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Connected Places
Connected Places is a podcast about the future of our towns, cities and transport systems. In each episode Greg speaks to thought leaders, senior industry figures, innovators and businesses from around the world about the new technologies that are shaping the places of tomorrow.
5 October 2023
Podcast
Reimagining national infrastructure with Sir John Armitt
The future of Britain’s national infrastructure is getting a lot of attention. In large part because it’s facing some big challenges. Not least our changing climate and the commitment to decarbonise our economy. But also the question of who pays for it, who benefits from it, and who gets to contribute to the decision-making process about its future.
8 December 2022
Podcast
The Growing Momentum Behind 3Ci
The fight against climate change will be won or lost in cities. We’ve known this for some time. The question is, What do cities need to do financially to rise to that challenge? How can they strengthen their business cases for net zero investment? And if their plans are brought together and aligned in a new and creative ways, could they generate greater scale, volume and predictability in ways that might make them more attractive to investors?
13 December 2021
Podcast
Episode 40 - Rewilding conversations about place with Claudette Forbes
Back in the summer of this year, the UK Government launched its Innovation Strategy which set out how the UK plans to become a global hub for innovation over the coming years. It recognised the critical role that place-based innovation is going to play on that journey.
2 December 2021
Podcast
Episode 39 - Decarbonising the infrastructure of tomorrow with Dr. Nelson Ogunshakin OBE
How we design, build and invest in infrastructure is at the heart of how we’ll decarbonise our economies, as well as harness the opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution. The coming decade is set to be the most consequential in living memory for infrastructure investment, especially for new, low carbon technologies and
18 November 2021
Podcast
Episode 38 - Live from COP26 in Glasgow: Part 2
Why has the Catapult been at the UN’s COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow? Because so much of what was discussed, planned and negotiated in Glasgow had everything to do with cities, how we think about place, and how we imagine, design, build and finance places that are not just liveable, but also low carbon and sustainable.
11 November 2021
Podcast
Episode 37 - Live from COP26 in Glasgow: Part 1
So why has the Connected Places Catapult been at the UN’s COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow? Well, because so much of what’s being discussed, planned and negotiated here in Glasgow has everything to do with cities, how we think about place, and how we imagine, design, build and finance places that are liveable, sustainable, low
7 October 2021
Podcast
Episode 36 - Active Travel Summit
In episode 16 we bring you some of the highlights from our Active Travel Summit, which we held on 29th September, and what the road ahead looks like for collaboration, R&D, and commercialising innovation in this exciting and growing sector. The summit was a space to explore with innovators, city leaders, transport authori
30 September 2021
Podcast
Episode 35 - Innovation Places Summit
The innovation economy has become one of the defining features of the economic cycle, especially the role of innovation in the post-pandemic recovery and the wider ‘levelling up’ agenda. Yet there are stark differences between the innovation activity in different parts of the UK, and there is renewed focus on enabling the innov
23 September 2021
Podcast
Episode 34 - UK Cities Climate Investment Commission II: Decarbonising Transport
How can cities strengthen their business cases for net zero investment? And if their plans are brought together and aligned in a new and creative ways, could they generate greater scale, volume and predictability in ways that might make them more attractive to investors?
9 September 2021
Podcast
Episode 33 - Bristol’s Road to Net Zero with Marvin Rees
In this instalment of our City Leader’s dialogues, “The net zero road to COP26 and beyond”, we speak to Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol; the largest city in the south west of England and a hotbed of innovation, creativity and discovery going back centuries.
2 September 2021
Podcast
Episode 32 - Helsinki’s Road to Net Zero with Jan Vapaavouri
In this instalment of our City Leader’s dialogues, “The net zero road to COP26 and beyond”, we speak to Jan Vapaavpouri, former Mayor of Helsinki; the world’s northern most city region with over a million people and the most northerly capital in Europe.
26 August 2021
Podcast
Episode 31 - Active Travel III: Accelerating the UK Market
In recent months we’ve been exploring one of the most exciting areas of growth and opportunity within urban mobility, and why it matters so much to the Connected Places Catapult, and the future of healthy, connected and net zero places.
12 August 2021
Podcast
Episode 30 - Hubs of Innovation III: Local Authorities as Curators
How does innovation happen in a place? What is it about a district, a neighbourhood, a cluster or a corridor that makes it possible for innovation to flourish? And what is the role of local authorities in curating innovation within and between places?
5 August 2021
Podcast
Episode 29 - Manchester’s Road to Recovery and Net Zero with Sir Richard Leese
In this instalment of our City Leader’s dialogues, “The net zero road to COP26 and beyond”, we speak to the Leader of Manchester City Council in the north of England; one of the most important cities in the history of the industrial revolution and the story of modern Britain. For centuries Manchester has been a hive of innovati
29 July 2021
Podcast
Episode 28 - Planning the Future of New York with Rit Aggarwala
Cities aren’t so much becoming smart, they’ve always been smart and the history of urban technology is often forgotten when it comes to cities. Yet even the most global and future-facing of cities are living legacies of long histories. Taking a long view of innovation can help us think more creatively in the present about the m
22 July 2021
Podcast
Episode 27 - Introducing the UK Cities Climate Investment Commission
How can cities strengthen their business cases for net zero investment? And if their plans are brought together and aligned in a new and creative ways, could they generate greater scale, volume and predictability in ways that might make them more attractive to investors?
1 July 2021
Podcast
Episode 26 - Building the Net Zero Infrastructure of Tomorrow with Nick Chism
The physical and digital infrastructure that connects and powers our towns, cities and transport systems is something we don’t often think about until emergency strikes. Which is why in countries all around the world the COVID pandemic has refocussed our attention on the resilience and adaptability of our infrastructure. Yet ir
9 June 2021
Podcast
Episode 23 - Technology cycles and Cyber-secure places with Dr Alison Vincent
Cycles of technologies and innovations have been connecting and shaping the places where we live and work for centuries – from aqueduct and sewerage systems through to the advent of the motor vehicle, railways and the skyscraper. But the digital age has accelerated the pace of change more than any other, and it has not only bro
3 June 2021
Podcast
Episode 22 - Hubs of Innovation II – Servicing the new economy with Chris Oglesby
In this next part of our series on Hubs of Innovation, we return to the question of how innovation happens in a place. What is it about a district, a neighbourhood, or a corridor that makes it possible for innovation to flourish? And how can a deeper understanding of the innovation economy inform our thinking about how to creat
27 May 2021
Podcast
Episode 21 - Net Zero Energy and the Future of Active Travel with Lucy Yu
If the UK is going to hit its net zero targets by 2050 we need to decarbonise across every sector of the economy – that includes shifting from fossil fuel consumption to electrification and other sustainable energy sources like hydrogen. We’ve made good progress on decarbonising the power sector in the UK, but more needs to be
20 May 2021
Podcast
Episode 20 - Connecting Greater Manchester with Sir Howard Bernstein
When we think about how places change, we often think in the short term over single business cycles, Mayoral terms or a city’s immediate response to crises and formative events. But stepping back and taking the longer view can also be helpful, especially in light of the profound changes that that have shaped England’s cities in
13 May 2021
Podcast
Episode 19 - Connecting and Levelling Up in the UK: A conversation with Lord Kerslake
The Queen’s Speech this week – which sets out the UK Government’s legislative programme for Parliament – promised to level up opportunities across all parts of the United Kingdom, supporting jobs, businesses and economic growth, as well as addressing the impact of the COVID pandemic on public services.
29 April 2021
Podcast
Episode 17 - Hubs of Innovation: The Importance of Understanding Place
How does innovation happen in a place? What does it take to create and sustain an innovation hub? What is it about a district, a neighbourhood, a cluster or a corridor that makes it possible for innovation to flourish?
11 March 2021
Podcast
Episode 13 - Mental Health, Wellbeing and Working from Home
Spring is on its way and with it the hope that COVID-19 restrictions might soon be eased. Yet many weeks of uncertainty still lie ahead, resilience is wearing thin, and while we wait for better days many of us continue to work from home. Even those who can’t work from home are certainly spending a lot more time at home.
1 October 2020
Podcast
Episode 6 - What now for Real Estate?
The pandemic has had a huge impact on our built environment, but so too has the economic fallout. Any economic recovery, whenever or however it may come, is going to rely on our ability to create physical environments where we feel safe, as well as new business models that take account of our new reality.
17 September 2020
Podcast
Episode 5 - What now for Housing And Wellbeing?
If there’s one place we’ve all been spending a lot more time in during lockdown, it’s our homes. As we’ve been spending more time in our home, many of us have been thinking about them more too, and whether the places where we live are adding or subtracting to the quality of our lives.
6 August 2020
Podcast
Introduction
Connected Places is a podcast about the future of our towns, cities and transport systems. In each episode Greg speaks to thought leaders, senior industry figures, innovators and businesses from around the world about the new technologies that are shaping the places of tomorrow.
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