Champions of infrastructure design sought for pioneering new group Feb 20, 2019 The National Infrastructure Commission is today launching the recruitment of members for its new Design Group, inviting champions of infrastructure design to play an important role in ensuring this issue is placed at the heart of major projects. Commissioner, Professor Sadie Morgan, who will chair the Group, said those involved in this exciting initiative will […] Posted by: Nathan Spencer Read more
RICS; top tips for commercial mediators Feb 18, 2019 Martin Burns – RICS, Head of ADR Research and Development In my experience, lawyers and other professionals who become commercial mediators are driven by three things. They want to add a new product to their service offering, they yearn for the challenge of doing something new and intellectually challenging, and they want to get […] Posted by: Nathan Spencer Read more
Warning over automation jobs policy gap Feb 18, 2019 Innovative thinking is required to help society cope with the estimated 2.5m jobs that will be lost during the next decade as a result of automation, the Smart Cities conference’s universities session heard. Dave Carter, Smart City Project Lead at the Manchester Urban Institute, said that an estimated 2.5m jobs are due to disappear in […] Posted by: Nathan Spencer Read more
EV roll out sparks Manchester power upgrade call Feb 18, 2019 Manchester’s power network requires a significant upgrade to cope with the anticipated increase in use of electric vehicles (EVs), our Smart Cities Development Conference has heard. Steve Cox, Engineering & Technical Director at Electricity North West, told delegates that every morning, 223,000 vehicles are driven into Manchester. [emaillocker id=”71749″] He said: “If those EVs all […] Posted by: Nathan Spencer Read more
Uber’s exciting rural plans queried by Catapult chief Feb 18, 2019 Moves by Uber to expand into rural areas won’t work, our Smart Cities Development Conference heard. James Kelly, Head of Cities at the app-based ride hailing business, said the company is exploring a roll out of community transport services, recalling how he had used informal ride sharing early in his career to commute into work […] Posted by: Nathan Spencer Read more
Digital natives may quit cities, prop-tech boss warns Feb 18, 2019 The dystopian vison of future cities, painted in recent science fiction film Ready Player One, will come true if current patterns of high-rise development continue, a Crown Estates adviser has warned. Vanessa Lee Butz told our Smart Cities Development Conference that the ‘digital native’ generation will have different digital and human connections to their predecessors, […] Posted by: Nathan Spencer Read more
Plan for tomorrow’s tech, urges Catapult chief Feb 18, 2019 The importance of thinking about emerging technologies when planning development was the key message of the opening keynote presentation at our Smart Cities Development Conference. Nicola Yates, Chief Executive Officer of the Future Cities Catapult – which examines the application of innovation to the built environment, said: “Planners have to imagine a future world. If […] Posted by: Nathan Spencer Read more
Physical interaction to remain important in digitised future Feb 18, 2019 Personal contact will remain prized even as individuals spend an increasing proportion of their time on-line, a leading futurologist has told our London Property Club event. Tom Cheesewright predicted that the next ten years would see the transition to a new world in which the boundary between the digital and physical worlds becomes ‘seamless’. [emaillocker […] Posted by: Nathan Spencer Read more
Partnerships still on agenda post PFI – Government Property Chief Feb 18, 2019 Whitehall is still keen to pursue partnerships with the property industry despite the ‘unravelling’ of the HMRC’s STEPS property private finance initiative deal, the Chair of the Government Property Unit (GPU) has said. Liz Peace told delegates at our London event that the STEPS deal struck nearly 20 years ago with property company Mapeley, and […] Posted by: Nathan Spencer Read more
RICS; What does it take to become a construction adjudicator Feb 8, 2019 Who can become a construction adjudicator? Adjudication is a generic term for a range of procedures by which differences of opinion are referred to independent third parties, known as adjudicators. These adjudicators review evidence and/or make investigations, and then make decisions, which determine the outcome of disputes. Since 1998, when the Housing Grants Construction and […] Posted by: Nathan Spencer Read more
