Speakers announced for Social Impact 2024

Tickets are on sale now for the Festival of Place: Social Impact 2024 via Airmeet. Event starts Monday. All sessions are recorded and available after broadcast. Member organisations of The Developer get free passes for all staff. 

The talks are streamed live and include an audience Q&A, with everything available to watch on-demand after the event. 

At the end of the conference, attendees will understand the benefits of place-based investment, and quantitative and qualitative methods used in measuring the social impact of changes to the built environment on a variety of projects, from social housing to private-sector mixed-use development. Attendees will also understand the connection between social impact and a just transition for the built environment in the context of cities and climate change, and learn how to create a business case that demonstrates how the application of social standards presents an opportunity. 

Highlights include a session on the social impact of estate regeneration, Nicola Bacon, Founding Director of Social Life and Simeon Shtebunaev will be sharing the findings and quantitative and qualitative methods used for measuring social impacts of built environment change on four big estate regeneration schemes: Aylesbury Estate, Woodberry Down, Grahame Park Estate and South Acton Estate. Find out how social impact measurement and approach overlaps with NPPF, Design for Healthy Homes framework, National Design Guide, relevant policy and guides, and learn why all built environment schemes should be assessed on their future social, economic and environmental impacts as part of decision-making processes.

Two sessions will connect social impact with the concept of a just transition: Zoe Banks Gross, Sustrans, will be focussing on community engagement and sharing insights into how people are feeling about active travel, and considerations when engaging with people from diverse backgrounds about perceptions of public realm, greenspace, energy efficiency and health; and in a session on making a business case for impact, Marta Ribera Carbò from the Institute of Human Rights and Business will be defining the just transition in the built environment and sharing how local governments are ensuring that the green transition is grounded in human rights. 

The event is supported by IPUT Real Estate Dublin and Buro Happold. IPUT Real Estate is the largest owner of offices and logistics assets in Dublin, who will be presenting Making Impact, their longitudinal research project to evaluate the social, cultural, economic and environmental impact of investment using the fund’s €300 million Wilton Park development in Dublin as a live case study. Hassell, PRD and Gehl were appointed by IPUT in 2022 to study the Wilton Park neighbourhood over a 5-year period to create a methodology to measure the project’s social value. In their session, the first year of results will be shared by Camilla Siggaard Andersen from Hassel with Marie Hunt, IPUT. 

Buro Happold are built environment specialists, working as engineers, consultants, and advisors. Their social impact team work with both public and private sector clients to build the case for investment in positive socio-economic outcomes, demonstrate the value of going beyond compliance, create new standards and tools, and deliver green, flourishing, resilient places. Their flagship ’Flourishing Index’ project, delivered in partnership with the University of Manchester at Related Argent and Barnet Council’s Brent Cross Town, has won numerous awards and been presented at the UN-Habitat’s World Urban Pavilion.