September 16, 2019

High streets should switch focus to office space and high-skilled jobs

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News, Property

Many British High Streets face a bleak future as policymakers are failing to identify a clear economic focus to city centre regeneration strategies. According to the Centre for Cities’ latest research, in partnership with Nationwide Building Society, success is defined by those policies that create skills, jobs and quality office space for businesses rather than currently accepted interventions such as cultural initiatives, business rate reforms and online sales taxes. More →

August 23, 2019

London is the most productive region in the UK

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News

London is the most productive region in the UK, followed by the South East and Scotland according to new research from the the University of Durham Business School. Economists Professor Richard Harris and Professor John Moffat conducted the research and also found that the least productive region was Wales, with London having productivity levels over double the amount of Wales. London receives between twice and three times as much per capita funding for transport than any other region. More →

August 22, 2019

London demand for tech skills threatens new North-South divide

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News, Technology, Workplace

A new analysis of the UK’s jobs market by Accenture claims that despite growing opportunities in other cities, London has increasingly greater demand for talent in emerging technologies than ten other UK cities combined. According to the report, there are currently 422,000 UK-based professionals with skills in emerging technologies such as data analytics, artificial intelligence, blockchain, extended reality and quantum computing.

August 16, 2019

Is London Smart City Initiative as smart as it could be?

by George Adams • Cities, Comment, Technology

It’s been a year since the launch of the Mayor of London’s smart city roadmap, designed to transform the capital into the smartest city in the world. But twelve months later, is the city any smarter? The Mayor of London’s smart city roadmap is proposing to transform the capital into the smartest city in the world, and as part of the initiative, Sadiq Khan appointed his first Chief Digital Officer to help steer the plan to focus on knowledge and technical advancements that will make life easier for London’s citizens. More →

August 9, 2019

Helsinki tops global rankings for work-life balance

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Wellbeing

Helsinki is the world’s best city for work-life balance according to a new study from technology business Kisi which compares data on a range of factors such as “livability”, work intensity, institutional support, equality and legislation to rank cities. Helsinki, Munich, and Oslo are the three best ranked cities while the cities deemed as having the worst work-life balance were Tokyo, Singapore, and Washington DC. Using data relating to work intensity, social wellbeing, and livability to analyse the interplay between work and life, the index claims to assess how successful residents are at achieving a healthy work-life balance in 40 cities around the world. More →

July 30, 2019

London now has its own Good Work standard

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has launched London’s Good Work Standard, pledging to make London ‘the best place to live and work’. The standard has been developed in partnership with CIPD, claims to bring together good employment practice with resources and guidance written by CIPD experts and tested with London based CIPD members, the framework sets out to support employers of all sizes across the city improve their people management practices and create good work for all.

July 23, 2019

Perkins and Will to design offices of European Commission

by Neil Franklin • Architecture, Cities, News, Workplace design

The London studio of designers Perkins+Will working with Madrid-based architects Rafael de La-Hoz has won the competition to design the new European Commission offices in Brussels. The consortium’s design was chosen over nine other entries from international teams in a blind competition for the project. The winning team will oversee the creation of the new complex, which is designed to reinvigorate the central European Quarter of Brussels in line with the plans of the local authorities. Alongside the new European Commission offices, which will house more than 5,000 people, will be public and retail space, a public gallery and landscaped gardens for staff, visitors and the local community. More →

July 22, 2019

A new generation of smart cities is with us

by James Ransom • Cities, Features

An abandoned mine shaft beneath the town of Mansfield, England is an unlikely place to shape the future of smart cities. But here, researchers from the nearby University of Nottingham are planning to launch a “deep farm” that could produce ten times as much food as farms above ground. Deep farms are an example of what the latest wave of smart cities look like: putting people first by focusing on solving urban problems and improving existing infrastructure, rather than opening shiny new buildings. More →

July 12, 2019

A life after carbon for the built environment

by Peter Plastrik and John Cleveland • Cities, Environment, Features, Technology

A new urban model is emerging worldwide – transforming the way cities design and use physical space, generate economic wealth, consume and dispose of resources, exploit and sustain the natural ecosystems they need, and prepare for the future. This emerging new urban paradigm has profound implications for players who care about and depend on the design of a city’s built infrastructure – including architects, engineers, builders, real estate developers, and office building tenants. More →

July 12, 2019

Regional productivity gaps at near record high

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News

Differences in typical household incomes across the UK’s regions and nations have halved since their 1990 peak, but differences in productivity remain close to record highs, according to new research published by the Resolution Foundation. The report, Mapping Gaps, examines the relative economic performance of UK regions and nations since the 1960s, and the extent to which this has driven differences in household living standards. The report notes that regional inequality is a hot topic – particularly since the EU referendum exposed huge voting divides between London, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the rest of the UK – and that the UK is one of the most unequal countries in the OECD when it comes to the relative economic performance of its regions and nations.

July 4, 2019

Smart cities spend to top $189 billion in next five years

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News, Technology

Global spending on smart cities will reach $189.5 billion in 2023, according to the latest IDC Worldwide Semiannual Smart Cities Spending Guide. The report claims that the main priorities for investment will be resilient energy and infrastructure projects, followed by data-driven public safety and intelligent transport. It suggests that these priority areas will account for more than half of all smart city spending throughout the 2019-2023 forecast period. The guide claims to quantify the expected technology opportunity around initiatives at a regional and global level. More →

June 19, 2019

London councils form office of technology and innovation

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News, Technology

The London Office of Innovation and Technology (LOTI) has been officially launched, ushering in what the fifteen councils behind the initiative claim will be a new era of digital transformation. The councils claim that London’s public services will benefit from faster adoption of technology, data and digital skills. The city-wide venture is a collaboration between all 32 London boroughs with the Mayor of London’s backing.