifelong Health and Wellbeing at University College L...

What happens when you take a 250-year-old network of canals and combine it with 21st century drainage technology? Katie Hughes, previous Estates and Commercial Director for Scottish Canals, tells the fascinating story of Glasgow's Smart Canal, a flood-prevention project that unlocked 110 hectares for redevelopment Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Carolyn Steel, author and leading thinker on food and cities, will explain how at this time of change, food is both a saviour and a source of stress. Steel's latest book, Sitopia or "food-place", explains how food is central to our quality of life, and the key to unlocking the predicaments and opportunities of our urban, digital age. Steel's talk was recorded at a Festival of Place Bytesize event...

Nick White, principal adviser for Net Gain at Natural England, explains the rationale behind improving the biodiversity of property developments and the push for net gain policy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The £1.4bn Mayfield project in Manchester is on 24 acres of land that sit within 150 yards of Manchester Piccadilly Station with a river running through it. The only problem? No one in Manchester knew where it was. Which is why U+I have been running 'meanwhile' projects – or as they like to call it, 'worthwhile' projects. We speak to James Heather, development director, who is responsible for deli...

Mayor of Hackney Philip Glanville talks about the redevelopment of Kings Crescent Estate, Covid-19 emergency road changes, tree-planting and why child-friendly cities are more resilient. Glanville also explains why advocates for sustainable transport shouldn't assume that the lockdown has created a new consensus for a car-free future. It hasn't. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't fight for a new w...

Citu has gone from being a developer to bringing the whole design and manufacturing process in-house with Citu Works, their factory building airtight homes. In this podcast, we meet founder and Managing Director Chris Thompson, visit the factory and go on a walk around the Climate Innovation District in Leeds, a 21-acre site on the River Aire. If you like our podcast, please support us on Patreon...

Glasgow is a city of extremes. It has the lowest life-expectancy in the UK, contains pockets of severe deprivation and is home to the most polluted street in Scotland. But it also, in sharp contrast, has the highest weekly income per resident among UK core cities, has pockets of overheated housing market, and has increased its workforce productivity by 30% over the past decade. We speak to Kevin R...

Kevin Barton, Director at Robert Bray Associates, creates climate-resilient landscapes, including flood-mitigating playspaces and a blue-green roof that saved one Hackney developer £800,000. When it comes to designing cities, he believes we need radical change. From tyre-dust microplastics to raw sewage overflows from Victorian pipes, Barton says professionals need to challenge the urban fabric an...

Can property development be an enabler for improving the environment? London-based developer The Berkeley Group is committed to increasing biodiversity on all of their sites. Louise Clarke, Head of Sustainable Places from The Berkeley Group explains why and how they incorporated a focus on nature into their corporate vision, and explains their biodiversity toolkit. Recorded at The Developer Live:...

Once part of Ford's vast manufacturing outpost, the 720-acre post-industrial site will be transformed into a neighbourhood that includes 3,000 homes, a new train station, two schools and a medical centre. If you think brownfield sites are easy, listen to this. With Rob Wilkinson Managing Director Partnerships at Countryside and Evonne Clarke, Head of JV & Development East Region at L&Q Hosted on A...

Martin Farrington, Director of City Development at Leeds City Council, about how the city tackled flood risk and created public space at the same time with its moveable weir, recently used during Storm Ciara. This podcast was recorded live at The Developer's Risk & Resilience conference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We need to ‘depave’ our cities street by street, says De Urbanisten’s Dirk van Peijpe, whose famous water squares combine flood resilience with public space including basketball courts and skateboard ramps. In this podcast, we hear van Peijpe's talk at The Developer's Risk & Resilience conference, where he talks about combining budgets to combine urban drainage with green space. Hosted on Acast. S...

How do you evaluate climate risks such as flooding and build the momentum to invest in mitigation? We hear from industry leaders seeking to strike the balance between risk and resilience, including Dr Kathryn Oldham OBE, Chief Resilience Officer, Greater Manchester Combined Authority; Alexandra Notay, Build to Rent Fund Director, PfP Capital; Chantal Henderson, Director of Commercial Finance, Gros...