Urban Catalyst, a developer specialising in mixed-use and large-scale regeneration projects, has appointed professor Trevor Davies as its chief sustainability adviser, a new position.
Davies has been director of the climatic research Unit at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and helped establish the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research where he was director of international development.
The Tyndall Centre, headquartered at UEA, includes the universities of Cardiff, Manchester, Newcastle, Sussex as well as Fudan University in Shanghai, China, where Professor Davies was distinguished professor.
Davies will not receive any financial benefits in his role as sustainability adviser to Urban Catalyst.
Said Davies: 'Sustainability has fallen up and down the agenda for the past few decades but there is now a clear potential for building on the widespread change in attitudes during the pandemic. Lockdown has made many realise the negative effects we have on our environment as a species and in turn how that impacts our own health.
'I will be working closely with Urban Catalyst to see how use of technology - both at a large-scale but also at a more granular level - combined with intelligent urban design can create places that are more sustainable, resilient and healthier, and I am delighted to have been appointed as the firm’s chief sustainability adviser.'
Ken Dytor, executive chairman of Urban Catalyst, said: 'There has never been a more opportune time to push property development in a direction that is both good for our planet and our wellbeing.
'Creating places that promote sustainable and healthy living has always been our aim and by having Professor Davies onboard as an adviser we hope to benefit from his immense expertise and knowledge and find real world applications for his research and long-standing interest in carbon reduction to our developments.'
The £1 bn (€1.1 bn) Purfleet-on-Thames regeneration, which Urban Catalyst is delivering jointly with Swan Housing Association and in partnership with Thurrock Council, uses a number of design features to minimise car use and support pedestrians and cyclists.
The focus on health and wellbeing at Purfleet-on-Thames led Urban Catalyst to become a member of the NHS Healthy New Towns Network, alongside firms such as British Land, housing association Peabody and listed house builder Redrow.
