In celebration of International Women’s Day 2021
-
Email
-
Facebook
-
Linkedin
-
Twitter
-
Whatsapp
08 March 2021
The theme of International Women’s Day in 2021 is #ChooseToChallenge. Here at WBEF, we choose to seek out and celebrate women's contributions to the most important discussions around the future of the built and natural environment.
Anne Kerr on how panic can be as infectious as disease in cities (April 2020)
“During the cholera outbreak in Paris in 1832, almost 19,000 Parisians perished. Among the turmoil, rumours spread that King Louis-Philippe was poisoning people by having arsenic added to water wells. Panic and violence ensued, and the army and police struggled to maintain basic order. The lesson? Communications around impactful events need to be authoritative, clear, accurate and proactive.”
Professor Christine Whitehead on Asia’s informal housing sector (July 2020)
“When the World Bank started working on the issue of informal housing, they didn’t build the homes. They provided the site and the essential utilities: water, electricity, sewerage. They also made sure that there was a mechanism for borrowing a small amount of money so that you could build your own home. The actual house is not the most important thing.”
Tina Paillet on designing workplaces for health and wellbeing in the post-COVID-19 world (August 2020)
“Most likely, this will not be the last pandemic. What will make up the technical and design specificities of a “healthy building” in the post COVID-19 era? There is not one stand-alone solution, but a multi-pronged approach which can be broken down into four main areas of action.”
Dr Nazia Mintz Habib on how a changing global climate threatens the security of our food supply (September 2020)
“While the connection between food and infrastructure is often seen through the prism of investment, when it comes to shock events, it is resilience that matters most. Political and economic resilience is the ability to bounce back from shocks or crises repeatedly, without jeopardising socio-cultural stability. Good food policy is about resilience, which ensures food security during the short-term, and offers bounce-back mechanisms in the long-term. The ultimate goal is food sovereignty.”
Linda J. Isaacson on commercial real estate’s AI revolution (October 2020)
“In 1997, having lost the year before, an IBM computer named Deep Blue™ beat reigning world-champion Gary Kasparov by two games to one over a six-game series. It marked a watershed moment in the evolution of humankind’s relationship with machines. Deep Blue™ is now enjoying a hard-earned retirement in Washington DC’s Smithsonian museum. Were it capable of emotions, it might well be feeling much older than its 23 years of age; AI has come a long way since the late 1990s.”
Fran Graham on how the COVID-19 lockdown finally made cities safe for cyclists (November 2020)
“Over the summer months, as the major western economies began to transition out of extreme lockdown, many began to question what a return to normal would look like. Would we revert back to sluggish delivery of vitally needed active travel schemes or, worse still, see a rollback of all progress made through COVID-19 emergency responses?”
Mandakini Surie on the prospect of a green COVID-19 recovery in Asia (December 2020)
“In the last decade, countries in South Asia have experienced significant economic growth, driven by structural changes, market reforms and a dynamic and aspirational middle class. This progress has pulled millions out of poverty and seen substantive improvements across a range of human development indicators including health, education, and living standards. But COVID-19 is threatening to reverse many of these advances.”
Marie Lam Frendo on the build back better movement in 2021 (February 2021)
“It isn’t yet possible to monitor capital flows into “build back better” projects. However, we are seeing promising trends in sustainable and digital investment
– two sectors that have the potential to achieve long-term transformative outcomes. Our tracking is also showing clear intent from governments to start thinking long-term about infrastructure.”