Tomorrow’s City, Today’s Challenge

What’s it all about?

The World Health Organisation predicted that by 2030 over 60% of the world’s population will live in cities. What will that mean for the built environment and those who work in it? And what should we – clients, consultants, lawyers – be doing now to get ready for that change?

Partners Helen Garthwaite and Suzanne Gill both picked up on this statistic and after proposing Tomorrow’s City, Today’s Challenge as a discussion topic at MIPIM, and attracting a record session audience, they realised that this was the start of an interesting conversation. With a focus on urbanisation, Tomorrow’s City, Today’s Challenge will continually look at how this will affect the way we all live, work and interact with our surroundings.

But, naturally all of these issues present challenges, as well as having legal implications. To consider and develop the solutions to these and many other questions, we regularly host debates with thought leaders from industry and academia and our thinking is frequently picked up in the press.

There are lots of changes afoot and we don’t pretend to have all the answers. Yet amidst the mass of conflicting predictions, one constant remains: humans are social animals who like to get together.