Open City’s new public events programme

We're proud to support Open City's new public programme, "Who makes The City?" in association with the Open City Stewardship Awards, the only British prize to commemorate long-term sustainable urban development practices.

Published: 21/04/2022

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We're also the founding headline sponsor of the Open City Stewardship Awards, drawing on nearly 160 years of history and expertise championing social housing in London. 

About 'Who Makes the City?'

‘Who Makes the City?’ is a four-part series of panel debates bringing together various professionals who are involved in making, maintaining and managing buildings and open spaces in cities across the UK. They will discuss the influence of stewardship, which is the long-term care of buildings and open spaces, on urban development. These events are open to everyone with an interest in the built environment.

The first event on 4 May 2022 discusses the exciting subject: ‘A New Piece of City: How Do We Imagine the Future of London, and Who Is It For?’. It will be chaired by Will Palin, Chief Executive Officer of Barts Heritage Trust, featuring panellists Ellen Halstead, Peabody’s Director of Strategy & Programme for Thamesmead; Thomas Ball, Director of Our Yard at Clitterhouse Farm; Julian Robinson, LSE Director of estates; Charlotte Levy, project coordinator at Community Brain and Amandeep Singh Kalra, Associate Architect at Be First. 

John Lewis, Peabody’s Executive Director for Thamesmead, says: “We’re passionate about working with people and communities to help maintain and enhance neighbourhoods across London and beyond. For me, co-design is at the heart of what makes great places, and our long-term stewardship model and whole place approach in Thamesmead is already bringing tangible improvements for people in the town. We’re thinking about the future, but are also listening and learning about what is needed here and now. The awards are a great opportunity to celebrate best practice and share ideas, promoting excellence in sustainable urban development.”

Dr Phil Askew, Peabody’s Director of Landscape and Placemaking, says: “We’re delighted to be working with Open City as a founding sponsor of the Open City Stewardship Awards as we believe stewardship and sharing best practice is key to unlocking the potential of parks and waterways across the UK to meet the challenges of climate change and habitat loss, and to provide healthy living environments.” 

Rhea Martin, chair of the Open City Stewardship Awards, says: “When it comes to long-term stewardship of the built environment, there are few organisations with as illustrious a history as Peabody, which was founded on social principles in the Victorian era and remains the long-term manager of many historic buildings across the capital. We look forward to bringing this experience to the judging panel, and to exploring changing attitudes to urban development, environmental stewardship, and social care through the story of Thamesmead as part of the upcoming public programme.”