CAPITAL WATCH ISSUE 1 2018

The use of data and AI in improving city management is a huge opportunity, but there are also risks if we don’t get the fundamentals right. KH — New technologies and opportunities for investment means we are seeing new types of urban management and development emerge. What are the opportunities for collaboration between City Hall and London’s real estate sector? TB — The real estate sector has a fundamental role to play in both shaping and delivering a vision for a Smart London. The sector has been incredibly forthcoming in discussing the Smart London Plan. I think that’s based on the realisation that when used well, data can be incredibly powerful not just in making buildings and places more efficient, but making them better at serving those who work in them. The question for me is how to take this live debate that is taking place within the real estate sector and look at the extent to which lessons from how landlords are managing private spaces can be applied to the public or semi-public realm. The advances in our capability to collect and analyse data mean that conversations between the real estate sector and City Hall need to move beyond planning permission, and look at the types of spaces we need and how productive they can be. KH — One of the most common issues that comes up with landlords and occupiers is the quality of connectivity. What progress has been made and how can we ensure buildings have the capacity to adapt to future infrastructure needs? TB — It’s clear London needs a new strategic approach to connectivity, and out new Connected London work will do this finally. We also know that top quality digital connectivity matters not just to traditional tech occupiers, but pretty much any business these days. That’s why companies like WiredScore have an important role to play in improving transparency around levels of connectivity. There is a role for both public and private sector here. Looking back, I think there were missed opportunities for collaboration - I’m keen that we learn from that. I’ll be working on is a set of standards for Internet of Things sensors, so that developers and landlords know what’s expected in terms of quality, security, and interoperability. This type of regulation is more about setting a minimum benchmark for quality – and something I hope the sector will be keen to collaborate with City Hall on developing. KH — What does success look like for you, and what do you think are the biggest challenges in achieving it? TB — One of the biggest challenges is making sure we focus on getting the foundations correct. That means cleaning up our data, identifying partners for collaboration, and setting the terms of engagement for public- private sector partnerships. The use of data and AI in improving city management is a huge opportunity, but there are also risks if we don’t get the fundamentals right. It may not be as attention grabbing, but it’s so important that we take the time to work out what our needs are, and how we can best partner with others to address them. Technology is fast moving, and you can’t plan for every possible new innovation or use case – but getting the right framework in place, we can make sure we can building the right smart foundations for the future. CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD 28 IN CONVERSATION