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. So this week we’ll be asking, “What now for our homes and our wellbeing? And where might the opportunities lie for innovation in how we imagine, design and build the homes of the future? In this fifth episode of Connected Places, Professor Greg Clark speaks to Alexandra Notay, Director of Placemaking & Investment at PfP Capital about the UK’s growing build to rent sector and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the housing market. We meet Pam Alexander OBE, one of the UK’s leading housing, planning and regeneration experts, she also sits on a number of Boards, including Commonplace Digital, the London Legacy Development Corporation and the Connected Places Catapult. And we also meet Ed Warner, the UK Government Champion for the Design of Products and Places, and the CEO of Motionspot, a company specialising in accessible home design for disabled and older people. Music on this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions and Phill Ward Music (www.phillward.com) Follow the show! Don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Please also take a moment to write a review and rate us so that more people can hear about the podcast and what we do at Connected Places Catapult.  Show notes Alexandra Notay is Placemaking and Investment Director at PfP Capital, the fund and asset management arm of Places for People Group, overseeing a UK-wide residential strategy. She is an internationally recognised expert on build to rent, placemaking and sustainable urban development, with strategic advisory experience to government, private sector and third sector organisations across four continents. Pam Alexander OBE is one of the UK’s leading housing, planning and regeneration experts. She has run the South East England Development Agency, the Housing Corporation and English Heritage, and she sits on a number of Boards, including Commonplace Digital, the London Legacy Development Corporation, the Mayor of London’s Cultural Leadership Board, and the Connected Places Catapult. Ed Warner is the CEO and Founder of Motionspot, an award-winning design company recognised by RIBA. He has worked with hundreds of homeowners, businesses, Occupational Therapists, architects and interior designers helping deliver beautifully designed access for all. In 2019 Ed was appointed UK Government Champion for the Design of Products and Places. To learn more about the Catapult’s Future of Housing Programme, and to access case studies, insights and numerous articles, click here. You can also download our report on Homes for Healthy Ageing which we released earlier this year. We’ll be announcing more about our housing programme in the coming months, and a good way to stay in touch is by joining our Housing Innovation LinkedIn Group. To learn more about what the Catapult is doing to support innovators and place leaders rise to the challenge of COVID-19, check out our Post-Pandemic Places Hub which explores the market opportunities the pandemic is creating or accelerating. If you found this episode on the future of public transport helpful. The Catapult has also published a new report looking at the future actions and opportunities for innovators across 3 post-pandemic horizons: the immediate response, restarting the economy and the long-term economic recovery. To read and download the full report, click here. To register your interest in our upcoming MK:5G Accelerator Programme and the work we are doing with businesses working on 5g technology solutions, please click here. To register for a free Raising Investment Masterclass that we’re running on 7th October for small and medium businesses, you can click here for more details on how to apply. To find out more about a joint initiative that the Catapult is running with the Department for Transport’s Future Aviation Security Solutions programme (S-TRIG) you can register here for an application support webinar we’re running on 30th September.   To find out more about what we do at the Connected Places Catapult and to hear about the latest news, events and announcements – and please sign up to our newsletter!