February: it seemed like it passed in a blink of an eye, even with the extra day this year. For Team DGC, it’s been another jam-packed one, full of everything from housing repairs to building works and even sustainable furniture…
Trevor on stage at MOVE 2020
Smart Mobility
It wouldn’t be a monthly review post without an update on The Smart Mobility Living Lab (SMLL), where works are now well underway on the Woolwich HQ and we are very pleased to say all is running on schedule. In addition to our general project management roles for the build, we have been working hard to ensure the facility is as sustainable as possible, exploring opportunities for sustainable flooring and repurposing furniture.
We also announced at the start of the month our exciting collaboration with COAST Autonomous. We are delighted to be partnering with these respected CAV experts, to provide consultancy services related to the design and implementation of autonomous transportation for people and goods. There are four pillars to the integrated framework approached we have jointly developed, and which are already forming the basis of some interesting conversations and opportunities:
1) spatial planning and the strategic design of the built environment;
2) digital infrastructure and new technologies;
3) new mobility services; and
4) future vehicles.
February was also a busy month for the smart mobility industry generally, with a number of key events taking place. The whole team attended MOVE 2020, where our MD Trevor shared his thoughts on what autonomy can bring to our cities. Meanwhile, our Head of Smart Mobility, Kim, spoke at the Smart City Development conference in Oxford at the start of the month, and took to the stage at London for Smart Mobility to share insights into the work DG Cities has undertaken across Greenwich, and to take part in a panel session on electricfication of transport.
Housing
The team has been heavily focused on Housing projects this month, specifically working on a beta application to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, focused on housing repairs. We are leading the work on behalf of Royal Borough of Greenwich, who are collaborating with three other local authorities on the application. Our application is based on a new housing repairs system, which if funded, will see us building a housing repairs digital product. The potential here is huge: if all four participating local authorities implemented the system we have designed, they could save between £2.26 and £5.97m between 2020/21 and 2030/31. With the project expected to realise a return on investment within two years, this is a great example of using technology to deliver significant impact within a city.
Other notable activity from February
· Our resident network engineer Fowell, has been busy writing a report on his research into IoT sensors.
· Developing a business case for eRCV II, to compare a new diesel refuse vehicle and a diesel refuse vehicle converted to electric. More details on the findings of this work to be shared soon!
· The team met with the Vice Chancellor at Ravensbourne University to learn more about the plans for the new design district being built on the Greenwich Peninsula. Due to open later in the year, DG Cities will be moving across along with the rest of the Incubation team at Ravensbourne.
· Our Head of Strategy & Operations Heather, headed off on maternity leave, although in typical fashion, was working hard right up to her due date!
Top thing we learned this month
In support of the SMLL HQ fit-out, we’ve been educating ourselves on all things related to re-manufactured furniture and sustainable flooring. We’ve been discovering businesses who can create furniture from super sustainable sources such as British pine, through to companies who re-purpose discarded furniture and even organisations who create climate positive floor tiles.
This is only a handful of the things we’ve been working on in February – stay tuned for blog posts this month to find out more!