Cost led procurement

Posted on: 8 May 2014
By: mackene
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This article looks at Cost Led Procurement, one of the methods that the Government has been trialing to reduce construction costs. 

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Tests of success for the SDGs

Posted on: 8 May 2014
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A new tool has been developed to help governments and other stakeholders to create and choose ambitious and effective sustainable development goals (SDGs) and targets, which fulfill the commitments made by world leaders at Rio+20.

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Travel Trends 2013

Posted on: 8 May 2014
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Britain’s tourism industry enjoyed a record year in 2013 as visitor numbers and spend reached an all-time-high, according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics.

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Urban equity in development: Cities for life. Medellin, Colombia, 5-11 April 2014

Posted on: 8 May 2014
By: mackene
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The Seventh Session of the World Urban Forum provided a platform to create new networks and partnerships and strengthen existing ones, with a meaningful impact on equity and development. Participants gained new awareness about the role that cities, countries, international agencies and development partners can play in advancing an equity agenda, sharing knowledge and best practices. Discussions took place on how to implement the “Cities for Life” concept that is both normatively and operationally linked to the notion of equity. The concrete objectives of WUF7 are to take stock of where the world stands with respect to the equity concept, analysing how this concept is perceived and utilised. Conclusions of the plenary sessions are available online. This blog provides a response to the Medellin Declaration.

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Better Retrofit Partnership

Posted on: 8 May 2014
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The Better Retrofit Partnership promotes a new approach to the refurbishment of traditional buildings: an approach that is based on  fully joined-up processes and backed up by its unique Performance Pledge.

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BIM IN ACTION 01: A case study of Park House

Posted on: 8 May 2014
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In this webinar, to be held between 11.00am and 12 noon on 15 May 2014, Robin Partington and Partners (RPP) will focus on two London based projects, Park House on Oxford Street and the Merchant Square development at Paddington. RPP will outline the ongoing evolution of their workflow, showing how the practice has moved from a typical 3D workflow towards a BIM integrated process. During the presentation of Park House, they will describe how their 3D workflow enabled them to overcome various diverse challenges such as the successful reintegration of a city block, to the cutting-edge resolution of the complex roof geometry. By comparison, the Merchant Square project will show how using Bentley’s AECOsim Building Designer product has enabled their 3D workflow to develop into an asset-rich output, which has major advantages moving forward. Register online.

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China digital landscape 2014

Posted on: 7 May 2014
By: mackene
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This report offers a thorough, in-depth review of all the key stats for the Social, Digital and Mobile landscape in China in 2014. It contains 95 slides covering platform preferences, behavioural usage and economic indicators, the deck presents stand-out infographics that are ready to copy-paste direct into your own presentations and blogs.

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Towards the development of the 10YFP Sustainable Tourism Programme

Posted on: 7 May 2014
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“Sustainable Tourism” was identified as one of the five initial programmes of the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (10YFP), adopted at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), held in 2012 in Rio de Janeiro. The 10YFP is a global framework of action facilitating international cooperation to accelerate the shift towards Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) in both developed and developing countries. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), as the Secretariat of the 10YFP, has issued a concept note on the proposed 10YFP Sustainable Tourism Programme and invites feedback. 

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Integrating health benefits into transport planning and policy: The case of Indore, India

Posted on: 7 May 2014
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The city of Indore, India, is a pilot city for the creation of a new Health Impact Assessment methodology that will be used to evaluate the potential impacts of transport developments and policies on city residents.

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Better roads: Improving England’s strategic road network

Posted on: 7 May 2014
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The House of Commons Transport Committee has published the findings of an inquiry into how the policies set out in the Action for roads Command Paper will improve the strategic road network (SRN) for all road users, while also improving the environment. It also considered: how the Government’s policy for roads links with planning for other transport modes; the reliability of the forecast for growth in demand for the SRN; how the Government should deal with uncertainty in its forecast; how the reliability and efficiency of travel on the SRN can be improved; the impact of new technology; the mechanisms available for Government to increase investment in strategic roads and attract new investors; good examples from other countries that could be applied in the UK; how the Highways Agency should be reformed to make it the world’s leading highway operator; and the  roles Government and the private sector should play to ensure better management of the SRN.

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