By Eleanor Kemp, Austin-Smith:Lord

Attending UKReiif in Leeds has been an extremely positive experience as I have been able to connect with a variety of people from different roles. Through these discussions I have been able to learn about how we can utilise collective knowledge and experience to enhance life and environments by design.

The healthy cities to healthy economies panel highlighted that there is critical infrastructure that we need to be delivering in order to support national wellbeing and place making. The panel made reference to the ‘Fair Society, Healthy Lives’ Michael Marmot report, which states that amongst other issues, improvements to life expectancy have stalled and declined for women in the most deprived 10% of areas.

Whilst considering these figures it is undeniable that healthcare and wellbeing is struggling. However it is the panel’s belief that we can begin to address the inequalities face on to develop healthy and sustainable communities.

To develop sustainable communities the panel suggested investing in existing housing stock i.e. retrofitting to help improve internal air quality by filtering incoming air and tackling damp.

In addition to panel discussions night-time events had been staged around the city centre to allow people to learn and network. I was able to attend a Women in Architecture event at Buro Happold in which a lively debate on building gender parity occurred. The discussions included commentary on how we can create an inclusive environment for all at industry events.

As a Part 2 Architectural Assistant I have felt very fortunate that I have been able to attend UKReiiF. I have been able to absorb vital information about how we develop and work together to improve current practices. I look forward to advancing the knowledge acquired and connections made.