As January rolls round, the inevitable calls for “new year, new you” flood our social media, TV and minds. But here at DG Cities we’re taking a slightly different slant on things and have been thinking about what 2021, the year after the year like no other, could mean for our urban environments.
Today therefore we’re sharing our top predictions for what we’ll see happening in 2021 and our hopes for what we’d like to see; which thankfully are often the same thing.
One of the immediate impacts of COVID-19 on urban centres has been the significant change in public transport usership as citizens have moved away from public transport into cars, onto bicycles or towards walking as a method of getting from A to B. Whilst some of these shifts may at first appear temporary there is a risk that some of the more negative modal shifts (e.g. into private cars) could linger. A negative shift in public transport attitudes and behaviours of this type could be hugely disruptive to city leaders already struggling to both meet stretching greenhouse gas emissions targets, and improve the experience of citizens who are using city roads.
It’s the beginning of September and parents across the UK are experiencing the back-to-school period like never before. Not only are children and young people across the country tentatively returning to school after a considerable time away, so too are many workers who have been at home since March. This summer was a summer like no other and many will no doubt find comfort in a return that bears some semblance of normality. But do we want every aspect of pre-Covid work to return? No doubt many will have enjoyed swapping four-hour commutes, and soul-less office complexes for more time with the family, and the opportunity to choose where and how to work. The old norms of offices stacked high and packed commuter trains in many ways does feel antiquated and there has been an increasing rhetoric around workers wanting to retain new practices instead of giving them up. At DG Cites we are experienced in identifying and exploring the impacts of trends and change, so we thought we would take a look at some of the insights and likely implications around COVID-19.
In our February review post, we shared some details of a project we’ve been working on with Southwark, Lincoln and South Kesteven councils, exploring approaches for the design of a common pattern for reporting, diagnosing and scheduling of housing repairs. Today, we’re taking a closer look at what that project has entailed, and the significant impact it could have.
Here at DG Cites our mission is to find practical ways to transform our cities, making them more efficient, and ultimately, more pleasant places to live and work. As part of our work we take part in groundbreaking co-innovation projects and we believe that consortium based projects like these are a fantastic way to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing us today. But, we are picky about which projects we take part in, looking for those which have the potential to deliver benefits where it really matters – to all city residents’ in their everyday lives.
We all know that the world is facing unprecedented challenges: from increasing social divides to the ever-present climate emergency. The world can seem like a scary place right now. But there is good news. These challenges get played out first in our cities so by exploring how we can make our cities better, we can positively influence the world around us. And there is a huge potential in our towns and cities, just waiting to be unlocked by technology, data and new approaches.
It’s January 2020: a new year and a new decade. Which in the world of tech and innovation always means one thing: a raft of predictions based on what’s been shown at CES in Las Vegas. So today we’re sharing our thoughts for the year ahead, but with an important difference: rather than rounding up all of the shiniest new gadgets, we’re identifying trends / predictions that point towards more purposeful urban innovation that could result in real change for people.
As the end of the year draws to a close, we thought instead of our normal monthly review, we’d take a bigger trip down Memory Lane, looking at how we lived in 2019. Every year has its ups and downs but for me, this year has definitely been on an upward (albeit slow one at times) trend, where a lot of hard work started to pay off towards the end of the year.
Welcome to a brand new blog series! Each month we are going to be bringing you a Behind-the Scenes insight into what we’ve been up to. All with the aim of answering the simple question: “What on earth do we really do?”.
We hope to bring you closer to smart city innovation as it really is; away from the conference glamour and direct from the front line. Pushing the boundaries is not easy and at times can even be a little bit monotonous, but by persisting with the baby-steps we know we are moving forward.
With close to 60 years of local government experience at DG Cities, we are aware firsthand of the challenges facing forward thinking local authorities. And we know that one of the biggest challenges is the pace of change. We all know that we’re in a period of rapid technological change, and the possibilities and opportunities arising from that technological change are enormous. So far, so exciting! But this can also be challenging if you’re a buyer or a seller; and Standing Orders and the Public Contract Regulations mean that long lead times are unavoidable. And what’s the implications of this? Well, we’ve heard of high value LED lighting contracts that took so long to be procured that by the time the authority was ready to sign the contract, the solution was out of date and the procurement process was cancelled.
