On July 4th we hosted PUBLIC REALM & URBAN SPACES Smart Class 2023 in The Shipping Office at Lloyds House, Manchester. This Smart Class offered a fresh take on harnessing innovation, technology, data science, design and best practice to create the next generation of smarter spaces and places in our cities and regions.
As usual, our videographer has captured the keynotes and innovator presentations on film for additional stakeholders to enjoy post-event!
If you meet our regular delegate qualification criteria but were unable to join us on the day, just complete the short application form at the bottom of this page and we’ll give you complimentary access to the presentation video recordings and slides.
Our inspirational speakers included: Colin Sinclair, CEO of Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQ Liverpool) and Sciontec Developments; Kath Wynne-Hague, Head of Culture, Place and City Centre at Hull City Council; Alex King-Byatt, Partnership Director at CityCo, The City Centre Management Company managing Manchester’s Business Improvement District (BID); Luke McGuiness, Associate Landscape and Urban Designer at Project Centre, part of Marston Holdings; Solutions Manager, Steve Harris, and Account Director, Cherryanne Cooper, from Brightly, a Siemens Smart Infrastructure Company; and Charlotte Bowen, Business Development Manager for Northern England and Ireland at Commonplace.
The Smart Class also featured thought provoking Q&As and engaging roundtable sessions hosted by the innovator teams which, in addition to the speakers, included the contributions of Bharati Ghodke and Tina Glover from Project Centre, Nick Procter from Brightly, and Gill Fewins from Commonplace. Further networking was facilitated over breakfast, drinks and lunch.
There was invaluable delegate input into these discussions on behalf of key stakeholders such as Arcadis, Ashfield District Council, ATCO, Bury Council, City of Bradford Metropolitan Council, CityCo and Manchester BID, Coventry City Council, Hull City Council, IBI Group, Knowledge Quarter Liverpool, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA), North West Net Zero Hub, Oxfordshire County Council, Preston City Council, Sciontec, St Helens Borough Council, Sunderland City Council, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), Urban Foresight, West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), Wigan Council and more!
Topic highlights included:
- KQ Liverpool – Creating a world leading innovation district and developing a place making strategy that connects culture and innovation through art and public realm;
- Paddington Village – Importance of visible transformation and creating a destination;
- The Spine and HEMISPHERE scheme – Healthy buildings and eco trailblazers;
- Encouraging sustainable commuting through open access sites for cyclists and pedestrians;
- The role that public realm and urban spaces can play in delivering inclusive innovation and “Being a Better Neighbour” to surrounding communities in the Liverpool City Region;
- Creating vibrant, healthy, people focused public realm – Fostering a sense of community, promoting inclusivity, enhancing quality of life, and contributing to local economies;
- Competing demands of the urban environment – Vehicular movement, water management, services, access, maintenance, air quality and local micro climates;
- Biodiversity net gain in development and the urban greening factor;
- The 15 minute city, liveable neighbourhoods, school streets and parklets;
- Strategic urban design and connected public realm strategies;
- Designing healthy places – Case studies: Moreland Street (Islington), Old Bethnal Green Road (Tower Hamlets), Eastcote Town Centre, Hammersmith Grove, Dartford Brewery Square and Portland Road (Worthing);
- Hull – Culture led regeneration from the built environment to the lived experience: Process, projects and methodology;
- Using location, UK city of culture status, history and architectural & cultural assets to transform perceptions and create a vibrant, visitor economy;
- Applying behavioural insights intelligence to soften and create a space that works for all;
- Building the behaviours of a space that’s not yet built;
- HSHAZs – Transforming the retail offer with a high street heritage action zone;
- Deploying intelligent lighting, app controlled fountains, projections and animation in an urban park;
- Bright and connected public spaces – How, through the use of IoT, councils are able to create connected systems which deliver better outcomes for the communities they serve;
- Managing, maintaining and optimising public realm assets with a smart asset management solution – From bus stops, street lighting, CCTV and waste bins to carriageways, street furniture, greenspaces and trees;
- Leveraging strategic asset management for carbon capture and ESG in the public realm;
- “The City Welcome” – How are CityCo, The Manchester BID and the new Accommodation BID working towards a cleaner, greener, safer and friendlier Manchester in a city where private and public spaces blend, objectives can clash, control is restricted and the public purse is under pressure?
- Business crime reduction partnerships – Delivering a business intelligence led secure network to manage risk and offenders, escalate issues, challenge service issues and solve problems;
- BID cleansing priorities 2023-2028 – From litter picking and hazardous waste removal to graffiti and greening;
- Street engagement hubs – Working together to support people off the streets;
- Building better places together – Why is early community engagement critical when it comes to place-shaping, what are the barriers and how can they be overcome?
- The multitude of potential engagement projects in the public realm – e.g. urban and rural development consultations, spatial development strategies, masterplans and co-design, neighbourhood regeneration, highways and infrastructure, public transportation and station design, low traffic neighbourhoods, noise action plans, EV charging, solar and wind farms, drone transportation, driverless cars, canal and river conversation, flood resilience, events, street furniture placement, post-covid recovery, air quality and congestion, green prescribing/urban forestry, pocket parks and park improvements, controlled parking zones, active travel, school safety travel schemes, house building, circular economy, heritage and conservation, place-naming etc;
- Harnessing the capabilities of digital-led tools and data to foster community participation;
- A 4 step approach to successful engagement and case study examples: Cairngorms National Park; Quality of Life Foundation + Harlow and Gilston; Catford Town Centre; Network Rail – ExploreStation; East Bristol – Liveable Neighbourhoods; North Finchley Town Centre
Those qualifying to receive the presentation videos and rich media content from this event include commissioning, procurement, trialling, partnering and policy leads, senior influencers, strategic decision makers, planners, place makers, architects, green space managers, urban designers, highways & street scene, transport & mobility and high streets & regeneration professionals from councils and local authorities (city, borough, metropolitan, district, county and combined); people and place partnerships; developers, landowners and creators of privately owned public spaces; prime contractors and city centre management companies; DfT, DEFRA, MHCLG, EA and supporting governmental bodies; transport authorities, highways agencies and public transport operators; civic organisations and community groups; and other key players from the public realm ecosystem with responsibility for managing, maintaining and operating our streets, squares, forecourts, parks, pathways, retail centres, car parks, airports, ports, travel hubs, hospitals, housing estates, campuses, communal gardens and the assets contained within these public or semi-public spaces.
Register your details via the “Download form” below to receive a unique link enabling complimentary access!
