urbanOvation News & May Update

News & May Update

Thank you for helping to shape urbanOvation over the past nine months! As we approach launch day over 350 people in 33 countries have signed into the uO platform. Almost 1,000 others have joined a wide range of virtual and in-person events.

urbanOvation is committed to helping you:

        Connect – across borders, industries, sectors and disciplines.

        Collaborate – to innovate, solve problems and create value.

        Celebrate – innovators and ideas creating better places and stronger communities

Building Community

urbanOvation's mission is to create a global platform connecting all built environment stakeholders to encourage innovation by showcasing the ideas, people and places to build a better urban future.

Each month we will showcase three people who are helping to achieve this mission. Gemma John, Chris Igwe and Bill Sebring are among the many who have shared time, ideas and connections to help build urbanOvation

Gemma John - the founder of Human City and anthropologist who caries out research to understand the impact of cultural shifts and societal change on the urban environment across Africa and Europe.

Chris Igwe - brings 25+ years experience in cross border retail both from within global brands and as a consultant to many others. Based on Paris, Chris has a wealth of knowledge drawn from working across countries in support of clients - retailers, owners and investors.

Bill Sebring - part of the global practice and design leadership at STIR Architecture since 1984. Bill brings insightful, context-driven design leadership to complex mixed-use developments that energize communities with significant retail and leisure components. Bill is based in the Amsterdam office of STIR.

Help us Help you...!

Complete your uO profile - to showcase your interests and experience

Send suggestions - for how the uO platform can be more useful to you

Recommend uO - to colleagues, peers and clients

Exchanging Insights

In case you missed it...

In April uO hosted several events that brought together a wide range of people. Two that stood out are highlighted below:

1. Shattering the Glass – how Diversity can Break Through the Ceiling

a Diversity Equality & Inclusion (DE&I) roundtable

A fantastic panel discussion organised by Anastasia Klein, with panellists Maria Wiedner, James Brandon and Chantal Clavier. Key takeaways:

We need to go beyond tick boxes and window dressing to ensure DE&I is discussed across an organisation as it is integral to its ESG performance.

Organisations must approach diversity holistically or they will miss tapping into 100% of the talent pool.

We still have a long way to go and could do more to engage directly with communities and minority groups to drive inclusivity.

At the conclusion of the discussion participants agreed that there is much more to explore on this vital topic. Watch for upcoming events! Special thanks to uO partner 'Diversity Talks Real Estate' for supporting this session.

2. Scott Malkin - Reinventing Retail

Meet the Innovators

The war is over, the future of retail is digital, the future of brands is physical

Creating a world class destination experience is key to successful physical retail

Sports teams and fashion companies are the same, both live or die based on the quality of their talent.

Coming up...

There are several events coming up in May and June. Visit the uO Events page to see them all. Below are a few highlights, for more details and to register click on the event specific box

Who will Build the Future?

Transforming Talent and Organisations

Register

Register

Pst-Covid Office Investment

European Roundtable

Register

Register

Celebrating Innovation

Our name 'urbanOvation' is all about celebrating urban innovation.

REVO Awards

Collaboration is at the heart of the urbanOvation DNA and we are delighted to announce the partnership with Revo, the leading retail, leisure and placemaking real estate community in the UK. As part of our partnership we are supporting the 'Celebration of Place' campaign that recognises the good within the industry over what has been an extremely challenging period (Jan 2020 to March 2022). Entries close 25 May.