Over the last decade, conversations about Smart Cities and transforming urban epicentres into high tech hotspots of the future has dominated the development circuit. But have our cities really become any smarter yet? Since the pandemic we have seen many of our cities’ weaknesses and vulnerabilities exposed.

The global crisis showed that no matter how technically smart you make your buildings, you cannot escape the critical need we all share for well-connected communities and strong social infrastructure. As we build back from the pandemic there is a real opportunity now for us to design our spaces and places in a way that ensures they are both socially and emotionally intelligent.