The Developer podcast

How do you develop a new town hall and civic hub in a community with a longstanding mistrust of its local authority? “You’ve got to listen,” says James Stockdale, Development Director at Muse. Your New Town Hall in Brixton, the project to restore the Grade II-listed Lambeth town hall was never going to be easy. According to a 2013 resident’s survey, the council was not held in high regard. The report said residents felt “policymakers have stopped listening to them, and their culture and identity is gradually being lost.” Not a great starting point for a major development project. “Regeneration is always going to be contentious. Buildings will get knocked down,” says Stockdale. “You’ve got to listen. And by doing that hopefully more people will be happier than not.” Support our podcast and also get the magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As regulations on biodiversity net gain and sustainable drainage become mandatory, Carolin Göhler, president-elect of the Landscape Institute, explains why the role of the landscape architect is as vital as it is misunderstood. In areas prone to overheating, flooding or drought, having a lead designer focused on land use makes sense. The increase in social impact measurement, social prescribing and ESG investment also highlights the role of green spaces in improving health and wellbeing. But if the discipline is to take its place at the head of the table, people need to understand exactly what they do. A wide ranging discussion on urban trees, future-proofing heritage planting and the electrification of maintenance. Support our podcast and also get the magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Local authorities are moving head with net zero and climate resilience plans, installing solar panels and heat pumps. But a recent report from Key Cities, a group of 27 UK cities, concludes that "progress is being hindered by central government through a lack of powers, clarity, capacity and funding". Gina Dowding Lancaster County Counsellor and Richard Cook, Leader of Gloucester City Council, discuss the recommendations from the report, Levelling Up, Emissions Down, which captures the palpable frustration at the lack of clear direction and mandate for action on climate change. Support our podcast and also get the magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We need to talk about SLOAPs, aka Sites Leftover After Planning. We've all seen them, corridors of tarmac or patches of grass with no purpose or social life. Could we put these fragmented spaces to better use as sites of biodiversity, food growing, play or connection? Soham De from EcoResponsive Environments and Valerie Beirne from Where Pathways Meet have been adding up the potential of this multitude of tiny sites, and want to spark an industry-wide conversation about the mapping and transformation of leftover spaces into sites of care, biodiversity and creativity. Support our podcast and also get the magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Art in public space has long been subject to hot debate. It was back in the 1970s that James Wines referred to Modernist sculptures as "turds in the plaza" and "Plop Art". The removal of sculptures associated with slavery as part of the Black Lives Matter are proof positive that public art matters deeply to people and places. So when seeking to commission public art, is community involvement the answer to question of relevance, appropriateness and permanence? Shiro Muchiri, founder of SoShiro art gallery and Hanna Afolabi, founder of Mood and Space, have teamed up to create Art in Architecture, a consultancy that believes public art can deliver social value – if you get the community involved from the very beginning. We discuss the opportunities and challenges of commissioning art for urban public spaces. Support our podcast and also get the magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Street art has a lot to do with play, says Dr Lee Bofkin, co-founder of Global Street Art, who points to the evolving role of streets as a backdrop for content creation and personal digital expression. Global Street Art has connected street artists with sites to paint 3,000 murals in the UK since 2012, including pieces created under the Art for Estates programme and launching the London Mural Festival. In this podcast, the co-founder of Global Street Art discusses the expansive role of public art and why we should all live in painted cities. Support our podcast and also get the magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special 100th episode of The Developer Podcast, author Carolyn Steel hosts Stephen Witherford, co-founder of Witherford Watson Mann architects and Sophia Craxton, food anthropologist and manager of the community kitchen at almshouse Appleby Blue. What emerges is passionate and emotive discussion about how we design spaces for dignity, and the building as the beginning of a conversation about how we live and what we value. In a city where loneliness is one of the biggest killers, the question was how to create an architecture that promotes the good life: The answer was the use of food as an instrument for creating community. "Eating on your own and cooking for yourself can be one of the most soulless things, when you've lost people you spent time cooking and eating with," says Witherford. "We wanted to a place where people cook together and they eat together and share their experiences. Ultimately this is all about how to get residents to speak to one another." Support our podcast and also get the magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The construction industry is struggling to attract young people with an acute shortage of skilled workers hampering innovation and quality. Architecture and engineering need more diversity. At the same time, developers are creating playgrounds and spaces for teenagers to attract families and create community. What if we could solve all these needs with a single intervention? The adventure playground is not a new concept – the first one opened in Camberwell in 1948. But their longstanding tradition of giving children the tools, skills and materials to build their own play structures under supervision of trained playworkers has fresh resonance. "These places have been doing co-design from the beginning," shares Nitasha Kapoor, anthropologist and trustee of SWAPA in Hackney. In this interview, Kapoor talks about the potential for adventure playgrounds and their skilled staff to transform places and lives with one caveat – they need our help, skills, materials and financial support. Support our podcast and also get the magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The regeneration playbook is to takeover industrial spaces in favour of housing and mixed-use development, displacing the garages, workshops and sheds and pushing them to the margins of the city. But an increase in industrial rents and a shortage of industrial spaces has led to a radical rethink, with councils seeking industrial intensification instead, funding the creation of multi-storey light industrial spaces. In this interview, Regeneration Officer Francis Moss from London Borough of Ealing and Holly Lewis, Co-founding Director of We Made That explain the radical shift taking place and why industrial uses are essential to local economies and communities, making the case for keeping, and increasing, the sheds on our doorstep Support our podcast and also get the magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The popularity of New York's Highline saw other cities scouring maps for disused infrastructure – and Camden was no exception. The discovery of a disused viaduct running between King's Cross and Camden Road sparked the campaign for a Highline. Fast-forward and the design has planning permission and is now fundraising towards the build. We speak to Simon Pitkeathley, CEO of Camden Town Unlimited and CEO of Camden Highline about the journey so far, Georgie Street, Head of Projects at Camden Town Unlimited on the future green loop strategy and Tatiana von Preussen, architect and co-founder of vPPR on how to make the park, which runs along a live set of tracks, accessible and magical. Support our podcast and also get the magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back in 2018, one of The Developer’s first podcasts was an interview with Linda Thiel, director of White Arkitekter’s London studio. The Scandinavian practice had been hired for the second phase of the regeneration of the Gascoigne estate in east London, replacing 1960s high rise blocks while adopting what the practice calls a “Scandinavian approach” with an emphasis on public space. More than four years on, Thiel got in touch to say that there had been a change in the practice’s thinking and, for the final stages of the project, they were now proposing that rather than demolish the original buildings, they should consider retrofitting them. Such an approach could also break a cycle of demolish and rebuild that began in the 1950s when the Edwardian terraced housing that originally sat on the site was razed, having been condemned as slums, only to be repeated as, in turn, those towers fell out of favour, creating a level of intergenerational trauma as communities were once again uprooted. Speaking in a new podcast, Thiel tells the story of White Arkitekter and Civic Engineers’ investigation into the feasibility of retrofit and raises fresh questions of equity and inclusion Support our podcast and also get the magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Key Cities report, Culture and Place in Britain, identified access to culture as a driver of wellbeing in areas of socioeconomic deprivation. But how can we seek stable and sustainable funding for grassroots culture in our places? Alan Waters, Culture Lead for Key Cities and previous leader of Norwich City Council and Sarie Mairs Slee, who previously led the Salford Culture and Place Partnership, discuss how the Cultural Compact, which partners institutions with artists and grassroots initiatives, can help unlock investment Support our podcast and also get the magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Horatio’s Garden Chelsea, designed by Harris and Bugg with McMullan Studio, has been awarded the coveted Best in Show title at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. In this podcast, we sit down with Charlotte Harris and Andrew McMullan to discuss the process of designing a fully accessible garden for this UK-based charity that nurtures patients after spinal injury in NHS spinal centres. Support our podcast and also get the magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul Monaghan, architect and co-founder of Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, talks about his role on the advisory board for The Office for Place, a government body helping to shape design codes and neighbourhood plans in England. Announced in July 2021, having emerged out of the Building Better Building Beautiful Commission, the purpose of the Office for Place is “to make it easier for all neighbourhood communities, wherever they might be, to require what they find beautiful and refuse what they find ugly.” Monaghan explains why he's pleased the government is passionate about design quality, even if he's not entirely comfortable with its new favourite buzzword: ‘beauty’ Support our podcast and also get the magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What are we doing wrong when it comes to urban tree planting? With an estimated 30 to 70% of city trees expected to die within a year of planting, landscape architect Elaine Cresswell, founder of ReShaped, dishes the dirt on the reasons city trees die, from funding to specification, soil to maintenance. With targets for net zero, flood resilience, air pollution and Biodiversity Net Gain, we need our landscapes to work harder than ever. Other topics covered include why architects shouldn't put cherry blossoms or birch trees in their renderings and planning applications. Please subscribe if you like our podcasts. Support our podcast and also get the magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are times when placemaking is about urban acupuncture; a series of strategic interventions that signpost and make accessible what is already there – microplans in lieu of masterplans. In this podcast, landscape architect Valerie Beirne, founder of Where Pathways Meet, discusses her 14 years at Better Bankside and the potential impact of incremental projects where a singular vision is delivered by local partnerships big and small. Support our podcast and also get the magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Psychologist B. F. Skinner famously compared old age to a foreign country: “You will enjoy it more if you have prepared yourself before you go.” But are UK towns and cities ready to welcome those on the journey? Figures from the 2021 census revealed that there are 2.5m people aged 50 or older living in London, while the OECD estimates that older adults comprise 15% of the population of metropolitan areas of the UK.Could a new almshouse in Blackfriars be a future model for independent, affordable living for older Londoners? Chris Wilson, CEO of Southwark Charities and Justin Nicholls, founding director of Fathom Architects share their visionIf you love what we do, please subscribe to The Developer Podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and sign up to The Developer Weekly email to find out when new episodes go live. Visit our website at www.thedeveloper.live to find out more. You can support our podcast on Patreon at www.patreon.com/thedeveloperuk Support our podcast and also get the magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When it comes to the creative industries, people are looking for workspaces that you want to come to and do things together, says Richard Pearce, founder and director of office developer TCN. “It’s going to be hybrid working from now on. People need to have a reason to get out of their comfortable homes.” For TCN – which describes itself as a “creative workplace” provider – the offer is an interesting office space and a community of creative SME businesses. But how do you bring different businesses together and foster collaboration? Support our podcast and also get the magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is a community land trust and why start one? We speak to Tom Chance, chief executive of the Community Land Trust Network about this legal entity which gives communities ownership and power over land and property development. We dig into how CLTs get started, what types of homes and places CLTs are delivering from high street regeneration to affordable housing, and the three biggest challenges faced by most community land trusts: acquiring land, finance and expertise. Support our podcast and also get the magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"It's about showing up, not just as a professional, but as a person; to bring your whole self." Founders Rachel Fisher and Liane Hartley talk about Urbanistas, a network for amplifying women's ideas to improve cities as it celebrates its 10th anniversary. From its early beginnings in London to its global expansion with several chapters around the world, from Manchester to New York, Sydney and Rotterdam, Fisher and Hartley share their unique perspective on what makes their expo model so replicable and successful as a fun and effective training ground for women leaders. Support our podcast and also get the magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.