March 6th 2024
Built environment institutes renew joint pledge to tackle global instability
Architects, planners, structural engineers and landscape practitioners have renewed their joint pledge to collaborate on tackling built environment issues in cities.
According to new research, 70% of the world’s population are predicated to live in cities by 2050. As a result, members of the UK Built Environment Advisory Group (UKBEAG), which was first launched in 2016 and is comprised of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) and Landscape Institute (LI), have committed to work together for at least another five years.
UKBEAG have claimed that they have agreed to continue to make their joint expertise accessible to the governments, humanitarian agencies, and development partners at the sharp end of delivering sustainable urbanisation.
Urbanisation is the increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities. When properly managed, urbanisation can reduce poverty and inequality by improving employment opportunities and quality of life, including three better education and health.
However, as more people are making the move to towns and cities across the globe, it is becoming apparent that places are lacking the critical built environment capacity and expertise to ensure this huge growth is sustainable.
For example, in Uganda in 2018, a survey recorded that there were just five architects and 50 engineers per every one million living in the country (compared to more than 600 of each for every one million in the UK) while urbanising at a rate of 6% – more than six times the rate of the UK.
Commenting on the news, RIBA Chief Executive Dr Valerie Vaughan-Dick MBE said: ‘The built environment is a huge carbon emitter, so if we are to protect the long-term future of our planet, urbanisation must be sustainable. Architects and other built environment professionals must work together to play an essential role in achieving this.
‘As we face a global environmental crisis, RIBA must do what it can to support sustainable urbanisation by sharing knowledge, technical expertise and influence wherever it is needed, just as we too learn from others across the world. This renewed pledge demonstrates great ambition, and I look forward to working with our partner institutes to lead by example, combining our strengths to make a real difference.’
In addition, IStrutE Head of Climate Action Will Arnold said: ‘With most of the world still requiring more housing, buildings and infrastructure, the opportunities to head towards a regenerative built environment is huge. But to do so requires huge collaboration, systems thinking, and the ambition to create urban centres that are wholly positive for all living things. The renewed UKBEAG partnership will enable critical links to be formed between UK engineers, architects, planners with built environment professionals across the world, for mutual benefit of all parties.’
Image: mostafa meraji
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