Recently I attended The Infrastructure and Regeneration Summit, part of the ‘Great Britain’ programme during the 2012 London Olympics.
The panel, comprising the great and good of British engineering, design, construction and management, were really excellent, pointing out that the British are actually very good at delivering the complicated; the things what haven’t been done before; the things that require imagination rather than following a formula.
In talking about the best of British construction, design, engineering and management, they described the world that I recognise and in terms that I like to use. I was so pleased to hear them use words and phrases such as:
Judgement
Imagination
Integration
Collaboration
Excellence
Flexibility
Holistic Thinking
Loose Fit
Long Term
There is not one single answer
Government does have a vital role to play, as do communities
All of the above describes how I approach Regeneration, Growth and Sustainable Development, so for once it was brilliant to hear this philosophy outlined instead of the usual single-club, simplistic, rigid and formulaic stuff I so often hear from so-called regeneration experts.
It is so good sometimes to hear that you are not on your own and that others are thinking the same way. I went away with a spring in my step, and with renewed energy and determination to keep doing what I do, my way.
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