At MIPIM we were joined by an expert panel at our Manchester stand session, ‘Greener Manchester: as the city becomes a pioneer for urban greening, what value stands to be unlocked?’

With a focus on how we create climate resilient buildings, town and cities with happier and healthier communities, the panel explored how we can build on the transformative work that has already been done and be more ambitious in the delivery of green infrastructure.

The panel was chaired by our CEO Stephen O’Malley and featured a stellar line-up, including:

• Kat Hanna, co-managing director, London, at Avison Young
• Muyiwa Oki, president at RIBA
• Caroline Simpson, chief executive at Stockport Council
• David West, lead designer at Mayfield

In an engaging discussion, the panel’s top takeaways included:

• Accessibility, amenity, safety and inclusion are critical and we must design our towns and cities with future occupiers in mind
• There’s an immense responsibility to engage with local communities to design, connect, activate and maintain projects in the long-term
• Authenticity is key to success, and this includes the reuse, refurbishment of buildings and materials surrounding green spaces to tackle carbon reduction and support climate resilience
• It’s vital that we take a holistic, one system approach to deliver integrated structures and cities that work effectively
• Taking lessons from cities across the UK and globally, we must be bigger and bolder in dialling up nature

Thank you to our excellent panel for their insights and to everyone who joined us at our Manchester Stand session. You can watch the session back here.