All Comment articles – Page 11
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InsightIt’s time for a change at the top
Last week’s two by-elections were terrible results for the Conservatives. It’s true that if Reform UK’s vote, which attracts some hard-right Tories, had been added to their vote they would have very narrowly won in Mid-Bedfordshire.
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InsightUKGBC’s Simon McWhirter on why the built environment needs a paradigm shift
To deliver a sustainable, net zero future, the built environment needs a paradigm shift. We must channel our deep dismay at the government’s short-sighted rollback into a powerful, collective voice focused on the changes we need.
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OnlineCreating a greener, fairer urban future
More than 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a figure that the United Nations Human Settlements Programme predicts will reach more than 68% by 2050. At the same time, urban areas contribute to over 70% of global GDP around the world.
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InsightFruition’s Parul Scampion on the political chokehold on SME developers
In the modern landscape, political uncertainty has become an ever-present shadow on businesses of all sizes. However, it is the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that bear the brunt of this instability; it undermines the ability to plan, invest and contribute to the critical task of providing much-needed new homes. ...
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InsightPrestbury Investments’ Nick Leslau on the US investment cycle and its impact on the UK
I am currently in California, a place I haven’t visited since just before Covid-19. Recently, reading that some of the planet’s biggest real estate investors such as Blackstone and Brookfield have been handing back keys to lenders, I have been keen to understand the scope of the problems in the ...
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NewsIs infrastructure on track?
The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), an independent agency formed to give advice to government, now publishes a major review of infrastructure progress once every five years – the first National Infrastructure Assessment having landed in 2018.
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InsightUK housing’s mixed weather map
“On a bad day… you can see Wales,” a chief executive of a national housebuilder joked some years ago while unveiling homes by the Severn Estuary outside Bristol. Since then, local prices have soared, forcing many workers in the booming Somerset area to buy on the other side of the ...
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InsightHousing needs Georgian renaissance
Editor: Among opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer’s recent promises about housing, the one that stood out was his pledge to build Georgian-style homes in urban areas. It is easy to see why: Georgian architecture has created some of the UK’s most desirable and aesthetically pleasing homes.
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InsightRAAC: keep calm and tackle the problem head on
Editor: With the media rightly focusing on the widespread concerns surrounding the use of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) across schools and housing, investors should not panic, but should still examine its potential presence in commercial buildings in their portfolios.
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InsightVistry Group’s Jack Brayshaw on waiting for the Future Homes green light
Since the government announced the Future Homes Standard (FHS) in 2021, the housebuilding industry has been working hard to prepare for the new building regulations that come into force in 2025, requiring all homes to be 75% to 80% more energy efficient, and ready to transition to net zero emissions.
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InsightNet zero brings values into focus
How a business rises to the challenge of reaching net zero reveals a lot about its core values, two leading lawyers from Mishcon de Reya tell Property Week.
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InsightLocal authorities lead the way in implementing net zero housing
It may seem far away, but restructuring our economy to meet net zero by 2050 is a huge undertaking. Despite the challenge, some impressive policy to achieve the government’s legal target is coming forward.
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InsightULI’s Lisette van Doorn on why carbon pricing is key to decarbonise real estate
How can real estate collectively address the sector’s impact on the environment to achieve a carbon-neutral, or even carbon-positive, built environment?
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InsightAXA IM Alts’ Phillip Shalless on the role of community-focused real estate
When it comes to the design and operation of new buildings, environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations are right at the top of the agenda.
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InsightSEC Newgate’s Laura Leggetter on how gender equity leads to better community engagement
Have you ever thought about the height of the shelves in your office kitchen? Where the main entrance is – or how well it’s lit? How about the amenities around your office: not just the places to grab a sandwich or take clients for a drink, but also the nursery ...
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InsightWorld Architecture Festival’s Paul Finch on a question of trust
Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Trust, by Herman Diaz, concerns two lives and the way they were lived – or the way they were lived according to accounts written by people (themselves artificial literary creations) with personal axes to grind.
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NewsA glittering performance?
As protests go, showering someone in glitter is probably at the preferable end of hurled substances.
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InsightInfrastructure is key to housing crisis
Editor: The prime minister’s party conference speech had little mention of the housebuilding sector – in fact, it had zero. We did hear, however, that if we are to “create change and drive growth across our country”, then “we must get our infrastructure right”.
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InsightPrime minister needs to match words with action
Editor: To make substantial change to housing scarcity, we should be overhauling both our strategy and regulations in a number of key areas – not least by beginning to fix our broken planning system.
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OnlineBPSDC’s Simon Murphy on Battersea Power Station’s one-year anniversary
This Saturday, Battersea Power Station celebrates the first anniversary of its reopening, 40 years after it was decommissioned, with more than 11 million people having visited over the last 12 months.
