Reimagining Cities: Lessons from Europe

Roundtables

Thursday 14 November 2024
09:00 - 10:30

A roundtable discussion bringing together London, other European cities, and the built environment community to explore the reimagining of cities.

Cities are already the product of the imagination of those who have planned, built, and enabled them, and everyone who lives in them. There are special moments in history when it is possible to re-imagine our cities in new ways either because of new forces of change or crisis, risks, and threats that provoke a rethink. We are living in such a moment. The combination of threats from climate, insecurity, inequality, conflicts, combined written opportunities for change that come from the recent pandemic, new technologies, and population changes are such that developing new intentional platforms and laboratories for experimentation and the pioneering of new approaches has become both desirable and essential.

In 2014, the Mayor of Paris launched the 'Reinventing Paris' programme, which was followed by the 'Reinventing Athens' project four years later. Amsterdam introduced its 'Reinventing Tourism in Amsterdam' initiative in 2020. And the Barcelona City Government initiated the 'Reactivating Barcelona' programme in 2020 alongside the Barcelona 2030 and 2050 Commissions. This year, building on the momentum of the New London Agenda, NLA launched the 'Reimagine London' competition, sharing innovative and aspirational ideas about the future of the capital which respond to the needs of London. Across Europe, many cities have also been engaged in the process of reinvention, reimagination, and re-conception, including Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, and many more.

What do we mean by reinvention or reimagination? What outcomes should be achieved? How will cities be different as a result? How can the built environment be the active fabric in that reinvention?

This roundtable is part of the Cities Forum, which brings together national and international experts working in cities around the world to share best practice on some of the biggest challenges facing cities, and to help NLA shape our wider cities programming. The webinar provides the opportunity to listen in to the roundtable discussion online.

NLA’s international programme brings together cities, stakeholders, speakers and audiences to foster cross-city dialogues. Through these collaborative discussions, the London’s built environment industry can learn from national and international cities, share experiences, and develop expertise to identify solutions, skills, and inspiration to create a better city.

DOWNLOAD SPEAKER PRESENTATIONS

Phil-Graham---GLA.pdf
Øyvind-Såtvedt---City-of-Oslo.pdf
Bàrbara-Pons---Barcelona-Regional.pdf

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Programme

09:00
Introduction from the Chair

Prof Greg Clark, Senior Advisor, NLA

09:05
Reimagine London

Benjamin O’Connor, Director, NLA

09:10
Presentations

London: Phil Graham, Executive Director, Good Growth, GLA

Barcelona: Bàrbara Pons Giner, Directora General - CEO, Barcelona Regional
Oslo: Øyvind Såtvedt, Assistant Director General, Department for Culture and Business Development, City of Oslo

09:35
Audience Q&A

09:50
Roundtable discussion
Speakers above, plus:
Stephen Barrett, Director, RSHP

10:30
End

Speaker biographies

Philip Graham

Executive Director, Good Growth, Greater London Authority

Stephen Barrett

Partner, RSHP

Prof. Greg Clark CBE

Senior Advsor, NLA

Bàrbara Pons Giner

Directora General - CEO, Barcelona Regional

Benjamin O’Connor

Director, New London Architecture

NLA Webinar on zoom

Once you have registered, a reminder to confirm the event details and a link to access the webinar will be sent a day before the event. If you have any questions, please contact the NLA Events Team: events@nla.london.