On the 7th of October, the Future Leap Network and TLT hosted an online interactive event titled “Repurposing Our City Centres”. Before the event began, the attendees enjoyed some pre-sessional networking.
Katherine Piper of Future Leap welcomed the attendees before giving an insight into The Future Leap Network, Future Leap Hub and the many benefits of membership, as well as the Festival of Sustainable Business.
Maria Connolly from TLT then introduced herself and the speakers, offering them all the chance to explain their interest in the topic. Speakers included:
- Rachael Sherratt, Associate – Project Management & Net Zero Carbon Design Consulting, JLL
- Nick James, Director, Futureground
- Rob Bryher, Car Free Bristol Campaigner, Possible
- Joel Teague, Co Charger
The panel then participated in a varied Q&A involving discussions on high street recovery after COVID, access for pedestrians and cyclists alongside travel and car costs, repurposing city centre department stores, changes in working practice, innovative models and partnerships, under-used spaces and the re-use/retrofit of buildings, ESG criteria and challenges faced in policy or planning in the race to deliver on Net Zero.
This was followed by closing remarks by our sponsors TLT, alongside a call to action from each of the panel:
Rachel: “Consider embodied carbon.”
Rob: “If you own a business or space in the city, think about how you are proposing to use your space in the future.”
Nick: “It can be hard getting much done in the built environment […] we don’t have the time to wait for policy from above, as citizens, be curious around the spaces around you, ask questions, keep your eyes open and think openly about what they could be- get involved.”
Joel: “Bear in mind that your 21 square metres of tarmac with a charger on it might be the key for your neighbours to stop burning fuel, share it and make it useful to as many people as possible.”
Close
Katherine then brought the event to a close, thanking all the speakers, attendees and sponsors TLT, which without our events calendar would not be possible.
