Beds, Meds and Sheds - Bill’s Takeaways from MIPIM

15/03/24

The sun is setting on the annual festival of blue suits and networking dinners here at Cannes, so for those who need something to keep them awake on the EasyJet red-eye back to Gatwick or for those smugly tucked up at home, here’s my take on the big topics which came up.

 

BEDS

There is a housing shortage, which is no surprise. But how housing is being provided by the likes of Stratford, Barking, and Redbridge shows that London is moving East. They aren’t the only opportunity areas, though; Darren Rodwell (labour councillor for Barking) made the point that COVID-19 has accelerated a decentralisation of London as people have the choice not to travel into the centre but enjoy the ‘Halo’ (not doughnut!) around London.

 

MEDS

Life science remains high up the billing this year, though everyone agrees it needs a new name. Most of the panels felt that ‘scientists were people too’ and wanted to be as close to the town centre's action as everyone else, rather than in out-of-town parks. The adaptive reuse of offices into life science works for start-ups and early-stage businesses, but big pharma still has bespoke requirements that need new buildings. London seems to be a real hub, though, with 50% of all global capital going into biotech being spent here in the UK (80% of which comes from the US). This loops back into housing, as the global talent arriving to support this sector needs somewhere to live. It was mentioned that Oxford and Cambridge life science companies are developing their housing stock to care for their talent.

 

SHEDS

Our new shopping and IT habits show no sign of slowing down, driving demand for distribution and data centres. Delivery companies want these to be as central as possible to reduce the radius of the final delivery area. At the same time, people are understandably hesitant about living near industrial sites, which may mean excess traffic. These tensions can be ameliorated with good urban design and remain a growth area.

Other high spots included an interview with Sanna Marin, the former Prime Minister of Finland, who spoke about the Climate Challenge. She felt that cities were fundamental in addressing the climate crisis and that it was imperative that we bring all parts of society along with us, or our efforts would fail.

 

On that cheery note, I’ll sign off from Cannes and hope to catch up in London.

Beds, Meds and Sheds - Bill’s Takeaways from MIPIM

15/03/24

The sun is setting on the annual festival of blue suits and networking dinners here at Cannes, so for those who need something to keep them awake on the EasyJet red-eye back to Gatwick or for those smugly tucked up at home, here’s my take on the big topics which came up.

 

BEDS

There is a housing shortage, which is no surprise. But how housing is being provided by the likes of Stratford, Barking, and Redbridge shows that London is moving East. They aren’t the only opportunity areas, though; Darren Rodwell (labour councillor for Barking) made the point that COVID-19 has accelerated a decentralisation of London as people have the choice not to travel into the centre but enjoy the ‘Halo’ (not doughnut!) around London.

 

MEDS

Life science remains high up the billing this year, though everyone agrees it needs a new name. Most of the panels felt that ‘scientists were people too’ and wanted to be as close to the town centre's action as everyone else, rather than in out-of-town parks. The adaptive reuse of offices into life science works for start-ups and early-stage businesses, but big pharma still has bespoke requirements that need new buildings. London seems to be a real hub, though, with 50% of all global capital going into biotech being spent here in the UK (80% of which comes from the US). This loops back into housing, as the global talent arriving to support this sector needs somewhere to live. It was mentioned that Oxford and Cambridge life science companies are developing their housing stock to care for their talent.

 

SHEDS

Our new shopping and IT habits show no sign of slowing down, driving demand for distribution and data centres. Delivery companies want these to be as central as possible to reduce the radius of the final delivery area. At the same time, people are understandably hesitant about living near industrial sites, which may mean excess traffic. These tensions can be ameliorated with good urban design and remain a growth area.

Other high spots included an interview with Sanna Marin, the former Prime Minister of Finland, who spoke about the Climate Challenge. She felt that cities were fundamental in addressing the climate crisis and that it was imperative that we bring all parts of society along with us, or our efforts would fail.

 

On that cheery note, I’ll sign off from Cannes and hope to catch up in London.

Beds, Meds and Sheds - Bill’s Takeaways from MIPIM

15/03/24

The sun is setting on the annual festival of blue suits and networking dinners here at Cannes, so for those who need something to keep them awake on the EasyJet red-eye back to Gatwick or for those smugly tucked up at home, here’s my take on the big topics which came up.

 

BEDS

There is a housing shortage, which is no surprise. But how housing is being provided by the likes of Stratford, Barking, and Redbridge shows that London is moving East. They aren’t the only opportunity areas, though; Darren Rodwell (labour councillor for Barking) made the point that COVID-19 has accelerated a decentralisation of London as people have the choice not to travel into the centre but enjoy the ‘Halo’ (not doughnut!) around London.

 

MEDS

Life science remains high up the billing this year, though everyone agrees it needs a new name. Most of the panels felt that ‘scientists were people too’ and wanted to be as close to the town centre's action as everyone else, rather than in out-of-town parks. The adaptive reuse of offices into life science works for start-ups and early-stage businesses, but big pharma still has bespoke requirements that need new buildings. London seems to be a real hub, though, with 50% of all global capital going into biotech being spent here in the UK (80% of which comes from the US). This loops back into housing, as the global talent arriving to support this sector needs somewhere to live. It was mentioned that Oxford and Cambridge life science companies are developing their housing stock to care for their talent.

 

SHEDS

Our new shopping and IT habits show no sign of slowing down, driving demand for distribution and data centres. Delivery companies want these to be as central as possible to reduce the radius of the final delivery area. At the same time, people are understandably hesitant about living near industrial sites, which may mean excess traffic. These tensions can be ameliorated with good urban design and remain a growth area.

Other high spots included an interview with Sanna Marin, the former Prime Minister of Finland, who spoke about the Climate Challenge. She felt that cities were fundamental in addressing the climate crisis and that it was imperative that we bring all parts of society along with us, or our efforts would fail.

 

On that cheery note, I’ll sign off from Cannes and hope to catch up in London.