Book now for "Infrastructure after Covid – what will it look like?" webinar

The latest event in the Infrastructure Intelligence series of Covid Recovery webinars takes place on Friday 24 July with a look at what infrastructure is likely to look like post-Covid-19 and the implications for firms working in the construction sector.

The Covid-19 crisis has changed the way that everyone works and lives and with social distancing set to be with us for some time to come as countries try and adjust to keeping people safe and society functioning efficiently in a future post-Covid world, it's clear that the industry is likely to be facing some significant challenges going forward. 

Transportation vehicles, public spaces, shared spaces and office spaces are likely to need remodelling and it is certain that there will be significant implications for infrastructure going forward. But what will this future infrastructure look like? How can it be made more resilient? How will our towns and cities be designed in the new normal? 

Are we entering an era of greener infrastructure development that is more suited to a world where mass transport is not as important as it once was and where remote working and the use of digital technologies is more widespread? And, how will the Covid-19 crisis shape our future infrastructure? 

We have assembled another expert panel for the ninth webinar in our summer series of events. Tim Chapman, director of infrastructure at Arup, will be joined by WSP's head of transport (planning and advisory) Rachel Skinner, James Harris, policy and networks manager at the Royal Town Planning Institute and the line-up is completed by the always-interesting Richard Threlfall, KPMG's global head of infrastructure.

Speaking ahead of the webinar, James Harris said: "I'll be talking about the role of planning in helping to identify low-regret infrastructure investment priorities post Covid-19. This will cover the role of active travel, green and smart energy infrastructure as investments that can help the economic recovery while also accelerating the transition to net zero carbon and increasing our resilience to risk."

As well as big challenges ahead, the industry should also look forward to opportunities too, as Richard Threlfall highlighted: “We have a golden opportunity to build a better future for everyone, everywhere, underpinned by infrastructure that is sustainable, resilient and inclusive”. Continuing the opportunity theme, Arup's Tim Chapman said: “Post-Covid, we will sadly return to old normal in most things, but with the vital realisation that things can and must be different. This bodes excellently for finally beginning to address climate change, biodiversity loss and other major crises plaguing our species.”

Rachel Skinner commented: "The way that we should change and use infrastructure from this point forward is at a crossroads. Covid has shown us that change is not only possible but desirable in many cases (eg local services and resilience; urban air quality improvements, reduced congestion, energy use etc) and if we take the time to think, we know what we need to do."

Infrastructure Intelligence editor Andy Walker said: "There is much discussion in the industry about what the infrastructure sector will look like post-Covid and the interest we have had in this free webinar has been great, with attendees signing up to attend on a daily basis. The top panel of industry experts we have brought together will discuss the issues and try and answer the key questions about the future that many in the sector are asking."

This webinar, which is brought to you in association with Barton Willmore, will explore those these key questions and much more.

Infrastructure after Covid – what will it look like?
Friday 24 July 2020 at 11am.

Moderator
Andy Walker, Editor, Infrastructure Intelligence.

Speakers
Tim Chapman, Director of Infrastructure, Arup
Rachel Skinner, Head of Transport (Planning & Advisory), WSP
James Harris, Policy and Networks Manager, Royal Town Planning Institute
Richard Threlfall, Global Head of Infrastructure, KPMG

Click here to book a place on the “Infrastructure after Covid – what will it look like?” webinar.

This webinar is brought to you in association with Barton Willmore.