To support the refreshed Good Growth by Design programme, the Mayor, Sadiq Khan has appointed 42 new Mayor’s Design Advocates (MDAs) including our very own Sustainability lead Louisa Bowles.

MDAs are independent experts who will support the Mayor’s vision of “good growth” and ensure that new buildings and public spaces will benefit Londoners and aid the capital’s recovery from the pandemic.

In addition to high profile names such as Sir David Adjaye OBE, Hanif Kara OBE, Farshid Moussavi OBE and Sir David Chipperfield CBE, the new cohort includes fresh, emerging talent in the built environment space and those, like Louisa, who have relevant expertise in key areas such as zero-carbon and sustainability, the safety of women and girls and housing quality.

The group has experience in both the public and private sector, and includes practitioners, academics, policymakers and those from community-led initiatives. 55 per cent are women and 45 per cent come from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.

The new Good Growth by Design programme responds to four years of change. It reflects the importance of an inclusive recovery from a pandemic that has highlighted inequalities in the capital and the need to counter racism and other forms of prejudice in the built environment.

The pandemic has accelerated a change in the way Londoners use the city. The reconfiguration of high streets and other workspaces, as well as the urgent need to meet net zero by 2030 is also recognised in the updated programme.

Louisa is an active contributor to a range of industry groups focussing on how to define and achieve Net Zero Carbon, including LETI, RIBA, UKGBC and WLCN.  She also recently gave evidence to the Sustainability of the Built Environment inquiry for the UK Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee.